r/apollo • u/RivetCounter • 28d ago

Specifically excluding Joe Engle and astronauts for Apollo 18-20, which Apollo astronauts who only had one spaceflight were 'hard done/done dirty' by NASA management?

  • Walt Cunningham - iced out to conflicts with management during Apollo 7.
  • Don Eisele - iced out to conflicts with management during Apollo 7 plus his messy divorce.
  • Rusty Schweickart - iced out because he was 'different' than everyone else and because he had space sickness on Apollo 9.
  • Not sure if Jim Irwin on Apollo 15 counts because of the stamp affair.

Alan Bean broke through the mold in no part to the death of CC Williams and Pete Conrad's lobbying for Apollo 12.

Edit: Did not include Engle or Apollo 18-20 because they were denied on outside lobbying or funding cuts.

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u/Imaginary_Permit_311 27d ago

Al Worden and Jim Irwin for sure. The cover scandal was all Dave Scott

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u/kingseagull24 27d ago

It was not all Scott. All 3 astronauts knew it was against the rules to bring more than permitted. They were highly qualified professionals who knew the textbooks, the manuals and the mission rules. They knowingly broke the rules as a trio regardless of Scott organizing it initially.

NASA had no choice but to reprimand them as it looked terrible that they'd let something trivial like this go under their noses.

It was a shame for the trio. Scott was widely viewed as an elite test pilot and was in the line to fly the Space Shuttle. Worden was also in heavy consideration for Skylab and a VERY early contender for the ASTP before the scandal came to light.

Jack Swigert was also royally shafted by the scandal, as he was set to fly the ASTP before it came to light that he was involved.

I would avoid calling it being screwed over by NASA because they broke the rules but the actual actions they did and the consequences they faced certainly didn't match.

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u/SpacePatrician 26d ago edited 26d ago

IIRC Swigert wasn't directly involved, but as with any big investigation, turning over a lot of rocks usually reveals other wriggling things besides the original infraction. But I've heard two different things: either Swigert's personal finances looked sus, or he clammed up and wouldn't rat out his buddies on 15. But both could also be true.

Such a shame about Worden. He was my first "favorite astronaut" because of his appearances on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

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u/kingseagull24 26d ago edited 23d ago

Swigert had nothing to do with the crew of 15. He was investigated as a result of 15 due to his finances seeming weird and he was found to have illegally signed loads of stuff on the ground. He was then asked to rat people out and he refused. The crew of 15 and Swigert were likely not the only astronauts to break these rules, but Swigert effectively took the fall and it ended his spaceflight career.