How did NASA decide on the crew for Apollo 11? Who was the man who picked the crew of Apollo 11? Find out in this article.
It’s easy to imagine some drama out of the story of Apollo 11 (the first Moon landing) and Apollo 13 (“Houston, we have a problem”) or Apollo 8 mission, the first spacecraft to approach the Moon as well as to disappear behind it. It was the space race between the Americans and Russians to be the first to explore the Moon. But how did NASA decide on the crew for Apollo 11?
They walked on the Moon, planted a flag, gathered rocks, rocketed back to Earth, and splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean. After three weeks in quarantine (to prevent a merely hypothetical moon germ contagion), the three Apollo 11 astronauts got their eternal glory and ticker-tape parade.
To put astronauts on the Moon’s surface and bring them home safely, NASA had to do many things right in succession, with margins of error ranging from small to nonexistent.
How did NASA end up with the crew of Apollo 11?
The crew of Apollo 11 wasn’t chosen explicitly for the first Moon landing attempt. The person who picked the crews, Deke Slayton, was firmly against specific crews for specific missions. He was NASA’s first Chief of the Astronaut Office and Director of Flight Crew Operations, responsible for NASA crew assignments.
His philosophy was that any crew could fly any mission since mission objectives changed often.
So, Deke Slayton picked several different crews for the approximate slot of the first lunar landing attempt and put them as backup crews for early Apollo missions. Therefore, the backup crew of the Apollo 7 mission would do Apollo 10. Apollo 8’s backup crew would fly Apollo 11, and finally, Apollo 9’s crew would fly Apollo 12.
Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and James Lovell have initially been the backup crew for Apollo 9 and, therefore, are supposed to fly on Apollo 12. However, the team of Apollo 8 and 9 were swapped, along with the backup crews. Otherwise, all things being equal, an astronaut named Pete Conrad would have been first on the Moon.
Deke calls Neil Armstrong into his office to discuss Apollo 11 assignments.
So now you have Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and James Lovel serving as backup crew for Apollo 8. Then Michael Collins, the Command Module Pilot for the mission, had medical complications and had to be bumped from the crew. So James Lovell moved up to the main crew, and rookie astronaut Fred Haise took his place on the backup crew.
Furthermore, while Apollo 8 is going around the Moon, Deke calls Armstrong into his office to discuss Apollo 11 assignments. Neil is set to be Commander, and it’s just a matter of choosing the other two crew members.
Buzz Aldrin and Fred Haise had been with Neil Armstrong on the backup crew. But Collins’ medical complications were over, so Slayton wanted to put him in the next available slot, which was as on Apollo 11. Neil agreed.
Buzz Aldrin has had some issues with the Commanders
Then Deke brought up Buzz and how some other Commanders had issues with various questions. He was always pursuing it, viewing it as undermining their authority. If that were the case, Deke said, then he’d offer James Lovell in place of Buzz Aldrin.
Neil Armstrong thought it over for a day and then decided to stick with Buzz Aldrin. Because he wasn’t bothered by his questions and felt James Lovell, who would be on the fourth space flight, deserved his own command.
Armstrong didn’t know that Frank Borman, Commander of Apollo 8 (first to go around the Moon), and Jim McDivitt, Commander of Apollo 9 (first test of the Lunar Module in Earth orbit), had already been offered command of the first Moon landing attempt.
Deke was ready to break the rotation pattern
Slayton was ready to break the rotation pattern if he felt it was worthwhile. However, Borman and McDivitt turned the unofficial offers down. So, Deke kept his rotation scheme.
The crew of Apollo 11 was the second most experienced crew to ever fly at that point. All had been on previous missions, so it’s not as if they were all rookies.
Slayton wanted the original Mercury 7
Deke Slayton, the man who chose the astronauts for each mission, wanted the first man on the Moon to be one of the original Mercury 7, the first group of astronauts. But this never came to be.
At the time the Apollo Program started, there were only three astronauts from that group: Gordon Cooper, Gus Grissom, and Wally Schirra. The other four astronauts were grounded.
Alan Shepard had Meniere’s disease, an inner ear problem that affected his balance. John Glenn was an American hero and would be ‘preserved’ from risking his life in another mission.
He was also already seeking a political career; Scott Carpenter was grounded because of performance issues during his Aurora 7 flight. He later took a leave of absence from NASA to work for the Navy’s Sealab. Deke himself (also one of the Mercury 7) was grounded because of a heart problem.
Of those three Mercury astronauts available, Wally Schirra was a technical astronaut. It is perfect for testing new ships, performing experiments, and following procedures, but it is not the first pilot you’d choose for a risky landing.
Gordon Cooper had some discipline issues
He was going to retire before the first lunar landing anyway. Gordon Cooper wasn’t even a test pilot. He was more of an engineer than anything, according to Deke Slayton’s own words. Cooper also had some discipline issues, which put him in a complicated position among the other astronauts. He was out of the picture, and in fact, he never got to fly on Apollo. And then there was Gus Grissom.
When it was time to pick the first Apollo astronauts, most of them were still working on the Gemini project (there were some 40 astronauts at NASA in 1966. So Slayton picked those who had already left the Gemini rotations.
Wally Schirra was one of them, but he got very uncomfortable when he was given two backup positions in a row at the Apollo missions (he wasn’t doing anything, so why not give him a flight?). So this led him to decide he would retire after his next mission (which became Apollo 7).
Gus Grissom was the preference to be the first man on the Moon.
So this left Gus Grissom as the favorite to be the first man on the Moon. He also had discipline issues during the Mercury years (some astronauts regarded him as a bit lazy, only showing up when everything was ready). Still, compared to the other two, he was way ahead.
Then came Apollo 1, commanded by Gus Grissom. He and Ed White and rookie Roger Chafee died in a fire during a training session just days before their lift-off.
So now Deke Slayton was left without any Mercury 7 astronauts to be the first on the Moon. So, at this point, he had no choice but to pick the crew of Apollo 11, as mentioned above.
In time: Alan Shepard, one of the Mercury 7, recovered from his ear problem, but only after Apollos 11 and 12 had already landed on the lunar surface. So, he tried to take the Apollo 13 mission and ended up on Apollo 14.
If you’re fascinated by the Apollo 11 mission and want to dive deeper into the historic journey that changed humanity forever, don’t miss our comprehensive article on Apollo Mission 11: A Giant Leap for Humankind.
FAQ
How Did Deke Slayton Influence the Crew Selection for Apollo 11?
Deke Slayton was NASA’s first Chief of the Astronaut Office and Director of Flight Crew Operations. He was responsible for astronaut assignments and had a philosophy that any crew could fly any mission since objectives often changed.
What Role Did Medical Complications Play in Crew Selection?
Michael Collins, initially slated to be the Command Module Pilot for Apollo 8, had to step down due to medical complications. This led to a reshuffling, with James Lovell moving up to the main crew and Fred Haise taking his place on the backup crew.
Why Was Buzz Aldrin Almost Replaced?
Buzz Aldrin had a reputation for questioning commanders, which some viewed as undermining their authority. Deke Slayton offered Neil Armstrong the option to replace Aldrin with James Lovell, but Armstrong chose to stick with Aldrin.
Were There Any Other Candidates for the First Moon Landing?
Frank Borman and Jim McDivitt, commanders of Apollo 8 and Apollo 9, respectively, were offered the command of the first Moon landing attempt but turned it down. This led Slayton to stick with his rotation scheme.
What Happened to the Original Mercury 7 Astronauts?
Deke Slayton wanted the first man on the Moon to be from the original Mercury 7 group. However, various issues like medical conditions and discipline problems ruled them out, leaving Slayton with no choice but to pick from the available pool of astronauts.