K
kiwigavin
Guest
When I was a kid I was fascinated by the, then on-going, Apollo programme because of the technology and the whole "gee whizz" thing. This time round, I'm reading all the biogs, auto- or otherwise, fascinated by the men and their motivation. This is going to the first of many "How come he.." threads (I hope) fishing round for discussions on the motivation and internal politics in the 60s astronauts corp. <br /><br />Now I know Deke had a lot to do with selections but:<br /><br />Number 1: How come Stafford, Borman, and especially McDivitt (the 1st non-Original 7 commander) didn't get back in the running for a moon landing? All three of their missions have been described at one time or another as the most important of the whole programme (UK spelling). Surely this would have given them a lot of clout for another shot? Stafford hung around for ASTP but the other two went into Nasa admin. Why? Is it for the same reasons Mike Collins turned down 18(??) - burn out / family?<br /><br />And has anyone read anything by Jim McDivitt? He strikes me as a very under-rated (in public anyway) figure in the program (US spelling).<br /><br />Gentlebeings - the floor is yours...<br /><br />[Part Two will be a discussion of how the "rookies (I hate that term)" got their rides]<br /><br />Gavin