Apollo Astronaut, Skylab

Gerald P. (“Jerry”) Carr (1932 - 2020) was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served as a member of the astronaut support crews and as CAPCOM for the Apollo 8 and 12 flights and was involved in the development and testing of the lunar roving vehicle which was used on the lunar surface by Apollo flight crews.

Carr was commander of Skylab 4 (third and final manned visit to the Skylab Orbital Workshop) launched November 16, 1973, and concluded February 8, 1974. This was the longest manned flight (84 days, 1 hour, 15minutes) in the history of manned space exploration to date. He was accompanied on the record-setting 34.5-million-mile flight by Dr. Edward G. Gibson (science pilot) and William R. Pogue (pilot). The crew successfully completed 56 experiments, 26 science demonstrations, 15 subsystem-detailed objectives, and 13 student investigations during their 1,214 revolutions of the earth. They also acquired extensive earth resources observation data using hand-held cameras and Skylab's Earth Resources Experiment Package camera and sensor array. They logged 338 hours of operations of the Apollo Telescope Mount, which made extensive observations of the sun's solar processes.

From February 1974 until March 1978, Colonel Carr and his Skylab 4 teammates shared the world record for individual time in space: 2,017 hours 15 minutes 32 seconds, and Carr logged 15 hours and 48 minutes in three EVAs outside the Orbital Workshop.

In mid-1977 Carr was named head of the design support group, within the astronaut office, responsible for providing crew support to such activities as space transportation system design, simulations, testing, and safety assessment, and for development of man/machine interface requirements.

Carr was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1997.

Images: (l-r): Astronaut Gerald Carr, 1970; Carr and Lousma testing the lunar rover, Pismo Beach, CA; Pencil sketch of the Comet Kohoutek made by Skylab-4 astronaut Edward Gibson on December 29, 1973; Marine Corps aviator, Jerry Carr, Photo credit: Family of Jerry Carr; Jerry Carr’s F-6 Skyray made a perfect, two-wheel touchdown on an aircraft carrier; After Skylab, Jerry Carr supported design of the Space Shuttle’s cockpit design, emphasizing human factors.

Jerry Carr, Astronaut

by Jerry Carr

TRANSCRIPTION

Click on the links below for Lesson Plans, Project Ideas, and Additional Resources.

NASA INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION LEARNING, ACHIEVING, BELIEVING, AND SUCCEEDING (L.A.B.S.) EDUCATORS GUIDE

The ISS Learning, Achieving, Believing, and Succeeding (L.A.B.S.) Educator‘s Resource Guide consists of eight (8) guided educational learning activities. The activities provide detailed targeted skill sets, workshop instructions, listings of materials needed to complete activities, and other useful background information.

TARGET AUDIENCE includes 5th – 8th graders who are the future generation of scientists, engineers, technologists, and mission support personnel.

Build Your Own Lunar Module / NASA
(Beginning on page 67)

As discussed in Track 03, Astronaut Training, Jerry Carr was involved in the engineering and testing of Lunar Module 6 (LM-6). In this lesson, students will work in teams to design and build a model of a Lunar Buggy that will carry equipment and astronauts on the surface of the Moon and determine the best slope of ramp for the rover to travel the farthest distance.

Grades: Middle School
Science, Technology

LINKS OF INTEREST

TedED: Jerry Carr’s Life of an Astronaut

Two Years Later: Changes in Scott Kelly’s DNA after a Year in Space

LESSON PLANS

NASA Teacher Toolkits focus on research and activities related to the space station.

Apollo 11_Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

On July 20, 1969, humans walked on the Moon for the first time.
Look back at the legacy of our first small steps on the Moon and look forward to the next giant leap.

Return to All Space & Flight Scientists >

0:12

01. Intro to Recording

Jerry Carr
9:23

02. The Early Years

Jerry Carr
4:17

03 Astronaut Training

Jerry Carr
11:41

04. Capsule Communicator

Jerry Carr
8:21

05. Skylab

Jerry Carr
4:54

06. Duties After Skylab

Jerry Carr
7:18

07. A Return To Engineering

Jerry Carr
10:09

Life After NASA

Jerry Carr