James Irwin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Astronaut | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born | March 17, 1930 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania |
| Died | August 8, 1991 Glenwood Springs Colorado |
| Occupation1 | Test Pilot |
| Rank | Colonel, USAF |
| Space time | 12d 07h 12m |
| Selection | 1966 NASA Group |
| Mission(s) | Apollo 15 |
| Mission insignia |
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| 1 previous or current | |
James Benson Irwin (March 17, 1930 – August 8, 1991) was a member of the Apollo 15 mission in 1971 and the eighth man to walk on the Moon. He was involved in one of the greatest days of exploration in the history of humankind.[1]
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[edit] Early life
Irwin was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[2] He received a Bachelor of Science degree in naval science from the United States Naval Academy in 1951 and a Master of Science in aeronautical engineering and instrumentation engineering from the University of Michigan in 1957.
He received his flight training at Hondo Air Base and Reese Air Force Base, Texas. He graduated from the Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School in 1961 and the Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School in 1963. Prior to joining NASA, he was Chief of the Advanced Requirements Branch at Headquarters Air Defense Command.
[edit] NASA career
[edit] Astronaut selection
Irwin was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He also served as a member of the astronaut support crew for Apollo 10, the first mission to carry the full Apollo stack to the moon, and was the dry run for the first manned moon landing. He then served as backup lunar module pilot for the second moon landing mission, Apollo 12.
[edit] Apollo 15
Between July 26 to August 7, 1971 – as the Apollo 15 Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) – Jim Irwin logged 295 hours and 11 minutes in space. His Extra-Vehicular Activity(EVA) on the Moon's surface amounted to 18 hours and 30 minutes of the mission time (an additional 33 minutes was used to do a stand-up EVA by opening the LM's docking hatch to survey the surroundings and take photographs).[3] Irwin and David Scott's mission was more science-based than previous missions, which meant that they received intensive geological training to meet the demanding nature of the J-Mission profile.[1] This extra training is credited with allowing them to make one of the most important discoveries of the Apollo era: the Genesis Rock.[3]
Apollo 15 landed in the Moon's Hadley-Apennine region, noted for its mountains and rilles.[1] Since this was a J-Mission, it meant that they would spend more time on the moon than previous missions, to allow for three EVAs. As well, Irwin was the first automobile passenger on the moon, since he was not the driver of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV)carried along for this mission in the Lunar Module (LM) Falcon's Descent Stage.[1] Scott and Irwin's stay on the Moon was just under three days at 66 hours and 54 minutes.[1]
[edit] Health problems on Apollo 15
Once the rendezvous procedure was completed between Falcon and the Endeavour CSM, both Irwin and Scott were busy moving items like rock samples into the CM and preparing the Lunar Module for final separation. It was during this intense period of work that the earliest symptoms appeared regarding his heart condition.[4]
Both Scott and Irwin were working with no sleep for 23 hours, due to the problems that delayed the Lunar Module jettison manoeuvre.[5] The astronauts' physiological vital signs were being monitored back on Earth, and the Flight Surgeons noticed some irregularities in Irwin's heart rhythms.[5] Irwin's heart had developed bigeminy.[6] Dr. Charles Berry stated to Chris Kraft, deputy director of the Manned Spacecraft Center(MSC) at the time: " It's serious, [i]f he were on Earth. I'd have him in ICU being treated for a heart attack."[6] Since Endeavour's cabin atmosphere was 100% oxygen (when in space), it was decided that he was in no serious harm by Dr. Charles Berry.[6] Specifically "In truth,...he's in an ICU. He's getting one hundred percent oxygen, he's being continuously monitored, and best of all , he's in zero g. Whatever strain his heart is under, well, we can't do better than zero g."[6]
During the post-Trans Earth Injection (TEI) phase of the mission there wasn't much more for Irwin to do other than provide help with Al Worden's EVA to retrieve film magazines from the CSM's SIM bay, by donning a pressure suit and monitoring him. He was able to rest and apparently recover during the rest of the mission.[4] The flight surgeons continued to monitor his EKG until splashdown, but his heart rhythm was normal.[6] This incident apparently wasn't discussed during the mission debriefing sessions, and the condition did not appear when he returned to Earth. "A few months later he had a heart attack."[6]
[edit] Post-NASA career
Beyond his achievements as an astronaut with NASA, Irwin is perhaps most notable for his attempts to use his experiences on the Moon to spread his belief in Christianity. He left NASA and retired from the Air Force with the rank of colonel in 1972 and founded High Flight, a Christian ministry. He frequently commented about how his experiences in space had made the presence of God even more real to him than before.
Beginning in 1973, Irwin led several expeditions to Mount Ararat, Turkey in search of the remains of Noah's Ark. His expeditions failed to find any sign of the Ark. In 1982, he was injured during the descent from the mountain and had to be carried for part of the way.
Irwin suffered a serious heart attack near his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He died on August 8, 1991 as the result of a subsequent heart attack in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. He is survived by his wife Mary Ellen and their five children.
[edit] Bibliography
- To Rule the Night: The Discovery Voyage of Astronaut Jim Irwin (with William A. Emerson, Jr., 1973)
- More Than Earthlings (1983)
- More Than an Ark on Ararat: Spiritual Lessons Learned While Searching for Noah's Ark (with Monte Unger, 1985)
- Destination: Moon (1989)
In the 1998 mini series From the Earth to the Moon Irwin was played by Gareth Williams.
[edit] In fiction
In the 2002 novel Ice, James Irwin walks on the Moon a second time, as the LM Pilot of a fictional Apollo 20 mission sent to the Moon with the original objective of recovering the remains of two astronauts who were stranded when their LM ascent engine failed to fire. No such mission was ever necessary.
[edit] Memorabilia and trivia
A patch cut by Irwin from the backpack abandoned on the Moon during Apollo 15 was auctioned at Christie's in 2001 for $310,500 in a consignment of material from Irwin's estate that garnered "a combined $500,000".[7]
James Irwin Charter High School in Colorado Springs is named in his honor.
[edit] External links
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e Reynolds, David West (2002). Apollo: the epic journey to the moon. TEHABI BOOKS, 166-189. ISBN 0-15-100964-3.
- ^ Biographical Data: James Irwin (HTML). Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (August 1991). Retrieved on February 15, 2007.
- ^ a b Woods, David (2006-09-14). Mountains of the Moon (HTML). Apollo 15 Lunar Surface Journal. NASA. Retrieved on February 15, 2007.
- ^ a b Chaikin, Andrew (1994/1998). A Man on the Moon. Toronto: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-027201-1.
- ^ a b Woods, David (2004-05-28). Apollo 15 Flight Summary (HTML). Apollo Flight Journal. NASA. Retrieved on February 15, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f Kraft, Chris; James L. Schefter (March, 2001). Flight: My life in Mission Control. New York: Penguin Group, 342-343. ISBN 0-525-94571-7.
- ^ Antiques Roadshow Insider, V.7, No.2, February 2007, p.11
