Donn F. Eisele

Donn F. Eisele
Name	Donn F. Eisele
Caption	Eisele in 1968
Type	NASA Astronaut
Nationality	American
Status	Deceased
Birth date	23 June 1930
Birth place	Columbus, Ohio
Death date	2 December 1987
Death place	Tokyo, Japan
Occupation	Test pilot
Rank	Colonel, United States Air Force
Selection	1963 NASA Group
Time	10d 20h 08m
Mission	Apollo 7
Insignia	50px

Donn F. Eisele was an American astronaut, United States Air Force officer, and test pilot who served as the command module pilot for the pivotal Apollo 7 mission. A member of NASA Astronaut Group 3, his single spaceflight helped restore confidence in the Apollo program following the Apollo 1 fire. After leaving NASA, he held executive positions and worked internationally before his death in Tokyo.

Early life and education

Donn Fulton Eisele was born on June 23, 1930, in Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from West High School in his hometown before receiving an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Eisele ultimately chose to pursue his education at the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1952 and commissioning into the newly formed United States Air Force. He later earned a Master of Science degree in astronautics from the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

NASA career

Selected as part of NASA Astronaut Group 3 in 1963, Eisele began intensive training for future Project Gemini and Apollo program missions. He initially served as a backup pilot for the Gemini 10 mission and later as a backup command module pilot for the Apollo 1 flight. Following the tragic cabin fire that killed the prime crew of Apollo 1, Eisele was assigned to the prime crew of Apollo 7 alongside commander Wally Schirra and lunar module pilot Walter Cunningham. During this period, he also contributed to the design and development of the Apollo Command/Service Module and its guidance systems.

Apollo 7 mission

Launched on October 11, 1968, Apollo 7 was the first crewed flight of the Apollo program and a critical engineering test of the Saturn IB rocket and the redesigned Apollo spacecraft. As command module pilot, Eisele's responsibilities included navigating, managing the spacecraft's systems, and conducting extensive testing of the Service Propulsion System engine. The 11-day mission in low Earth orbit successfully demonstrated spacecraft performance, completed the first American live television broadcasts from space, and proved the vehicle's readiness for a lunar orbit mission. The success of Apollo 7 directly paved the way for the historic Apollo 8 flight around the Moon just two months later.

Post-NASA career and later life

Eisele retired from NASA and the United States Air Force with the rank of colonel in 1972. He subsequently became the director of the Peace Corps in Thailand before returning to the United States to work in private industry. In the late 1970s, he served as a sales manager for Marion Power Shovel Company in Ohio. Eisele later moved into international finance, working as an executive for Oppenheimer & Co. and living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He died suddenly of a heart attack on December 2, 1987, while on a business trip in Tokyo, Japan.

Awards and honors

For his service, Eisele received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal for his work on Apollo 7. He was also awarded the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal and the Air Force Legion of Merit. In 1997, he was posthumously inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame at the New Mexico Museum of Space History. His name is included on the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.

Personal life

Eisele was married to his first wife, Harriet, with whom he had four children. The marriage ended in divorce following his return from Apollo 7. In 1970, he married actress Susan Borman, the former wife of fellow astronaut Frank Borman. He was an avid private pilot and enjoyed sailing. His ashes were scattered over the Atlantic Ocean by his family following his cremation in Japan.

Category:American astronauts Category:Apollo program astronauts Category:1930 births Category:1987 deaths