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| Donald "Deke" Slayton | |
|---|---|
| Name | Donald "Deke" Slayton |
| Birth date | March 1, 1924 |
| Birth place | Sparta, Minnesota |
| Death date | June 13, 1993 |
| Death place | League City, Texas |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Test pilot, Naval aviator, NASA astronaut, aerospace executive |
| Alma mater | University of Minnesota |
| Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross, NASA Distinguished Service Medal |
Donald "Deke" Slayton Donald "Deke" Slayton was an American Naval aviator, test pilot, and one of the original seven NASA Mercury Seven astronauts selected in 1959. He served as NASA's Chief of the Astronaut Office and later as Director of Flight Crew Operations, playing a central role in crew assignments for the Mercury program, Gemini program, Apollo program, and the Skylab program, before flying on the joint Apollo–Soyuz Test Project in 1975.
Born in Sparta, Minnesota, Slayton grew up in a rural setting before attending high school in Minneapolis and enrolling at the University of Minnesota. Influenced by stories of World War II combat and the United States Army Air Forces, he pursued aviation training with ambitions tied to Naval Aviation and the broader postwar aviation boom. His early associations included local flying clubs and connections with peers who later served in United States Navy and United States Air Force aviation communities.
Slayton joined the United States Army Air Forces late in World War II and transitioned to the United States Army Air Corps and then the United States Air Force aviation environment before commissioning as a United States Navy officer and becoming a Naval aviator. He flew carrier operations and advanced fighter types, linking his experience to institutions such as the Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Naval Air Station Pensacola, and Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. Slayton later attended military flight test programs and served as a test pilot at Naval Air Test Center and other test establishments, operating aircraft related to Grumman, North American Aviation, Douglas Aircraft Company, and Vought designs. His operational record intersected with contemporaries in Project Mercury candidate pools and with senior figures from Air Force Test Pilot School and Navy Test Pilot School.
In 1959 Slayton was named among the original Mercury Seven by NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan and Robert R. Gilruth, joining colleagues including Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, and Gordon Cooper. As Chief of the Astronaut Office under Christopher C. Kraft Jr. and George M. Low, Slayton became responsible for crew scheduling and training for the Mercury program and early Gemini planning. In 1962 he was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and grounded by NASA Flight Medicine protocols, leading to reassignment from active flight status and formal removal from planned missions by the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. During his grounding he worked closely with program managers such as Maxime Faget, Robert Gilruth, Deke Slayton — serving administratively alongside Wernher von Braun-linked discussions — and with flight surgeons from Johns Hopkins Hospital and Ames Research Center medical teams.
After years in management, advances in cardiology treatments and advocacy from colleagues including James A. McDivitt, Eugene Cernan, Thomas P. Stafford, and flight surgeons allowed Slayton to be cleared for flight. He was assigned as docking module pilot for the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project with commander Thomas P. Stafford and command module pilot Vance D. Brand, coordinating with Soviet counterparts including Alexei Leonov and Valeri Kubasov under the auspices of the Soviet Union and United States détente and the Helsinki Accords era rapprochement. The ASTP mission emphasized international cooperation between NASA and the Soviet space program, linking technical teams from Rockwell International, North American Rockwell, Grumman Aerospace, and Soviet design bureaus. The mission launched atop a Saturn IB from Kennedy Space Center and performed the historic docking with a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft, marking the first joint human spaceflight between the two Cold War superpowers.
Slayton's administrative career included tenure as NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations and later as Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight under administrators such as James C. Fletcher and Richard H. Truly. He oversaw astronaut assignments across the Apollo program, selecting crews for lunar and command module operations, and played a role in shifting resources toward Skylab and Space Shuttle planning. Slayton worked alongside senior managers including George Abbey, Chris Kraft, Rocco Petrone, Gerald D. Griffin, and NASA Johnson Space Center leadership, interacting with contractors such as Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, and Lockheed. His decision-making affected missions tied to the Saturn V launch vehicle, the Apollo Applications Program, and the development of extravehicular activity procedures adopted during later lunar missions.
After leaving active NASA leadership, Slayton joined the aerospace industry and served on corporate boards and advisory panels, associating with firms including Rockwell International, Martin Marietta, Bechtel, and United Technologies. He received honors such as the Distinguished Flying Cross, NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and recognition from institutions like the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the International Astronautical Federation. Slayton's legacy is preserved in exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, in oral histories housed at the NASA History Office, and in biographies by authors associated with Aviation Week & Space Technology, Time (magazine), and Life (magazine), influencing later astronaut corps policies applied during the Space Shuttle program and International Space Station collaboration.
Slayton was married and had a family, with personal connections to communities in Houston, Texas, Clear Lake Area, Galveston County, Texas, and Minnesota. He maintained friendships with astronauts including Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, and managers such as Chris Kraft and George Low. Slayton died in 1993 in League City, Texas, following complications related to brain cancer and associated treatment; his memorials involved participants from NASA Johnson Space Center, the United States Navy, and civilian aerospace organizations.