The Man Who Walked On The Moon

Former NASA  astronaut and retired Air Force colonel David R. Scott  presented “The Air Force in Space – and on the Moon: The Flights of Apollo 9 and Apollo 15″ during a special presentation today at 7:30 p.m. at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

Scott began his professional career after graduating fifth in his class at West Point  in 1954.

After completing flying training, he served as an Air Force  fighter pilot stationed in the Netherlands until 1960. He then earned two graduate degrees at MIT, followed by completing the Air Force Test Pilot School. In 1963 he was selected in the third group of NASA astronauts.

During the next eight years, he flew three space missions: Gemini VIII, the first docking in space, March 1966; Apollo 9, the first test flight of all spacecraft and flight operations for the Apollo lunar mission (except landing), March 1969; and Apollo 15 , July 1971, for which, as commander, he received NASA’s highest award “for leading the most complex and carefully planned scientific expedition in the history of exploration.”

During 1997, Scott was the technical advisor to the director of the movie “Apollo 13 ,” Ron Howard. Subsequently, during 1998, he was technical advisor on all 10 episodes of the Emmy award winning HBO TV series, “From the Earth to the Moon ,” produced by Tom Hanks.

During 2005, he was technical consultant on the 3D IMAX® film, “Magnificent Desolation,” depicting Apollo lunar surface activities, produced by Tom Hanks and the IMAX Corp.

 He is the co-author of “Two Sides of the Moon ,” a parallel autobiography with cosmonaut Alexei Leonov  describing their insight and experiences in the Cold War Space Race. Gen. Leonov conducted the first spacewalk aboard Voskhod 2 in March 1965 and was to have been the first man on the moon for the Soviet Union.

Scott has logged more than 5,600 hours flying time in 25 types of aircraft, helicopters and spacecraft, including 546 hours in space that included over 20 hours of Extravehicular Activity during five separate EVA excursions. He is also the holder of 15 patents in the U.S., Europe and Japan, covering inventions in the areas of spaceflight operations and robotic planetary exploration.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, 1954; a Master of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT, 1962; the degree of Engineer in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT, 1962; an Honorary Doctor of Astronautical Science degree from the University of Michigan, 1971; and an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Brown University, 2011. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School, 1963, and the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School, 1964.

This lecture, held in the Carney Auditorium, was part of the museum’s Wings & Things Guest Lecture Series.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is located on Springfield Street, six miles northeast of downtown Dayton. It is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission and parking are free.

Blog written by Bryan D. Carnes

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force