several different agencies. He died somewhat suddenly in 2004 from heart failurebut not before he gave Miklos a life-changing piece of. 1x 750ml Black Walnut Bourbon, 1x 750ml Hetta Glogg, 1x Black Walnut Bitters, 1x Luxardo Cherries. contact us The Thunderbirds character Gordon Tracy was named after him. Biographies are our place to remember and discover more about the people important to us. She was active in flying, and would later become the only wife of a Mercury astronaut to have a private pilot license. Cooper was married twice. Understanding what a scandal would mean for himself and the astronaut program, he convinced Trudy to pretend that they were happily married. Cooper drew lines on the capsule window to help him check his orientation before firing the re-entry rockets. ", "I felt like they were heroes and I was proud to be associated with them as flight director in the early days," said Kraft, of Clear Lake. Yet, within the group, whose members might have seemed to have been cut from identical cloth, differences existed. Born in Washington D.C. she lived briefly in Germany with her family when her father was assigned to an air force base in Germany. In April 2007, two years after his death, Cooper's cremated ashes were briefly rocketed into suborbital space, then returned to his family. problems on both sides. She continually served as an advocate, a supporter and a volunteer with ASF through the years, and she will truly be missed, as part of the Foundation and as part of the ASF family. In Kilograms 80 kg In Pounds 176 Ibs Eye Color Blue Hair Color Brown Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr. (Gordo, The Oklahoma Hotdog) was born on 6 March, 1927 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA, is an Actor. "He followed my count and hit the button on 'zero.' Earned a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1956. His wife is Susan Theresa Taylor (6 May1972 - 4 October2004)( his death)( 2 children), Gertrude Bernice 'Trudy' Olson (29 August1947 - 6 March1972)( divorced)( 2 children). [3] He transferred to United States Air Force (USAF) after it was formed in 1947, and was stationed at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii Territory. In Centimeters 178 cm In Meters 1.78 m In Feet & Inches 5'8" Weight (Approx.) [94], Cooper's Mercury astronaut career and appealing personality were depicted in the 1983 film The Right Stuff, in which he was portrayed by Dennis Quaid. The "G" represented Gus Grissom, the "C" represented Cooper, and the "R" represented Jim Rathmann. Reached at his home in California on Monday night, Schirra recalled a sincere, hardworking man. [32], After an argument with NASA Deputy Administrator Walter C. Williams over last-minute changes to his pressure suit to insert a new medical probe, Cooper was nearly replaced by Shepard. According to his accounts, later that morning they returned to report to Cooper that they saw a "strange-looking saucer" like aircraft that did not make a sound either on landing or take-off. After service as a fighter pilot, he qualified as a test pilot in 1956, and was selected as an astronaut in 1959. Slayton noted that Cooper had a slim chance of receiving the Apollo 13 command if he did an outstanding job as backup commander of Apollo 10, but Slayton felt that Cooper did not. Did Gordon Cooper'S Wife Become An Astronaut? He aborted the takeoff, but the landing gear collapsed and the aircraft skidded erratically for 2,000 feet (610m), and crashed at the end of the runway, bursting into flames. Gordon Cooper Birthday, Real Name, Age, Weight, Height, Family, Death Cause, Contact Details, Wife, Children, Bio & More Gordon Cooper Gordon Cooper was an American NASA astronaut who was the youngest of the seven original. Cooper got married to Susan Taylor in 1972, a year after his divorce with his first . It eventually stabilized at 49 newtons per square centimetre (71psi)lower than it had ever been operated at before. [4][7] His family moved to Murray, Kentucky, when his father was called back into service, and he graduated from Murray High School in June1945. [8], On completion of his flight training in 1950, Cooper was posted to Landstuhl Air Base, West Germany, where he flew F-84 Thunderjets and F-86 Sabres for four years. Freemasonry Blue Lodge, New York Rite, Scottish Rite 33rd Rotary International Order of DeMolay Legion of Honor Distinguished Flying Cross Cholecystectomy San Antonio, TX (28-Jul-1965) Visited Disneyland (21-May-1998), Do you know something we don't? [5] He left for Parris Island as soon as he graduated from high school,[2] but World WarII ended before he saw overseas service. Gordon Cooper was one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts and the last American to fly into space alone. She agreed, not wanting to deny herself or her daughters the experience of seeing their father go into space. | Gordon Cooper Jr., one of the original seven astronauts who became national celebrities during the Cold War space race, died Monday at his home in Ventura, Calif. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1945 and 1946, then attended the University of Hawaii, where he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He returned to the United States in 1954, and studied for two years at the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) in Ohio. [7][8], The Magazine Publishers of America gave Taylor its Henry Johnson Fisher Award, considered one of the industry's highest honors, in 1998. 108-KSC-69PC-624 November 13, 1969 Apollo 12 Command Module Pilot Richard F. Gordon relaxes with his wife, Barbara, and children at their home near the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas. [17] Each was assigned a different portion of the project along with other special assignments. [43], On May 22, New York City gave Cooper a ticker-tape parade witnessed by more than four million spectators. Susan Suzanne Taylor Cooper, 74, of Moneta, passed away on Wednesday, August 25, 2021. Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper Jr. (March 6, 1927 October 4, 2004) was an American aerospace engineer, test pilot, United States Air Force pilot, and the youngest of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the first human space program of the United States. [3] As a teenager, she moved with her family to the New York borough of Queens. They explained how the saucer hovered over them, landed 50 yards (46m) away using three extended landing gears, and then took off as they approached for a closer look. He is survived by his wife, Susan, and two daughters. During his senior high school year, he played at halfback in the state football championship. 2 birth, 2 death, 3 marriage, 2,496 divorce, View and 14 seconds, 120 orbits were completed at an altitude of 349.8 Philip Cooper's sister-in-law, Maud Sterns, for whom the town was named, was Cora's sister. Her love of life was infectious everyone who met her loved her and everyone called her a friend. what do you reply when someone says welcome to the team? NASA leaders described 'Gordo' Cooper as a space program pioneer whose achievements inspired others to continue to explore the universe. Flew as command pilot on Gemini 5 with 'Charles 'Pete' Conrad (I)' for eight days testing human endurance in space, docking procedures and a new electrical system that utilized fuel cells. USAF, Ret.) "As one of the Mercury astronauts, Gordon Cooper was one of the faces of America's fledgling space program. After divorcing his first wife, Cooper married Susan Taylor in 1972. Cooper went through the selection process with another 109 pilots,[12] and was not surprised when he was accepted as the youngest of the first seven American astronauts. View Susan Taylor Cooper results in Maine (ME) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. [58] He received an honorary D.Sc. At 77 years old, Gordon Cooper height | [58], Cooper served as backup Command Pilot for Gemini 12, the last of the Gemini missions, with Gene Cernan as his pilot. A computer error had set the Earth's rotation at 360 degrees per day whereas it is actually 360.98. Intense onion flavor with a slightly sweet grassy finish. Colin O'Donoghue is portraying Gordon Cooper. Last edited on 27 February 2023, at 09:10, USAF Experimental Flight Test Pilot School, House Committee on Science and Astronautics, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 14, running Cooper for the United States Senate, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, "Gordon Cooper Touts New Book Leap of Faith", "From Orbiting The Earth To The Arena of Politics", "Gordon Cooper, Astronaut, Is Dead at 77", "Leroy G. Cooper Jr.: Flew the last Mercury mission, longest of program", "The Space Review: Loss of faith: Gordon Cooper's post-NASA stories", "This astronaut found sunken treasure from space and kept it secret until his deathbed", "Making History with SpaceShipOne: Pilot Brian Binnie Recalls Historic Flight", "Ashes of "Star Trek's" Scotty found after space ride", "Pioneering astronaut's ashes ride into orbit with trailblazing private spacecraft", "SpaceX Falcon I fails during first stage flight", "Astronauts Have Their Day at the White House", "Cooper the Cool jockeys Faith 7between naps", "Cooper Gets White Trophy For U.S. Air Achievement", "Mercury Astronauts Dedicate Hall of Fame at Florida Site", "How a NASA Astronaut's Treasure Map Could Make History", "LEROY GORDON COOPER, JR. (COLONEL, USAF, RET.) Cooper learned to fly as a child, and after service in the United States Marine Corps during World WarII, he was commissioned into the United States Air Force in 1949. "[74], Cooper claimed to have seen his first UFO while flying over West Germany in 1951,[75] although he denied reports he had seen a UFO during his Mercury flight. He was born in Shawnee, OK, United States to father Leroy Gordon Cooper Sr. and mother Hattie Lee Cooper. He married Trudy Olson in 1947, and they had two daughters before they divorced. Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 97-99. Washington, D.C. sat Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Virgil I. Cooper was the only child of Leroy Gordon Cooper, Sr., an air force pilot and a lawyer, and Hattie Lee (Herd) Cooper, a teacher. )Daughter: Camala Keoki Cooper Thorpe (b. Suzan Taylor "Suzi" Cooper, who married Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper in 1972 and together they had two daughters, died on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020. The Faith in Gordon Cooper (Part 1) by Ben Evans 10 years ago 2. The two astronauts established a new space endurance record by traveling a distance of 3,312,993 miles (5,331,745 km) in 190 hours and 56 minutes, showing that astronauts could survive in space for the length of time necessary to go from the Earth to the Moon and back. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. He was previously married to Susan Theresa Taylor and Gertrude Bernice 'Trudy' Olson. charlotteb@gctech.edu 405-273-7493 ext: 2295. [84][85], On May 22, 2012, another portion of Cooper's ashes was among those of 308 people included on the SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 2 that was bound for the International Space Station. He married Susan Taylor in 1972 and had two more daughters. Photos. [82][83][84] The ashes were then launched on the Explorers orbital mission on August 3, 2008, but were lost when the Falcon 1 rocket failed two minutes into the flight. [48], Project Mercury was followed by Project Gemini, which took its name from the fact that it carried two men instead of just one. Gordon Cooper stating that Meier's photos were "very fine" and "absolutely authentic", carries far more weight than when a skeptic . Said in the book that as an Air Force pilot in 1951 he chased UFOs while based in Germany. [4], Taylor started her career at Essence, a magazine for African-American women, in 1970, the year the magazine was founded. BY ANCESTRY.COM. After the war, CooperSr. completed his high school education; Hattie Lee was one of his teachers, although she was only two years older than him. Concerning claims that he has seen a UFO from space, the 1999 Space.com article you refer to quotes Cooper saying "No, somebody made a lot of money selling lies on that one. He was married to Susan Theresa Taylor and Gertrude Bernice 'Trudy' Olson. [59], In November 1964, Cooper entered the $28,000 Salton City 500 miles (800km) boat race with racehorse owner Ogden Phipps and racing car driver Chuck Daigh. This mission subsequently became Apollo 14 to give Shepard more time to train. He has four daughters, Camala Keoki (Cooper) Thorpe, born on November 16, 1948, and Janita Lee (Cooper) Stone, born on March 15, 1950, both from his first marriage. Later, Mr. Cooper served as the command pilot of the Gemini 5 mission, which lasted for eight days, beginning Aug. 21, 1965. [42] In 1978 he testified before the UN on the topic. perry's steakhouse roasted creamed corn recipe, when using the term the sovereignty of the masses, como hacer un fatality en mortal kombat xl ps4, forensic psychology postdoctoral fellowship, is a nail rusting a chemical or physical change, blue circle around profile picture on imessage. Publicity Listings [10], Cooper and Grissom attended the USAF Experimental Flight Test Pilot School (Class 56D) at Edwards Air Force Base in California in 1956. For additional information about Cooper, including his official NASA Since leaving the space program, Cooper has been on And, since he planned to ride the finished product Gordon Cooper and Pete Conrad on the deck of the USS Lake Champlain after successfully completing the Gemini 5 mission in 1965. Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr. was . Marine reservists. the pilot of MA-9, the last Mercury mission. [92][93], Cooper was a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the American Astronautical Society, Scottish Rite and York Rite Masons, Shriners, the Royal Order of Jesters, the Rotary Club, Order of Daedalians, Confederate Air Force, Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles, and Boy Scouts of America. [58], As part owner and race project manager of the Profile Race Team from 1968 to 1970, Cooper designed and raced high performance boats. Once on deck he used the explosive bolts to blow open the hatch. During the 34-hour mission he became the first astronaut to sleep in orbit. Partner in the GCR Corporation racing team that competed in the USAC Series in 1966 and 1967. Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during Janita's lifetime. He served as a test pilot there until he was selected a Mercury astronaut. Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr. (March 6, 1927 - October 4, 2004), also known as Gordon Cooper, was an American aeronautical engineer, test pilot and one of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the first manned space program of the United States. He was 77. Cooper, who piloted the last flight of NASA's Mercury program and later set a space endurance record during a Gemini mission, died of natural causes, said a spokesman for the Ventura County medical examiner. , money, salary, income, and assets. He left the astronaut program in 1970 to enter private business. (March 6, 1927 - October 4, 2004) was an American aerospace engineer, test pilot, United States Air Force pilot, and an astronaut in Project Mercury, the first human space program of the United States. It worked; he got back," Glenn said. During four years in Germany, he flew F-84 and F-86 fighters. He became a flight commander of the 525th Fighter Bomber Squadron. "[40], Turning to his understanding of star patterns, Cooper took manual control of the tiny capsule and successfully estimated the correct pitch for re-entry into the atmosphere. [14], In 1989, Taylor married writer Khephra Burns at their home in upstate New York. Female Cartoon Characters With Grey Hair, Did Gordon Cooper and his wife divorce? Daughter: Camala Keoki Cooper Thorpe (b. In 2000, Taylor was promoted to publications director. When 2 or more people share their unique perspectives, training at Perrin Air Force base, Texas, and Williams Air Force Base, He had four daughters, Camala Keoki (Cooper) Tharpe and Janita Lee (Cooper) Stone (both from his first marriage) along with Elizabeth Jo and Colleen Taylor (from his second marriage). Organic vodka steeped with local pumpkins, organic spices, organic Madagascar vanilla bean, and local organic maple syrup. Wire services contributed to this. She He served s the backup commander for Gemini GT-12, the last 20 Cooper served as capsule communicator (CAPCOM) for Alan Shepard's first sub-orbital spaceflight in Mercury-Redstone 3 (Freedom 7) and Scott Carpenter's flight on Mercury-Atlas 7 (Aurora 7). Cooper became the first astronaut to make a second orbital flight. Inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990. Pilots, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Gordon Cooper: M: 42: Wisconsin: Wife: Nora Cooper: F: 39: Minnesota: Daughter: Shirely Cooper: F: 16: Illinois: Son: Richard Cooper: M: 15: Illinois: Daughter: Marylen Cooper: F: 13: Illinois: Son: Cornelius Cooper: M: 12: Illinois: Son-in-law: Edward Moker: M: 22: Illinois: Daughter: Eleen Moker: F: 18: Illinois: Grandchild: Patricia Moker: F: 0: Illinois A photo of Janita Lee Cooper from her College days at GPC. emergency on the pad.10 He served as capsule communicator a NASA engineers spent an entire morning giving the 110 invited Project Mercury. [56] Nonetheless, Cooper practiced bringing his spacecraft to a predetermined location in space. Susan Taylor was born in New York in 1946. [65], Slayton alleged that Cooper had developed a lax attitude towards training during the Gemini program; for the Gemini 5 mission, other astronauts had to coax him into the simulator. 15-Mar-1950)Wife: Susan Taylor (m. 6-May-1972, two daughters)Daughter: Elizabeth JoDaughter: Colleen Taylor, University: University of Hawaii University: BS Aeronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology (1956), Disney VP of Research and Development/EPCOT (Jan-1973 to 1975) I wrote that no astronaut has seen a UFO in space. He married to Susan Taylor since 1972. . In 1968, he entered the 24 Hours of Daytona, but NASA management ordered him to withdraw due to the dangers involved. More information on Gordon Cooper Jr. can be found here. Advertisement Gordon Cooper Height, Weight, Eye Color, Hair Height (Approx.) Lunar Module Pilot of the Apollo 11 mission, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., and his family; wife, Joan, and children, J. Michael, Janice R., and Andrew J. In January 1964 the press reported that the Democratic Party of Oklahoma discussed running Cooper for the United States Senate. [68], Dismayed by his stalled astronaut career, Cooper retired from NASA and the USAF on July 31, 1970, with the rank of colonel, having flown 222 hours in space. Between 1968 and 1974 he served as a technical consultant at Republic Corp., and General Motors, Ford and Chrysler Motor Companies, where he was a consultant on design and construction of various automotive components. [53] Webb ultimately approved the design, but insisted on the removal of the slogan from the official version of the patch, feeling it placed too much emphasis on the mission length and not the experiments, and fearing the public might see the mission as a failure if it did not last the full duration. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 6 March. He attended the University of Hawaii for three years after the war and obtained an ROTC commission that brought him to active duty in the Air Force in 1949. This page was last edited on 2 December 2022, at 05:15. He said the quality of the photography was excellent as would be expected from the experienced photographers who took them. [2][4][8], At college, Cooper was active in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC),[8] which led to his being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army in June 1949. Helicopters plucked them from the sea and took them to the recovery ship, the aircraft carrier USSLake Champlain. Where we share as we remember & make discoveries and connect with others to help answer questions. II, which was 205 feet underwater off the coast of La Jolla, English: Trudy Cooper, wife of Gordon "Gordo" Cooper, and their teenage daughters, Cam and Jan, watch as the astronaut lifts off during the Gemini 5 mission. How A Lack Of Support Networks Impacts On Health, Gemini 5 was launched at 09:00 on August 21, 1965. [60] They were in fourth place when a cracked motor forced them to withdraw. susan taylor gordon cooper. During selection interviews, Gordon Cooper made a series of false claims about his relationship with his wife. Gordon Cooper is the father of Kelsey, Lucy, and Maya and the grandfather of Kaylie. They remained married until his death in 2004. [53][54], The mission was postponed from August 9 to 19 to give Cooper and Conrad more time to train, and was then delayed for two days due to a storm. In her early twenties, the young entrepreneur started Nequai Cosmetics, one of the first companies to create beauty products for African American women. After divorcing his first wife Trudy, Cooper married Suzan Taylor in 1972. "He was not the hotshot flyboy that Dennis Quaid played in The Right Stuff," Schirra told Knight Ridder newspapers, referring to the 1983 movie based on Tom Wolfe's book about the Mercury astronauts. Cooper worked closely with the production company, and every line uttered by Quaid was reportedly attributable to Cooper's recollection. Lured by the prospect of a great adventure for herself and her daughters, she agreed to go along with the charade and pretend that they were a happily married couple. . The Thunderbirds character Gordon Tracy was named after him. On May 15-16, 1963, he piloted his Faith 7 capsule on the sixth and final flight of . [2] She grew up in East Harlem, where her father owned a clothing store. He was previously married to Susan Theresa Taylor and Gertrude Bernice 'Trudy' Olson. His autobiography, Leap of Faith (ISBN 0-06-019416-2), co-authored by Bruce Henderson, recounted his experiences with the Air Force and NASA, along with his efforts to expose an alleged UFO conspiracy theory. kenyon murray daughter Menu Toggle. He married Trudy Olson in 1947, and they had two daughters before they divorced. [9] He received flight training at Perrin Air Force Base, Texas and Williams Air Force Base, Arizona,[4] in the T-6 Texan. 1940 US Census, Ward 31, Chicago, Cook, IL. Partner in the GCR Corporation racing team that competed in the USAC Series in 1966 and 1967. "The bonding we had is just unsurpassed, unbelievable. While MA-9 had become uncomfortably warm, Gemini 5 became cold. When asked who was the greatest fighter pilot he ever saw, Cooper enthusiastically answered, "You're looking at him!". the rank of Colonel, on July 31, 1970, to become a Washington business The pilots were asked later in the day to Foraged in the early spring and infused into our crystal clean vodka. Col Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper Jr Born 6 Mar 1927 in Shawnee, Pottawatomie, Oklahoma, United States Ancestors Son of Leroy Gordon Cooper Sr and Hattie Lee (Herd) Cooper [sibling (s) unknown] Husband of Gertrude Bernice (Olson) Cooper married 29 Aug 1947 (to 1971) in Oahu, Honolulu, Hawaii Territory, United States [children unknown] He died on October 4, 2004 in Ventura, California, USA. Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth and a former U.S. senator, recalled that the onboard clock was not working properly for the Faith 7 mission. [1], In 1986, Taylor received a Candace Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women. And it was a massive night for Netflix as Maggie Gyllenhaal's "The Lost Daughter" took Best Feature, Breakthrough Director, Best Screenplay Advice for categorization of Cooper-14811? [2] He also flew the T-28, T-37, F-86, F-100 and F-104. As Cooper had not been instructed to not look at the negatives before sending them, he did. Trudy Cooper is the wife of Gordo Cooper, though they eventually divorce. From a marketing perspective, it was very successful, and helped the highly priced Corvette become established as a desirable brand. Walt Williams and others wanted to follow up with a three-day Mercury-Atlas 10 (MA-10) mission, but NASA HQ had already announced that there would be no MA-10 if MA-9 was successful. His wife is Susan Theresa Taylor (6 May 1972 - 4 October 2004) ( his death) ( 2 children), Gertrude Bernice 'Trudy' Olson (29 August 1947 - 6 March 1972) ( divorced) ( 2 children) Gordon Cooper Net Worth His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. [58] From 1973 to 1975, he worked for The Walt Disney Company as the vice president of research and development for Epcot. He started attending the On completion of his flight training in 1950, Cooper was posted to In January 1959, Cooper received unexpected orders to report to Washington, D.C. Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr. was born on March 6, 1927, in Shawnee, Oklahoma,[1] the only child of Leroy Gordon Cooper Sr. and his wife Hattie Lee ne Herd. "[63], Cooper was selected as backup commander for the May 1969 Apollo 10 mission. The error would have been larger had Cooper not recognized the problem when the reentry gauge indicated that they were too high, and attempted to compensate by increasing the bank angle from 53 to 90 degrees to the left to increase the drag. . susan taylor gordon coopergommone usato a roma oggi. is 5'8"(1.73m) . Dau Eliene Cooper F 8 MN When Gordon returned to work following Kelsey's death, Monica was there for him. [46] An official decision that there would be no MA-10 was made by NASA Administrator James E. Webb on June 22, 1963. He "helped gain the backing and enthusiasm of the American public, so critical for the spirit of exploration," O'Keefe added. The search was obstructed by bad weather, but after a few weeks the capsule was found, and the ashes it carried were returned to the families. Gordon Cooper's Letter To United Nations, 9 th November 1978. and was an alternate for an appointment to Annapolis. Gordon is a Scottish Actor and Voice Over artist who trained at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. What he saw was exactly what they had described to him. successful except for a rendezvous failure due to a fuel-cell heater Cooper achieved an altitude of 165.9 statute miles (267 km) at apogee. It's a hand signature of our Grandfather Edward Maher, which they took as Edward Moker. gordon cooper, astronaut wife. Soon after he divorced Trudy, he married Suzan Taylor, a schoolteacher, in 1972. The second stage and the burial canister remained in the initial orbit that the Dragon C2+ was inserted into, and burned up in the Earth's atmosphere a month later. Instead, Slayton told Cooper that Williams was looking to ground whoever buzzed HangarS.[34] According to Cooper, Slayton later told him that President John F. Kennedy had intervened to prevent his removal. Early life [ edit] [6] His parents owned a Command-Aire 3C3 biplane, and he learned to fly at a young age. the average Cooper family member In fact, he had every confidence when he returned to Edwards that he would sold on the program and that he very much wanted to become an We use cookies. ( b. to carry in the capsule with them. Born March 6, 1927 Died October 4, 2004 (77) Add to list He went through test pilot school and later, when NASA advertised for astronaut trainees, he volunteered; he said it was "pure curiosity.". In the 1990s, she began Essence Books.[5].