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Author
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Topic: Space shuttle chase plane pilots
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hoorenz
Member Posts: 1034
From: The Netherlands
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 12-02-2006 09:00 AM
   
Does anyone have a complete crewlist of the chase crews for ALT, OFT and early operational Shuttle-missions? Here is some of the data I got:A chase team would consist of 6 people (3 T-38s?) - ALT:
Bobko prime Chase (and alternating Capcom)
Overmyer Prime T-38 Chase Free Flight 1 & 3 - STS-1
Mc Bride (Lead)
Dave Walker - Richard E. Gray
Mullane
Nagel (Back-up) - STS-2
Slayton
Gibson/Sullivan
Covey
Richard E. Gray - STS-3
? Gibson (Lead) ?
Bryan D. O'Connor / Ron McNair
Covey
Richard E. Gray - STS-4
Guy Gardner/Jerry Ross - STS-5 Chase 1
Charlie Justiz
Pete Stanley (Photo)
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heng44
Member Posts: 3416
From: Netherlands
Registered: Nov 2001
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posted 12-02-2006 09:25 AM
- STS-1 STA (weather observation launch):
Ted Mendenhall (JSC)
Joe Engle
(for subsequent flights this was John Young) - STS-1 STA (weather observation landing):
Charlie Hayes (JSC)
Ted Mendenhall (JSC) - STS-1 chase 1:
Jon McBride
Pinky Nelson (made the photos) - STS-1 chase 2 (TV):
Dick Gray (JSC)
Pete Stanley (JSC) - STS-1 chase 1 backup:
Dave Walker
Mike Mullane - STS-1 chase 2 backup:
Robert Walker (JSC)
Bobby Gray (JSC) - STS-2 chase 1:
Hoot Gibson
Kathy Sullivan (made the photos)
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WSTFphoto
Member Posts: 70
From: Las Cruces, NM, USA
Registered: May 2005
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posted 12-04-2006 07:22 PM
In Jerry Ross's JSC Oral History transcripts, he tells about how he and Guy Gardner flew the lead chase T-38 for STS-4 at EAFB. |
Bob M
Member Posts: 1755
From: Atlanta-area, GA USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 12-05-2006 08:07 AM
After the STS-1 landing I sent an STS-1 landing cover to one of the STS-1 chase pilots and it came back signed by nine individuals, but including some that aren't included in Ed's list. Here's how they signed with inscriptions added by them in quotation marks: - Jon McBride "Chase one"
- George Nelson "Chase one"
- Dick Gray "TV Chase"
- Dave Walker "Chase 3"
- Mike Mullane
- Hoot Gibson "Chase 4"
and also signing were:
- Dick Scobee
- Sally Ride
- Shannon Lucid
I've accepted all this time that those nine were in T-38 chase aircraft for the STS-1 Columbia landing at EAFB, but believed that at least one autograph was missing (Pete Stanley?).If these nine names are all correct, then that would indicate that at least five T-38 chase aircraft were involved in the STS-1 landing. |
hoorenz
Member Posts: 1034
From: The Netherlands
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 07-03-2007 02:53 PM
Found this on ALT Free Flight #1 (August 12, 1977) in an article by Bob Overmyer in Space Flight News No.27 (March 1988): Chase pilots of the 6 T-38's (rest of ALT used 5 T-38's) were John Young, Vance Brand, Bob Overmyer/Dick Truly, Bill Dana/Gene Edmonds (NASA photographer), Hank Hartsfield and Dick Laidley (a NASA-JSC staff pilot - his plane was equipped with a tv-camera). The other 4 planes may have had back seaters as well, they are not mentioned in the article. |
hoorenz
Member Posts: 1034
From: The Netherlands
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 12-08-2010 06:59 AM
Found the name of the missing STS-5 Chase Pilot that was the reason I started this thread long ago: Charlie Justiz of NASA's Aircraft Operations Division. He also flew STS-41D Chase, which filmed the landing in IMAX. Justiz also applied for the Astronaut class of 1985. |
Bob M
Member Posts: 1755
From: Atlanta-area, GA USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 12-10-2010 04:00 PM
For those with an interest in autographs, I have shown here my STS-1 cover autographed by the astronaut pilots I listed in my post of four years ago. Five have added what chase aircraft they were on: one, three, four and TV Chase. So it looks like that at least 5 T-38 aircraft were involved in STS-1 landing support.Erik (Hoorenz) mentioned the pilot/crew of Photo Chase 1 on STS-5, Justiz and Stanley, and I have also shown an STS-5 cover autographed by those two. And I also have a cover that was signed by several of the participants in the August 12, 1977 first ALT Enterprise free flight, and in addition to those listed back 4 years ago, Gary Krier signed and added "Chase 3" and Einar Enevoldson signed and added "NASA WX CK." Bob Overmyer signed and added "Chase 1."  |
Jacky1mcc
New Member Posts: 2
From: Friendswood, TX
Registered: Jul 2011
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posted 07-10-2011 11:28 AM
These posts brought back great memories. For STS-1 through STS-4 I worked for the JSC TV contractor and I provided ground support for the T-38 TV chase planes. This was a time that I think about often and will never forget. |
alanh_7
Member Posts: 1252
From: Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 03-17-2012 04:57 PM
I recently took a look at some of the film taken during ALT 1 flight by Haise and Fullerton. Does anyone know who flew the chase aircraft for that flight?Was Engle and Truly one of the crews? It looks like there were three T-38 chase aircraft flying close chase and perhaps another flying from a distance filming. Talk about close chase... Those T-38s were right on the wing. Any help with this is appreciated. Editor's note: Threads merged. |
Bob M
Member Posts: 1755
From: Atlanta-area, GA USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 03-18-2012 09:54 AM
Concerning the question about chase pilots for the first ALT Enterprise free flight, I have a list provided by one of the chase pilots that differs somewhat from Erik's list above from '07. I had a cover signed by three of the chase pilots, Overmyer, Gary Krier and Einar Enevoldsen, and the list they supplied follows: - Chase 1 - Overmyer/Truly
- Chase 2 - Brand/Grau (photo)
- Chase 3 - Krier/Edmonds (photo)
- Chase 4 - Laidley/Stanley (TV Chase)
- Chase 5 - Young/Algranti
Bob Overmyer added "Chase 1," Krier added "Chase 3" and Enevoldsen added "NASA WX CK." |
larry115
New Member Posts: 7
From:
Registered: May 2014
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posted 07-15-2014 10:15 PM
By sheer coincidence I was playing my tape of the air-to-ground comms of ALT-1. The list of chase crews given by the Dryden PAO, Trudy Tiedermann (sp?), was pretty much as you have stated, with the following exceptions: - Chase 2: Vance Brand and Bob Grey
- Chase 4-A: Hank Hartsfield (no back seater given)
The T-38 piloted by Einar Enevoldsen wasn't a true "chase" aircraft. It was referred to various times as the "turbulence aircraft," and "turbulence tech aircraft."In regards to STS-5, somewhere I have a picture of Pete Stanley and Charles Justiz standing together at Dryden the afternoon before the landing. If I find it, I will post it. |
bobslittlebro
Member Posts: 189
From: Douglasville, Ga U.S.A.
Registered: Nov 2009
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posted 07-16-2014 02:14 AM
That STS-1 cover is great Bob. |
p51
Member Posts: 1658
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 07-16-2014 06:16 PM
I assume that if Mullane would have gone up as a chase for STS-1, he'd have been what the USAF refers to as a GIB (Guy In Back)? I know that was his role in the USAF in 'Nam and if I recall, his book mentioned a seriously imperfect attempt to land a T-38 that was never repeated...Were backseaters for escorts tasked with camera duty? What other duties could they have performed? |
cfreeze79
Member Posts: 455
From: Herndon, VA, USA
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 07-17-2014 09:03 PM
Good question...In terms of finding the answer, I can tell you that Dick Gray passed away in the crash of a NASA T-37 at Edwards in 1982... |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3446
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 08-07-2015 10:47 PM
eBay 261991752818 has a document with the printed signatures of the STS-1 chase team: - Jon McBride - Chase One
- George Nelson - Chase One
- Dick Gray - TV One
- Pete Stanley - TV One
- Dick Scobee - Kennedy Backup
- Sally Ride - Kennedy Backup
- Dave Walker - Chase Two
- Mike Mullane - Chase Two
- Hoot Gibson - TV Two
- Bob ? (torn paper) - TV Two
- Steve Nagel - Northrup Backup (recognizable from signature)
- Shannon Lucid - Northrup Backup
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