Quiz!

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

Cernan also turned down an assignment as LMP, telling Slayton he would only go as mission commander.

Which mission would that have been?

[Laurel]

What do Al Shepard, Gus Grissom,  Wally Schirra  and Pete Conrad all have in common?

They commanded the first flights of the pre-shuttle programs.

*slaps forehead* I should have thought of that; being chosen to command the first manned voyage of anything is such an honour.

[ka9q]

What do Al Shepard, Gus Grissom,  Wally Schirra  and Pete Conrad all have in common?

Um, they were all NASA astronauts, and they're all gone now?

[Chew]

Conrad commanded the first Skylab.

[Echnaton]

Cernan also turned down an assignment as LMP, telling Slayton he would only go as mission commander.

Which mission would that have been?

Looked up the reference in The Last Man on the Moon to refresh my memory.  Cernan turned down a position of LMP on A16.  Instead he was assigned as back up commander on A14, which put him in the rotation for commander of A17.

Check p229 and p238 for references.

[VincentMcConnell]

Looked up the reference in The Last Man on the Moon to refresh my memory.  Cernan turned down a position of LMP on A16.  Instead he was assigned as back up commander on A14, which put him in the rotation for commander of A17.

Check p229 and p238 for references.

Whew. That was a close call for him. If I were Cernan, I would have accepted the first landing flight I could get.

[VincentMcConnell]

Alright, here's a quiz.

What is the verb/noun in the DSKY on the Lunar Module that you must enter to get an updating mission elapsed timer?

[Echnaton]

Looked up the reference in The Last Man on the Moon to refresh my memory.  Cernan turned down a position of LMP on A16.  Instead he was assigned as back up commander on A14, which put him in the rotation for commander of A17.

Check p229 and p238 for references.

Whew. That was a close call for him. If I were Cernan, I would have accepted the first landing flight I could get.

Slayton was incredulous that anyone would turn down the opportunity to walk on the moon.  Yet it was the second decline he had received. 

[Laurel]

Looked up the reference in The Last Man on the Moon to refresh my memory.  Cernan turned down a position of LMP on A16.  Instead he was assigned as back up commander on A14, which put him in the rotation for commander of A17.

Check p229 and p238 for references.

Whew. That was a close call for him. If I were Cernan, I would have accepted the first landing flight I could get.

Slayton was incredulous that anyone would turn down the opportunity to walk on the moon.  Yet it was the second decline he had received. 

Was the first decline Michael Collins?

[Chew]

Looked up the reference in The Last Man on the Moon to refresh my memory.  Cernan turned down a position of LMP on A16.  Instead he was assigned as back up commander on A14, which put him in the rotation for commander of A17.

Check p229 and p238 for references.

Whew. That was a close call for him. If I were Cernan, I would have accepted the first landing flight I could get.

Slayton was incredulous that anyone would turn down the opportunity to walk on the moon.  Yet it was the second decline he had received. 

Was the first decline Michael Collins?

I believe it was Borman, who turned down command of the first Moon landing.

[Glom]

Looked up the reference in The Last Man on the Moon to refresh my memory.  Cernan turned down a position of LMP on A16.  Instead he was assigned as back up commander on A14, which put him in the rotation for commander of A17.

Check p229 and p238 for references.

Whew. That was a close call for him. If I were Cernan, I would have accepted the first landing flight I could get.

Slayton was incredulous that anyone would turn down the opportunity to walk on the moon.  Yet it was the second decline he had received. 

Was the first decline Michael Collins?

I believe it was Borman, who turned down command of the first Moon landing.

Was it the prime position?  I though the was offered the backup position, as he was due for that commanding Apollo 8 three missions prior.  He would then get Apollo 14 and a moonwalk.  He turned it down because he wasn't interested in being a geologist and if he didn't want to be a geologist, there was little point investing the time in being a backup commander.

[VincentMcConnell]

According to Aldrin's Magnificent Desolation, Borman DID turn down the first landing flight, but I can't remember why...

[Chew]

According to Chaikin, McDivitt turned it down, too.

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

According to Chaikin, McDivitt turned it down, too.

I saw Jim McDivitt at Autographica in the UK several years ago, and he confirmed that he did turn down a trip to the moon. He said the only position that Deke could offer him was LMP of A14 - which he refused because (a)he couldn't command the mission, as Shepard was the commander and (b) he said that Shepard was "lazy and inexperienced", "was used to being carried by others" and "did the minimum amount of work required to do anything". Basically, McDivvit went off on a rant about Shepard that was not complimentary at all. He also said that had Shepard being on A13, his incompetence and inexperience would have killed everyone on board.

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

Was the first decline Michael Collins?

Possibly - it was mentioned in "Carrying the fire" that Deke offered Mike the command of Apollo 17 if the Apollo 11 mission failed, Mike considered this but ultimately turned it down because of the effect his job was having on his family life.