Stuart Roosa

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American military Colonel and an astronaut with NASA Intelligence. A crewman on the Apollo space mission that launched on 1/31/1971, Roosa piloted the command module while his fellow astronauts, Edgar D. Mitchell and Alan B. Shepard, Jr., explored the moon’s surface. The son of Mr. and Mrs. Dewey Roosa, he attended Claremore High School in Oklahoma. After graduation, he went to Oklahoma State University and the University of Arizona where he studied engineering. Roosa joined the Air Force in 1953 and served as a fighter pilot. In 1960, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in aeronautical engineering from the University of Colorado. He attended Aerospace Research Pilot School in 1965 and became a test pilot based at Edwards Air Force Base, California, where he stayed until his selection by NASA in April 1966. Although Roosa only made one space flight, he served NASA in other capacities until February 1976 when he retired from both NASA and the Air Force and became an executive in the private sector. He was the recipient of numerous honors and awards during his career including the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, 1970, the Johnson Space Center Superior Achievement Award, 1970, and the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, 1971. Roosa was married to the former Joan C. Barrett; they had four children, Christopher A. (6/29/1959), John D. (1/02/1961), Stuart Allen, Jr. (3/12/1962) and Rosemary D. (7/23/1963). He enjoyed outdoor activities including hunting, golf, boating and fishing and loved country and western music. He suffered from pancreatitis and died from complications of the disease on 12/12/1994, Falls Church, Virginia. Link to Wikipedia biography