61 Facts About Deke Slayton

Donald Kent "Deke" Slayton was a United States Air Force pilot, aeronautical engineer, and test pilot who was selected as one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts.

Deke Slayton went on to become NASA's first Chief of the Astronaut Office and Director of Flight Crew Operations, responsible for NASA crew assignments.

Deke Slayton left the Army after World War II, went on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from University of Minnesota in 1949, and later joined the Minnesota Air National Guard after working for Boeing as an aeronautical engineer.

Deke Slayton joined the United States Air Force, and attended the US Air Force Test Pilot School in 1955.

Deke Slayton was scheduled to pilot the second US crewed orbital spaceflight, but was grounded in 1962 by atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm.

Deke Slayton died from a brain tumor on June 13,1993, aged 69.

At the age of five, Deke Slayton was clearing a horse-drawn hay mower when his left ring finger was severed.

Deke Slayton attended a two-room elementary school in Leon, and graduated from Sparta High School in 1942, where he boxed, played trombone, and was active in the Future Farmers of America.

Deke Slayton initially wished to join the US Navy, but joined the US Army Air Forces when it began accepting high school graduates to fly.

Deke Slayton was initially medically delayed because of his severed ring finger, but was deemed able to fly.

Deke Slayton began flight training in Vernon, Texas, where he trained on the Fairchild PT-19, the PT-17 Stearman, and the AT-6 Texan.

Deke Slayton began multi-engine training on the Beechcraft AT-10, Cessna AT-12, and the Curtis AT-9.

Deke Slayton graduated from flight training on April 22,1943, and was assigned to fly on the B-25 Mitchell, his last choice for aircraft.

Deke Slayton moved to Columbia Army Air Base in South Carolina for the three-month-long B-25 Mitchell training.

Immediately upon his return to Columbia Army Air Base to serve as a B-25 instructor, Deke Slayton applied and was accepted to fly the new A-26 Invader bomber aircraft.

Deke Slayton moved to Selfridge Field in Michigan for training, and began preparing for a deployment to the Pacific.

Deke Slayton flew seven combat missions over Japan, and encountered little Japanese resistance.

Deke Slayton flew his final combat mission on August 12, three days after the bombing of Nagasaki and spent two months waiting for his return to the US After the war, Deke Slayton worked as B-25 instructor in Albany, Georgia, and Boca Raton, Florida and separated from the Army in November 1946.

Deke Slayton graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1949, and accepted a job as an engineer with the Boeing Aircraft Corporation at Seattle, Washington.

Deke Slayton transitioned to the Minnesota Air National Guard, after accepting a demotion from captain to second lieutenant, to allow him to fly the A-26 Invader and P-51 Mustang.

Deke Slayton left the Minnesota ANG when he moved to Seattle.

Deke Slayton attempted to join an Air Force Reserve unit in Seattle at the start of the Korean War, but was rejected on the grounds that his inactive reserve status had expired.

Deke Slayton contacted his previous squadron commander in Minnesota and accepted his offer to rejoin his former squadron in February 1951.

Deke Slayton served as a maintenance officer while waiting for his medical clearance and then became a maintenance flight test officer once he had returned to flying status.

In 1952, Deke Slayton transferred to active duty Air Force from the Air National Guard.

Deke Slayton additionally served as an F-86 Sabre pilot and maintenance officer with the 36th Fighter Day Wing at Bitburg Air Base, West Germany.

At the start of his assignment in West Germany, Deke Slayton applied to the US Air Force Test Pilot School, but was rejected on the basis that he had to complete his current three-year assignment.

Deke Slayton reapplied and was accepted in 1955, and joined TPS Class 55C.

Deke Slayton tested the F-101, F-102, F-104, F-105 and F-106.

Deke Slayton was first assigned to the F-102, and tested the Matador and Genie missiles, and later tested the stall-spin characteristics of the F-105.

In January 1959, Deke Slayton was selected as one of the candidates for NASA's Project Mercury, the first US crewed space flight program.

Deke Slayton moved his family from Edwards Air Force Base to a housing development near Fort Eustis, where he was neighbors with fellow Mercury Seven astronauts Gus Grissom and Wally Schirra.

Deke Slayton received further medical evaluation at Brooks Air Force Base and was diagnosed with idiopathic atrial fibrillation, but he was considered healthy enough to continue flying.

Deke Slayton was selected for the second American crewed orbital mission, Mercury-Atlas 7, which he intended to name Delta 7.

On March 15,1962, two months prior to the launch of Delta 7, Deke Slayton was medically disqualified from the flight and replaced on the mission by Scott Carpenter.

NASA leadership determined that Deke Slayton was still at risk for atrial fibrillation and removed his eligibility to fly any of the remaining Mercury missions.

Deke Slayton continued to be responsible for making crew assignments, and determined the astronauts that would fly on the Gemini and Apollo missions.

Deke Slayton created a crew rotation, where a crew would be selected as the backup crew for a mission and would later be the prime crew three missions later.

Deke Slayton was a close friend of fellow astronaut Gus Grissom and had considered working inside the capsule to determine communications problems and would have worked under the footrests, where the fire would later begin.

Deke Slayton oversaw the crew reassignments for the upcoming Apollo missions, as well as the selection for Group 6 and Group 7 astronauts.

Deke Slayton continued to assign the crew for the remaining lunar landings.

Deke Slayton chose to replace Ken Mattingly with Jack Swigert on Apollo 13, after concerns arose that Mattingly could develop measles during the mission.

Deke Slayton supported keeping Joe Engle as the lunar module pilot on Apollo 17, but was pressured by NASA management to replace him with Jack Schmitt, a scientist-astronaut.

On March 13,1972, NASA announced that Deke Slayton had returned to flight status.

Deke Slayton remained in a managerial role throughout the Skylab program, and resigned as Director of Flight Crew Operations in February 1974 in preparation for his upcoming flight.

Deke Slayton was 51 years old, making him the oldest astronaut to fly in space at the time.

The ALT program ended in late 1977 and Deke Slayton agreed to manage the Space Shuttle's Orbital Flight Tests.

Deke Slayton officially retired in 1980, but continued to serve in an advisory role for STS-1, and flew a T-38 chase plane during the landing of STS-2.

Deke Slayton formally left NASA on February 27,1982, and had flown 7,164 hours.

Deke Slayton served as mission director for a rocket called the Conestoga, which was successfully launched on September 9,1982, and was the world's first privately funded rocket to reach space.

Deke Slayton became interested in aviation racing, and was President of International Formula One Pylon Air Racing and Director of Columbia Astronautics.

Deke Slayton served on the Department of Transportation's Commercial Space Advisory Committee.

Deke Slayton co-wrote the 1994 book Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon with fellow astronaut Alan Shepard.

Deke Slayton married Marjorie "Marge" Lunney on May 18,1955, and they had one son, Kent Sherman, born April 8,1957.

Deke Slayton married Bobbie Belle Jones, who worked at NASA, in October 1983, and they remained married until his death.

When Deke Slayton was a test pilot, one of his pilot colleagues was named Don.

In 1992, Deke Slayton was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

Deke Slayton received the Society of Experimental Test Pilots James H Doolittle Award in 1972 and the SETP Iven C Kincheloe Award.

Deke Slayton was a fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and the American Astronautical Society, as well as an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Deke Slayton was a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association, the Space Pioneers, the Confederate Air Force, the Order of Daedalians, the National Rifle Association of America, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

In nearby La Crosse, Wisconsin, an annual summer aircraft air show, the Deke Slayton Airfest, has been held in his honor, featuring modern and vintage military and civilian aircraft, along with NASA speakers.