Learning Center Our Enshrinees

Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr.

• Among the selectees of “Project Gemini” in 1962.
• Pilot of Gemini 5 in 1965, which made 120 orbits around the earth and set an endurance record of 191 hours in space, ultimately proving humans could stay in space long enough to make it to the moon.
• Commanded Gemini 11 in 1966 which caught and linked up with an Agena satellite, using the Agena engine to rocket to a then-record altitude of 850 miles.
• Commanded Apollo 12 in November 1969 where he was the third person to walk on the moon and also received the dubious honor of being the first man to fall upon the moon.
• Commanded Skylab 2. When they were finally able to dock, Conrad and his crew activated the workshop and used the array of telescopes to observe solar flares and the earth and transmit their pictures to earth, marking a new era in astronomy. They also worked with molten metals and conducted medical experiments.
• Made four space flights, and spent nearly 1200 hours in space, of which almost 32 were on the moon.
• Served as consultant for the Hubble Space Telescope.