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Charles Duke

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For the British Labour Party politician, see Charles Dukes, 1st Baron Dukeston.
Charles M. Duke, Jr.
Born (1935-10-03) October 3, 1935 (age 89)
Charlotte, North Carolina
StatusRetired
NationalityAmerican
OccupationTest pilot
Space career
NASA astronaut
RankBrigadier general, USAF
Time in space
11d 01h 51m
Selection1966 NASA Group
MissionsApollo 16
Mission insignia

Charles Moss Duke, Jr. (born October 3, 1935) is a retired US Air Force brigadier general, and a former United States astronaut and aerospace engineer for NASA. As lunar module pilot for Apollo 16 in 1972, he became the tenth and youngest of only 12 people who have walked on the Moon.

A former test pilot, Duke has logged 4,147 hours flying time, which includes 3,632 hours in jet aircraft; and 265 hours in space, plus 21 hours and 28 minutes of extra-vehicular activity.

A resident of New Braunfels, Texas, he is currently chairman of the board of directors of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.

Biography

Education

Duke was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on October 3, 1935. He attended Lancaster High School in Lancaster, South Carolina, and graduated as valedictorian from Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1953. He is also an Eagle Scout. He received a bachelor of science degree in naval sciences from the United States Naval Academy in 1957 and a master's degree in aeronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964.

Military career

Duke was commissioned upon graduation from the Naval Academy in 1957. Entering the US Air Force, he went to Spence Air Base in Georgia for primary flight training, then to Webb Air Force Base in Texas for basic flying training, where he graduated with distinction in 1958 as a member of Pilot Training Class 59-B. Duke completed advanced training on the F-86 Sabre aircraft at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, where he was a distinguished graduate. After completion of this training, Duke served three years as a fighter interceptor pilot with the 526th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Ramstein Air Base in West Germany.

After graduating from the Aerospace Research Pilot School in September 1965, Duke stayed on as an instructor teaching control systems and flying in the F-101 Voodoo, F-104 Starfighter, and T-33 Shooting Star aircraft.

NASA career

Duke as Apollo 11 capcom in 1969

In April 1966, Duke was one of the 19 selected for NASA's fifth group of astronauts. In 1969, he was a member of the astronaut support crew for Apollo 10. He then served as capcom for Apollo 11, the first landing on the Moon, where his distinctive southern drawl became familiar to audiences around the world. As capcom, he became the voice of a Mission Control nervous by a long landing that almost expended all of the lunar module Eagle's fuel. Duke's famous first words to the Apollo 11 crew on the surface of the Moon were flustered, "Roger, Twank... Tranquility, we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot!" [1]

Duke was backup lunar module pilot on Apollo 13, however shortly before the mission he caught German measles from a friend's child and inadvertently exposed the prime crew to the disease. As Ken Mattingly had no natural immunity to the disease, Mattingly was then replaced as command module pilot by Jack Swigert. Mattingly would be reassigned as command module pilot of Duke's flight, Apollo 16.

Duke served as Lunar Module pilot of Apollo 16 in 1972 where he and John W. Young landed at the Descartes Highlands and conducted three EVAs, making Duke the tenth person to walk upon the surface of the Moon. He also served as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 17.

Apollo 16

Duke on lunar EVA during Apollo 16, April 1972
Family picture Duke left on the Moon

Apollo 16 (April 16 – 27, 1972) was launched from John F. Kennedy Space Center and was the fifth manned lunar landing mission. The crew consisted of John W. Young as commander, Ken Mattingly as command module pilot, and Duke as lunar module pilot. Apollo 16 was the first scientific expedition to inspect, survey, and sample materials and surface features in the Descartes region of the rugged lunar highlands. Duke commenced the then-record setting lunar surface stay of 71 hours and 14 minutes by maneuvering the lunar module Orion to a landing on the rough Cayley Plains. In three subsequent excursions onto the lunar surface, he logged 20 hours and 15 minutes in extravehicular activities involving the emplacement and activation of scientific equipment and experiments, the collection of nearly 213 lb (96 kg) of rock and soil samples, and the evaluation and use of Rover-2 over the roughest surface yet encountered on the moon.

Other Apollo 16 achievements included the largest payload placed in lunar orbit (76,109 lb or 34,595 kg); first cosmic ray detector deployed on the lunar surface; first lunar observatory with the far UV camera; and longest in-flight EVA from a command module during transearth coast (1 hour and 13 minutes). The Apollo 16 mission was concluded with a Pacific Ocean splashdown and subsequent recovery by USS Ticonderoga.

Personal life

Duke is married to Dorothy Meade Claiborne of Atlanta, Georgia. They have two grown sons and nine grandchildren. He and his wife reside in New Braunfels, Texas. Recreational interests include hunting, fishing, reading, and playing golf. Duke is an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America.[2][3] Duke became a Christian after his Apollo 16 flight, and is active in prison ministry.[4]

TV and film

Duke is one of the astronauts featured in the book and documentary In the Shadow of the Moon. At the end of the documentary, in response to Moon landing hoax theories, he says "We've been to the Moon nine times. Why would we fake it nine times, if we faked it?"

In the 1998 miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, Duke was portrayed by J. Downing.

Honors

Duke in Technikmuseum Speyer, Germany on October 2, 2008

In 1973, Duke received an honorary doctorate of philosophy from the University of South Carolina. He also received an honorary doctorate of humanities from Francis Marion University in 1990. Other honors include:

Organizations

Duke in San Diego in February 2009

References

  1. ^ "Footagevault, Project MOCR".
  2. ^ Townley, Alvin. Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America's Eagle Scouts. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 79. ISBN 0-312-36653-1. Retrieved 2006-12-29. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Distinguished Eagle Scouts" (PDF). Scouting.org. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
  4. ^ "Video: Charlie Duke - Interviews with the men on the moon". The Daily Telegraph. July 17, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

Further reading

  • Moonwalker by Charlie & Dotty Duke, published by Thomas Nelson Inc, April 1990, ISBN 0-8407-9106-2

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