Major Donn Eisele

[Music] the first mission of Apollo the first of a series that leads to exploration of the Moon three men three men to ring out this new spacecraft for the first time in the left seat space CFT Commander Walter [Music] Shira in the right seat Walter [Music] Cunningham and in the middle a young man from Columbus Ohio major Don isy the quiet reserved man in the center couch seems natural here contrasted with the outgoing exuberance of his teammates a relaxed pilot they call him confident confident in his own ability and in the ability of his teammates but the road to becoming an astronaut is neither short nor easy for Don Eisley it began with his graduation from Annapolis in 1952 when he chose a flying career in the Air Force he became a project officer and test pilot for experimental Jets and it was as a test pilot he was selected for the astronaut program 12 years later in 1964 he came on board with a third contingent of astronauts the same group as his fellow crew member Walt [Music] Cunningham long used to the travels of a military career he moved his wife and family to the quiet community of Elo Texas it's a perfect place for him to do the fishing and camping he enjoys and it's just a few minutes from his office at the man spacecraft Center but even an experienced test pilot like Don Eisley who also holds a master's degree in astronautics had a lot to [Music] learn he and the other astronauts in his group began their intensive General training [Music] program in the classroom in [Music] simulators on trips to other centers and there was training in the field for here he learned not only to work in the new realm of space but gathered the basic knowledge necessary to explore new worlds on special training flights he learned what it was like to live beyond the pull of gravity if it was on just such a flight as this that Don Eisley dislocated his shoulder however surgery was successful and he was back on flight [Music] status at the end of his General training period isley's specialty as an astronaut was the Apollo flight control system he worked with engineers in this area for 7 months his next assignment was as astronaut liaison pilot for the module the vehicle in which two astronauts will land on the [Music] moon he participated in all key tests and reviews representing the astronauts in all aspects of design and [Music] modification then came the assignment for which Above All Else he had been trained Don eisy with Wally sharah and Walt Cunningham was assigned to the prime crew for the Apollo Saturn [Music] 205 thrust into the spotlight of national interest he ran into a problem the inability of many of the press to pronounce his name Isel easel Isel they called him and he took a good ribbing from his crewmates about [Music] it but even as they train for their mission a change in the program R canceled their flight and placed them as a backup crew for the first man Apollo flight following the fire that claimed the lives of the Prime crew sherah isy and Cunningham were once more ready to go the first men to fly Apollo as always Don Eisley meets the situation as a calm reliable professional for this is his way an engineer a pilot a quiet man major Don Eisley United States astronaut [Music]