James McDivitt

• 1. From Kalamazoo To Korea

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  James Alton McDivitt Jr. was born on the 10th of June 1929, in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he earned the rank of Tenderfoot Scout as a Boy. After graduating from Kalamazoo Central High School in 1947, he worked for one year to save money for junior college. He completed two years at Jackson Junior College between 1948 and 1950. The Korean War had commenced when his draft deferment expired upon graduation. Rather than wait for the Army draft, he enlisted in the United States Air Force as a private in January 1951. He applied for pilot training under the aviation cadet program and performed well enough to make a solo flight first in his class. He received his pilot wings and commission as a second lieutenant in May 1952 at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona. Combat crew training finished by November 1952. He flew 145 combat missions in Korea with the 35th Fighter-Bomber Squadron. His aircraft included F-80 Shooting Stars and F-86 Sabres. He earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses during these operations. His final mission occurred just two hours after the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed.

• 2. The Second Group Selection

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  McDivitt logged over 2,500 flight hours by September 1962. More than 2,000 of those hours were spent flying jet aircraft. This record included a specific role as chase pilot for Robert M. White's North American X-15 flight on the 17th of July 1962. During that flight, White reached an altitude that qualified him as the first X-15 pilot awarded Astronaut Wings based on USAF definitions. McDivitt stood next in line to fly the X-15 himself when White departed. He also prepared to head the project office for testing the McDonnell F-4 Phantom II. News arrived that NASA sought to select a second group of astronauts to augment the Mercury Seven. After some thought, he decided to apply for the position. NASA selected him as part of Astronaut Group 2 in September 1962. This selection process brought him into the agency alongside other future commanders. Only two other members from this group commanded their first flights: Frank Borman and Neil Armstrong. The Chief of the Astronaut Office, Deke Slayton, chose Ed White as his pilot because they knew each other well. Both men had attended the University of Michigan and test pilot school together.

• 3. The Gemini Four Challenge

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  Gemini 4 launched on the 3rd of June 1965, lasting 97 hours and 56 minutes. It completed 62 orbits around Earth. The mission objectives were initially ill-defined but included extravehicular activity. McDivitt pressed hard for EVA to be included in the flight plan. NASA management agreed to ensure the space suit could support such an operation. Kenneth S. Kleinknecht told a July 1964 press conference that one crew member might open the hatch and stick his head outside. This attracted little attention at the time. On the 18th of March 1965, cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first man to perform an EVA on Voskhod 2. EVA approval for Gemini 4 did not come until May 25 from NASA administrator James E. Webb. The first objective was attempting the first space rendezvous with the spent Titan II upper stage. McDivitt failed to get closer than he estimated to be several hundred feet away. Depth-perception problems plagued the attempt. Visual estimates of distance differed between him and White. Orbital mechanics were poorly understood by engineers or astronauts. Catching up required slowing down rather than speeding up. The stage vented remaining propellant, pushing it in different directions. McDivitt broke off the attempt to save propellant for the second objective. He controlled the capsule's attitude while photographing White during the walk. The hatch mechanism proved difficult to operate due to unmeshed gears. McDivitt improvised a technique before the flight involving inserting fingers inside the mechanism. He managed to force the gears to mesh both times with hands inside pressurized gloves.

• 4. Testing The Lunar Module

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  Apollo 9 lifted off on the 3rd of March 1969, as a ten-day Earth orbital test mission. McDivitt named their Lunar Module Spider and the command module Gumdrop. The crew separated the CSM from the S-IVB upper stage. They turned around to dock with the LM at the end of the rocket. Scott successfully docked the CSM using the probe-and-drogue assembly. McDivitt and Schweickart inspected the tunnel connecting the two spacecraft. They demonstrated that two docked spacecraft could be maneuvered with one engine. The Service Propulsion System worked properly. The S-IVB fired again to send itself into solar orbit. The next day, McDivitt and Schweickart entered the LM wearing space suits. This marked the first time astronauts transferred between spacecraft. They tested the LM propulsion systems thoroughly. On the fourth day, Schweickart donned the Primary Life Support System backpack. He exited the LM while Scott opened the CSM door. They took pictures of each other during this event. Scott undocked the next day for McDivitt to fly the LM descent engine. Confidence grew quickly in the reliability of both craft. Finally, he used the ascent engine to dock once more. Apollo 9 splashed down safely after making 151 orbits.

• 5. The Resignation Over Command

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  McDivitt became Manager of Lunar Landing Operations in May 1969. He led a team planning lunar exploration and redesigned spacecraft for the task. In August 1969, he assumed management of the Apollo Spacecraft Program. He served as program manager for missions 12 through 16. He was promoted to brigadier general on the 17th of February 1972. When Gene Cernan received selection to command Apollo 17, McDivitt confronted Chris Kraft over the lack of consultation. He threatened to resign unless Cernan was removed from the role. Kraft consulted with Slayton regarding a January 1971 helicopter accident involving Cernan. Slayton gave an account that did not reveal Cernan had confessed to flying into water. Kraft informed McDivitt that Cernan's selection stood firm. McDivitt resigned from his position but stayed until the end of the Apollo 16 mission. He left NASA and retired from the USAF in June 1972.

• 6. Corporate Leadership After NASA

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  McDivitt took the position of Executive Vice President at Consumers Power Company after leaving government service. This began his post-NASA career in June 1972. He joined Pullman, Inc. in March 1975 as Executive Vice President and director. By October 1975, he became President of the Pullman Standard Division. In January 1981, he moved to Rockwell International as Senior Vice President for Government Operations and International Affairs. He held this role until his retirement in Washington, D.C., in 1995. His work spanned decades of corporate leadership following his spaceflight years. He managed operations across multiple major industrial organizations during this period.

• 7. Honors And Historical Recognition

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  McDivitt received two NASA Distinguished Service Medals and four Air Force Distinguished Flying Crosses. He earned five Air Medals and an Order of Military Merit Chungmu Cordon from South Korea. The Arnold Air Society awarded him their John F. Kennedy Trophy. He received the Sword of Loyola and the Michigan Wolverine Frontiersman Award. The American Academy of Achievement gave him a Golden Plate Award in 1965. The SETP honored him with the Iven C. Kincheloe Award in 1969. He was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor in 2009. The International Air & Space Hall of Fame added him in 2012. The National Aviation Hall of Fame enshrined him in 2014. He received honorary doctorate degrees from the University of Michigan in 1965 and Seton Hall University in 1969. Miami University granted him an Honorary Doctor of Science degree in 1970. Eastern Michigan University awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Law degree in 1975. Ten Gemini astronauts were inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1982. McDivitt joined the second U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame class in 1993.