Posted 10/05/2004 09:16:00 PM by Douglas

I can only imagine that the first few minutes after death must be terribly disappointing to an astronaut like Gordon Cooper. "Hey, God. . . uh. . . I've seen this part already. Lets skip to the good stuff after the next Rev."

Gordon Cooper Jr., one of the original seven astronauts who became national celebrities during the Cold War space race, died Monday at his home in Ventura, Calif. He was 77.

Cooper, who piloted the last flight of NASA's Mercury program and later set a space endurance record during a Gemini mission, died of natural causes, said a spokesman for the Ventura County medical examiner.

NASA leaders described 'Gordo' Cooper as a space program pioneer whose achievements inspired others to continue to explore the universe. But Cooper's reputation for being brash overshadowed a man who Schirra called sincere and hard working.

His death leaves just three living Mercury astronauts: Schirra, John Glenn and Scott Carpenter.

Chris Kraft, a former Johnson Space Center flight director during the Mercury missions, described Cooper as brash and someone who "showed up on the scene ready to take on the world."

Well, in a word, 'duh'. What else could you say about these guys that hasn't already been said? Not too many people get the opportunity to do something no other human being has ever attempted, and whatever you think about the Cold War and its part that spawned the Space Race of the 60s, the actions of these men count for something. Someone had to sit on top of that rocket and hope that the "lowest bidder" was good enough.

One of my favourite scenes from The Right Stuff was Cooper's flight, the last flight in Project Mercury. After getting sealed into a can on top of a kazillion pounds of rocket fuel before the launch, what does he do? He takes a nap.

Makes me want to throw up at how easily the term hero is so casually tossed around these days.

God Speed, Gordo.
Rest in Peace.