03 maja 2007
Wally Schirra
The only man to fly on the Apollo, Mercury and Gemini missions has died. Wally Schirra, according to Wikipedia, was known as "Jolly Wally" after delivering a five gallon jar of urine when asked for a sample. He also, according to the always reliable Wiki folks, was the first astronaut to use foul language on a microphone and to play music in space.Most folks of my generation probably only remember him as the Actifed pitchman who held up an old style NASA helmet and asked, "Have you ever sneezed in one of these?" (YouTube has a later ad featuring Schirra and Alan Bean, Richard Gordon, and one featuring Schirra and Donn Eisele)
Schirra was the fifth American in space, but was also an accomplished pilot here on Earth. He first flew at the age of 15, earned the Distinguished Flying Cross in Korea and logged 267 carrier landings.
Schirra was played by B-List actor Lance Henriksen in The Right Stuff, but Hollywood did him better in From Earth to the Moon when Mark Harmon played him.
Hasta la proxima. Do zobaczenia.
