- Born
- Died
- Birth nameDonald Kent Slayton
- Height5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
- Donald K. Slayton was one of the original Mercury project astronauts, but he was grounded by an irregular heartbeat. He was chief of the NASA astronaut office and director of flight crew operations. In 1975 he flew on the joint Apollo-Soyuz mission. He died in 1993 at his home.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Steve Shorlin <sshorlin@astro.uwo.ca>
- Donald K. Slayton ("Deke" - his nickname came from his initials, D K) was one of the original National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Mercury Seven astronauts. The Mercury 7 program was introduced in April 9, 1959, only six months after the agency itself had been established. His partners in Mercury 7 were Wally Schirra, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, and Gordon Cooper.
This was a major deal: Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States. The Soviet Union had launched Yuri Gagarin as the first man into space in April, 1961, and on 5 May 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space. The race was on!
Deke Slayton was born on March 1, 1924, in Sparta, Wisconsin. Deke graduated from Sparta High School, and later received a bachelor of science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis in 1949.
Slayton entered the Air Force as an aviation cadet and received his wings in April, 1943, after completing flight training at Vernon and Waco, Texas. Until then, it was likely the proudest moment of his life.
As a B-25 pilot with the 340th Bombardment Group (a famous and historic group stationed at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas), during World War II, he completed 56 combat missions, including the attack on the monastery atop Monte Cassino, before returning to the States in June, 1944. He worked then as a B-25 and A-26 instructor pilot at Columbia Field, South Carolina, and later served with a unit responsible for checking pilot proficiency in the A-26 (that is, the Douglas A-26 Invader, a United States twin-engined light attack bomber).
In April, 1945, Deke was assigned to the 319th Bombardment Group to fly A-26s from Kadena Field, Okinawa, where he flew seven missions against the Japanese home islands in the Ryukyus Islands before Japan surrendered.
Slayton served again as a B-25 instructor for one year following the end of the war.
Slayton left the Army Air Force in 1946, entered the University of Minnesota, and graduated in 1949 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He became an aeronautical engineer after graduation.
He then became a design engineer for Boeing Aircraft Corporation at Seattle, Washington, and worked on such projects as the B-52 Stratofortress, before being recalled to active duty in 1951 with the Minnesota Air National Guard.
Upon reporting for duty, he was assigned as maintenance flight test officer of an F-51 squadron located in Minneapolis. In 1952, he went to Wiesbaden Air Base, Germany, where he served as a technical headquarters inspector at Headquarters Twelfth Air Force, and the following year returned to flying in the F-86F at Bitburg Air Base, Germany, as fighter pilot and maintenance office with the 36th Fighter Day Wing.
In June, 1955, he returned to the States to attend the United States Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California--an assignment that changed his life. At Edwards AFB, as a test pilot, he flew each of the Century Series aircraft (then still under development!) for the USAF and participated in the testing of fighter aircraft built for the USAF and some foreign countries.
Slayton married Marjorie Lunney on 15 May 1955; they had one child and divorced in 1983.
In 1959, due to his remarkable skills as test pilot, fighter pilot, and overall dare-devil, he was one of the very few selected for the astronaut program. Better yet: Deke Slayton was scheduled to pilot the Mercury-Atlas 7 mission! ... but tragedy struck. Deke was grounded ("relieved of this assignment") due to a heart condition (an irregular heartbeat) discovered in August, 1959. It must have been one of the worst disappointments of his life.
Deke became the oldest rookie astronaut at the age of 51 when he was selected to the Apollo/Soyuz mission (also known as Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and Apollo 18) in July, 1975. He was the Docking Module Pilot with mission commander Thomas P. Stafford and command module pilot Vance Brand. The Soviet cosmonauts were Alexei Leonov (first man to walk in space) and Valery Kubasov. The flight lasted 9 days (July 15-24, 1975), and was the last use of the Apollo-era hardware and the last American manned spaceflight until the launch of the first reusable space shuttle in 1981.
He logged more than 6,600 hours flying time, including 5,100 hours in jet aircraft.
Slayton retired from NASA in 1982. He was president of Space Services Inc., of Houston, a company he founded to develop rockets for small commercial payloads.
Deke married Bobbie Osborn on 8 October 1983, and they remained together until his death on 13 June 1993. He died at his home on June 13, 1993, in League City, Texas, from complications of a brain tumor.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Fiona Kelleghan <fkelleghan@aol.com>
- SpousesBobbie Belle Jones(October 8, 1983 - June 13, 1993) (his death)Marjory Colleen Lunney(May 15, 1955 - July 11, 1983) (divorced, 1 child)
- Was a member of NASA's Mercury 7 project, introduced in April 9, 1959, only six months after the agency was established (together with Wally Schirra, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, Gordon Cooper).
- Became the oldest rookie astronaut at the age of 51 when he was selected to the Apollo/Soyuz mission.
- Flew on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) sometimes known as Apollo 18 as the Docking Module Pilot with mission commander Thomas P. Stafford and command module pilot Vance Brand. The Soviet cosmonauts were 'Alexei Leonov' (First man to walk in space) and Valery Kubasov. The flight lasted 9 days (July 15-24, 1975), was the last use of the Apollo era hardware and the last American manned spaceflight until the launch of the first reusable space shuttle in 1981.
- Flew the Apollo Soyuz Test Project with Vance Brand and Thomas P. Stafford in 1975 on the last Apollo mission linking up with a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft.
- Was a member of NASA's Mercury 7 project, introduced in April 9, 1959, only six months after the agency was established (together with Wally Schirra, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, Gordon Cooper).
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