A Conversation with Astronaut Jerry Carr
To listen to the full 56:00 minute recording, click on the links below.
Colonel Carr was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served as a member of the astronaut support crews and as CAPCOM for the Apollo 8 and 12 flights, and was involved in the development and testing of the lunar roving vehicle which was used on the lunar surface by Apollo flight crews.
Carr was commander of Skylab 4 (third and final manned visit to the Skylab Orbital Workshop) launched November 16, 1973, and concluded February 8, 1974. This was the longest manned flight (84 days, 1 hour, 15minutes) in the history of manned space exploration to date. He was accompanied on the record-setting 34.5-million-mile flight by Dr. Edward G. Gibson (science pilot) and William R. Pogue (pilot). The crew successfully completed 56 experiments, 26 science demonstrations, 15 subsystem-detailed objectives, and 13 student investigations during their 1,214 revolutions of the earth. They also acquired extensive earth resources observation data using hand-held cameras and Skylab’s Earth Resources Experiment Package camera and sensor array. They logged 338 hours of operations of the Apollo Telescope Mount, which made extensive observations of the sun’s solar processes.
From February 1974 until March 1978, Colonel Carr and his Skylab 4 teammates shared the world record for individual time in space: 2,017 hours 15 minutes 32 seconds, and Carr logged 15 hours and 48 minutes in three EVAs outside the Orbital Workshop.
In mid-1977 Carr was named head of the design support group, within the astronaut office, responsible for providing crew support to such activities as space transportation system design, simulations, testing, and safety assessment, and for development of man/machine interface requirements.
Carr was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1997.
SPI is making audio available to TED-Ed to create animated Lessons Worth Sharing.
The first to roll off the production line is Jerry Carr’s Life of an Astronaut, in which Jerry talks about astronaut training and his life during the Apollo years. This short, animated educational video was created for students and teachers. The animation is by Academy-award nominated animator Sharon Colman.
To view, link to: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/life-of-an-astronaut-jerry-carr
Pictured: Astronauts Gerald Carr, Donald Slayton, Neil Armstrong (seated left to right), and Harrison Schmitt and Edwin Aldrin (standing) compare mosaics of Lunar Orbiter photographs with scenes televised from the moon to Mission Control by Apollo 8 crewmen.
Listen to Jerry talk about his NASA experience. Run Time: 56:00
Jerry Carr_Becoming an Astronaut_Track 02
Jerry Carr_Designing the Lunar Module_Track 03
Jerry Carr_Capsule Communicator_Track 04
Jerry Carr_Commander of SkyLab_Track 05
Jerry Carr_Space Shuttle Design_Track 06
Jerry Carr_The Earth from Space_Track 08
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