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Joseph P. Kerwin

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Joseph P. Kerwin
Born (1932-02-19) February 19, 1932 (age 92)
Oak Park, Illinois, U.S.
StatusRetired
NationalityAmerican
Other namesJoseph Peter Kerwin
Alma materHoly Cross, B.A. 1953
Northwestern University, M.D. 1957
OccupationMedical Doctor
Awards
Space career
NASA astronaut
Rank Captain, USN
Time in space
28d 00h 50m
Selection1965 NASA Group 4
Total EVAs
1
Total EVA time
3 hours 23 minutes
MissionsSkylab 2
Mission insignia
RetirementMarch 31, 1987

Joseph Peter Kerwin, M.D. (born February 19, 1932), (Capt, USN, Ret.), is an American physician and former NASA astronaut, who served as Science Pilot for the Skylab 2 mission from May 25–June 22, 1973. He was the first physician to be selected for astronaut training.[1]

Biography

Early years and education

Born of Irish descent in Oak Park, Illinois, on February 19, 1932, Kerwin graduated from Fenwick High School, a private school in Oak Park, in 1949. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1953; a Doctor of Medicine degree from Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois, in 1957; completed his internship at the District of Columbia General Hospital in Washington, D.C.; and attended the United States Navy School of Aviation Medicine at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, being designated a naval flight surgeon in December 1958.[2]

Military career

Kerwin was a Captain in the Navy Medical Corps, commissioned in July 1958. He earned his flight surgeon's wings at Beeville, Texas, in 1962. He has logged 4,500 hours flying time.[3]

NASA career

Main article: Skylab 2
Kerwin administers dental exam to Skylab 2 Commander Charles "Pete" Conrad
Paul J. Weitz, (left) Charles Conrad Jr. (middle); and Joseph P. Kerwin (right); America's first space station crew would spend 28 days in space

Kerwin was selected as a scientist-astronaut by NASA in June 1965. He was one of the capsule communicators (CAPCOMs) on Apollo 13 (in 1970).

He served as Science Pilot for the Skylab 2 (SL-2) mission which launched on May 25 and splashed down on June 22, 1973. With him for the initial activation and 28-day flight qualification operations of the Skylab Orbital Workshop were Charles "Pete" Conrad, (spacecraft commander) and Paul J. Weitz (Pilot).

Kerwin was subsequently in charge of the on-orbit branch of the Astronaut Office, where he coordinated astronaut activity involving rendezvous, satellite deployment and retrieval, and other Space Shuttle payload operations. Kerwin was part of the NBC broadcasting team for coverage of the launch of STS-1.

From 1982–83, Kerwin served as NASA's senior science representative in Australia. In this capacity, he served as liaison between NASA's Office of Space Tracking and Data Systems and Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. During this time, Kerwin was considered to fly on the mission that would become STS-41-C (then known as STS-13), but his assignment in Australia prevented his selection.[4]

From 1984–87, Kerwin served as Director of Space and Life Sciences at the Johnson Space Center. There, he was responsible for direction and coordination of medical support to operational manned spacecraft programs, including health care and maintenance of the astronauts and their families; for direction of life services, supporting research and light experiment project; and for managing JSC earth sciences and scientific efforts in lunar and planetary research. In 1986, he issued a report on the deaths of the crew killed in the Challenger disaster to Associate Administrator for Space Flight, Richard H. Truly.[5]

Post-NASA career

Kerwin retired from the Navy, left NASA, and joined Lockheed in 1987. At Lockheed, he managed the Extravehicular Systems Project, providing hardware for Space Station Freedom, from 1988 to 1990; with Paul Cottingham and Ted Christian invented the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER), first tested for use by space walking astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) during Space Shuttle flight STS-64. He then served on the Assured Crew Return Vehicle team, and served as Study Manager on the Human Transportation Study, a NASA review of future space transportation architectures. In 1994–95 he led the Houston liaison group for Lockheed Martin's FGB contract, the procurement of the Russian "space tug" which has become the first element of the ISS. He served on the NASA Advisory Council from 1990 to 1993.

He joined Systems Research Laboratories (SRL) in June 1996, to serve as Program Manager of the SRL team which bid to win the Medical Support and Integration Contract at the Johnson Space Center. The incumbent, KRUG Life Sciences, was selected. Then, to his surprise, KRUG recruited him to replace its retiring president, T. Wayne Holt. He joined KRUG on April 1, 1997. On March 16, 1998, KRUG Life Sciences became the Life Sciences Special Business Unit of Wyle Laboratories of El Segundo, California.

In addition to his duties at Wyle, Kerwin serves on the Board of Directors of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) as an industry representative. He retired from Wyle in the summer of 2004.

Personal life

Kerwin is married to the former Shirley Ann Good of Danville, Pennsylvania. They have three daughters: Sharon (born September 14, 1963), Joanna (born January 5, 1966), and Kristina (born May 4, 1968); and five grandchildren. His hobbies are reading and classical music.

Organizations

He is a fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association, and a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.[3]

Awards and honors

Books

Kerwin is co-author, along with fellow astronaut Owen K. Garriott and writer David Hitt, of Homesteading Space, a history of the Skylab program published in 2008.

In the movies

Kerwin is portrayed by Jack Hogan in the 1974 TV movie Houston, We've Got a Problem. Joe Kerwin plays himself in the feature-length documentary "Searching for Skylab".

See also

References

  1. ^ Northwestern University Professor Selected for Astronaut Program (Northwestern University News)
  2. ^ "NASA's Scientist-Astronauts," David Shayler and Colin Burgess.
  3. ^ a b "Joseph Kerwin NASA Bio". NASA. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  4. ^ Burgess, Colin; David J. Shayler (2006). NASA's Scientist-Astronauts. p. 342.
  5. ^ Kerwin, Joseph P. (July 28, 1986). "Joseph P. Kerwin to Richard H. Truly". Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2006. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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