Which United States Marine Corps aviator preceded United States Navy Commander Scott Carpenter as one of the first Americans in space?
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Scott Carpenter Malcolm Scott Carpenter (May 1, 1925 – October 10, 2013), (Cmdr, USN), was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, astronaut, and aquanaut. He was one of the original seven astronauts selected for NASA's Project Mercury in April 1959. Carpenter was the second American (after John Glenn) to orbit the Earth and the fourth American in space, following Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, and Glenn.
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John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was a United States Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, and United States Senator from Ohio. In 1962 he became the first American to orbit the Earth, circling it three times.
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Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first two humans on the Moon. Mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin, both American, landed the lunar module "Eagle" on July 20, 1969, at 20:18 UTC. Armstrong became the first to step onto the lunar surface six hours after landing on July 21 at 02:56:15 UTC; Aldrin joined him about 20 minutes later. They spent about two and a quarter hours together outside the spacecraft, and collected 47.5 lb of lunar material to bring back to Earth. Michael Collins piloted the command module "Columbia" alone in lunar orbit while they were on the Moon's surface. Armstrong and Aldrin spent just under a day on the lunar surface before rejoining "Columbia" in lunar orbit.
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Mercury-Atlas 8 Mercury-Atlas 8 (MA-8) was the fifth United States manned space mission, part of NASA's Mercury program. Astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr., orbited the Earth six times in the Sigma 7 spacecraft on October 3, 1962, in a nine-hour flight focused mainly on technical evaluation rather than on scientific experimentation. This was the longest U.S. manned orbital flight yet achieved in the Space Race, though well behind the several-day record set by the Soviet Vostok 3 earlier in the year. It confirmed the Mercury spacecraft's durability ahead of the one-day Mercury-Atlas 9 mission that followed in 1963.
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USS Willis (DE-395) USS "Willis" (DE–395) is an "Edsall"-class destroyer escort , the first United States Navy ship so named. This ship was named for Ensign Walter Michael Willis (14 January 1917 – 7 December 1941). He enlisted in the Naval Reserve as a seaman 2d class at Minneapolis. Willis received an appointment as reserve aviation cadet on 22 December 1939. Six days later, he reported to Pensacola Naval Air Station for flight instruction and, on 14 August 1940, emerged with his aviator's wings.
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Frank L. Culbertson Jr. Frank Lee Culbertson Jr. (born May 15, 1949) (Capt, USN, Ret.) is an American former naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, and NASA astronaut. He served as the Commander of the International Space Station for almost four months in 2001 and was the only American not on Earth when the September 11 attacks occurred. He is currently a President of The Space Systems Group at Orbital ATK. Mr. Culbertson is responsible for the execution, business development and financial performance of the company’s human spaceflight, science, commercial communications, and national security satellite activities, as well as technical services to various government customers. These include some of Orbital’s largest and most important programs such as NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) initiatives to the International Space Station (ISS) as well as various national security-related programs.
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Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Christopher Columbus "Chris" Kraft Jr. (born February 28, 1924) is an American aerospace engineer and retired NASA engineer and manager who was instrumental in establishing the agency's Mission Control operation. Following his graduation from Virginia Tech in 1944, Kraft was hired by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the predecessor organization to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He worked for over a decade in aeronautical research before being asked in 1958 to join the Space Task Group, a small team entrusted with the responsibility of putting America's first man in space. Assigned to the flight operations division, Kraft became NASA's first flight director. He was on duty during such historic missions as America's first manned spaceflight, first manned orbital flight, and first spacewalk.
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Wendi B. Carpenter Rear Admiral Wendi Bryan Carpenter is a retired United States Navy flag officer and naval aviator. She is also a past president of the State University of New York Maritime College.
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Robert L. Gibson Robert Lee "Hoot" Gibson (born October 30, 1946), (Capt, USN, Ret.), is a former American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, and a retired NASA astronaut, as well as a professional pilot who currently races regularly at the annual Reno Air Races.
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Kathryn P. Hire Kathryn Patricia "Kay" Hire (born August 26, 1959 in Mobile, Alabama) is a NASA astronaut and Captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve who has flown aboard two Space Shuttle missions.
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Jeffrey Ashby Jeffrey Shears "Bones" Ashby (born June 16, 1954) is an American mechanical engineer, and former naval officer and aviator, test pilot and NASA astronaut, a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions. He is a retired Captain in the U.S. Navy. He currently works for Blue Origin as chief of mission assurance.
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Charles Bolden Charles Frank Bolden Jr. (born August 19, 1946) is a former Administrator of NASA, a retired United States Marine Corps Major General, and a former NASA astronaut.
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Edwin Francis Carpenter Edwin Francis Carpenter (November 1, 1898 – February 11, 1963) was an American astronomer.
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United States Aeronautical Reserve The United States Aeronautical Reserve (U.S.A.R.) was an early aviation organization created by Harvard University’s Aero Club on September 8, 1910. The founder was John H. Ryan, and the General Secretary Richard R. Sinclair. The earliest aviators and others to enroll near the founding date were: “Glen H. Curtiss, Wilbur Wright, Harry S. Harkness, Augustus Post, Clifford B. Harmon, Allan R. Ryan, Herbert L. Saterlee, ex-governor Curtis Guild, Jr., Edwin Gould, Charles K. Hamilton, Horace F. Karnay, John G. Stratton, George M. Cox, Gen. Nelson A. Miles, Commodore John H. Hubbard, Charles F. Willard, Charles J. Glidden, Walter Brookins, Ralph J. Stone, William Hilliard, Cromwell Dixon, Samuel F. Perkins, Capt. Thomas F. Baldwin, Greeley S. Curtiss, General W. A. Bancroft, and Adams D. Clafton.”, Recruiting stations were at Harvard University, in Boston, Massachusetts; Mineola, Long Island; and Belmont Park, Long Island (Belmont Park is most known for its racetrack but it also has quite an early aviation history that became U.S.A.R.'s earliest members such as Glenn Curtiss and Wilber Wright of the Wright Bros).
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John B. McKay John Barron McKay (December 8, 1922 – April 27, 1975) was an American naval officer and aviator in World War II, test pilot, and one of the first pilots assigned to the X-15 flight research program at NASA's Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California. As a civilian research pilot and aeronautical engineer, he made 30 flights in X-15s from October 28, 1960, until September 8, 1966. His peak altitude was 295,600 feet (55.98 miles), and his highest speed was 3,863 mph (Mach 5.64).
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Scott Sanders (admiral) Scott Eugene Sanders received his commission in May 1980 from the United States Naval Academy and was designated a naval aviator in 1982. After completing training in the E-2C, he reported to the Seahawks of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 126. While at VAW-126, he made deployments to the Mediterranean and Caribbean aboard USS John F. Kennedy.
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Charles Bassett Charles Arthur "Charlie" Bassett II (December 30, 1931 – February 28, 1966), (Capt, USAF), was an American electrical engineer and United States Air Force test pilot. He was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1963 and assigned to "Gemini 9", but died in an airplane crash during training for his first spaceflight.
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Ken Bowersox Kenneth Dwane "Sox" Bowersox (born November 14, 1956) is a United States Navy officer, and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of five Space Shuttle missions and an extended stay aboard the International Space Station.
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Frank Borman Frank Frederick Borman II (born March 14, 1928), (Col, USAF, Ret.), is a retired United States Air Force pilot, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, best remembered as the Commander of Apollo 8, the first mission to fly around the Moon, making him, along with crew mates Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, the first of only 24 humans to do so. Before flying on Apollo, he set a fourteen-day spaceflight endurance record on Gemini 7, and also served on the NASA review board which investigated the Apollo 1 fire. After leaving NASA, he was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Eastern Air Lines from 1975 to 1986. Borman is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
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USS Cecil J. Doyle USS "Cecil J. Doyle" (DE-368) was a United States Navy "John C. Butler"-class destroyer escort . She was named for United States Marine Corps aviator 1st Lieutenant Cecil J. Doyle, a posthumous recipient of the Navy Cross for heroism during 18 to 25 October 1942 in the Solomon Islands campaign.
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Mike Mullane Richard Michael "Mike" Mullane (born September 10, 1945) is an engineer, a retired USAF officer and a former NASA astronaut, flying on three Space Shuttle missions.
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Frank E. Petersen Frank Emmanuel Petersen Jr. (USMC) (March 2, 1932 – August 25, 2015) was a United States Marine Corps lieutenant general. He was the first African-American Marine Corps aviator and the first African-American Marine Corps general.