NASA Astronaut Group 2 (The New Nine)

NASA Astronaut Group 2 (The New Nine) NASA Astronaut Group 2, popularly called The New Nine, was the second class of astronauts chosen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1962 to expand the Project Mercury roster for upcoming Project Gemini and Apollo program missions. The cohort included naval aviators, test pilots, and engineers who later participated in pivotal missions such as Gemini IV, Gemini XII, Apollo 8, and Apollo 11, influencing human spaceflight operations, extravehicular activity, and lunar exploration.

Selection and Training

Selection for Group 2 followed criteria set by NASA leadership under James E. Webb and Robert Gilruth to augment the original Mercury Seven pool with experienced United States Navy and United States Air Force test pilots. Candidates were evaluated at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and screened by medical teams associated with Johns Hopkins Hospital and the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine. Training incorporated simulators developed at the Manned Spacecraft Center, flight instruction at Ellington Air Force Base, survival training with the U.S. Navy at Corinne, Florida and Navy Survival School, and classroom instruction on spacecraft systems drawn from McDonnell Aircraft Corporation and North American Aviation engineering teams. The curriculum emphasized rendezvous techniques pioneered at Ames Research Center, orbital mechanics taught by Goddard Space Flight Center scientists, and EVA practices influenced by early work at Langley Research Center.

Members and Biographies

Members included former test pilots and aeronautical engineers who had served with units such as the Blue Angels and within programs like X-15. Notable figures were Neil A. Armstrong, a former United States Navy aviator and Navy Flight Test pilot who flew with NAA contractors; Buzz Aldrin (Edwin E. Aldrin Jr.), an MIT-educated engineer and Air Force pilot who developed rendezvous techniques; Michael Collins, an Air Force test pilot who later orbited the Moon; Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr., a Navy aviator and Skylab participant; Frank Borman, an Air Force officer and leadership figure; James A. Lovell, a Navy officer who commanded Apollo 13; Richard F. Gordon Jr., a Navy pilot involved in lunar orbit; John L. Swigert, an astronaut who flew on Apollo 13; and Elliot M. See Jr., a NASA astronaut and Northrop test pilot. Biographies note education at institutions like Purdue University, United States Naval Academy, United States Military Academy, United States Naval Test Pilot School, and advanced degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mission Assignments and Flight Histories

Assignments for the New Nine ranged across Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab programs. Flight histories included Armstrong’s command of Apollo 11 and the first lunar landing; Aldrin’s EVA during Apollo 11; Collins’ command of the command module on Apollo 11; Borman’s leadership on Apollo 8 alongside William Anders and Frank Borman for the first crewed lunar orbit; Lovell’s missions including Gemini XII and Apollo 13 where crew survival followed an onboard explosion; Conrad’s command of Apollo 12 and later participation in Skylab; Gordon’s lunar-orbit duties on Apollo 12; Swigert’s late assignment to Apollo 13 replacing Thomas K. Mattingly II; and See’s planned assignments cut short by a fatal aircraft accident prior to flight. Missions utilized hardware from Saturn V, Saturn IB, Apollo Command/Service Module, and Lunar Module systems, with launch operations staged at Kennedy Space Center and launch complexes at Launch Complex 39.

Contributions to NASA Programs and Spaceflight

Members contributed to spacecraft design reviews with contractors like Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, flight rules for rendezvous and docking used in Gemini IV and Gemini VI-A, EVA techniques validated during Gemini XII, and lunar orbit procedures refined for Apollo 8 and Apollo 11. Armstrong’s flight test background informed Lunar Module landing techniques, Aldrin authored pivotal papers on orbital rendezvous connected to MIT research, and Collins’ systems expertise influenced command-module operations. Group members participated in public outreach through affiliations with Smithsonian Institution exhibits, congressional briefings to the United States Congress, and international exchanges with agencies such as the European Space Agency.

Legacy and Impact on Human Spaceflight

The New Nine’s legacy includes operationalizing crewed rendezvous and EVA practices that became staples of later programs like Skylab and Space Shuttle missions, and setting precedents in crew resource management adopted in Aviation Safety Reporting System-influenced studies. Their missions advanced scientific return from lunar samples analyzed by teams at institutions like California Institute of Technology and University of Arizona, and inspired cultural depictions in works associated with NASA history at the National Air and Space Museum. Many members received honors including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Congressional Space Medal of Honor, and NASA Distinguished Service Medal, cementing their impact on human exploration of the Moon and the trajectory of space exploration.

Category:NASA Astronaut Groups Category:Apollo program