Russell Schweickart

American astronaut Rusty Schweikart was born in Neptune Township, New Jersey. A graduate of Manasquan High School, he attended the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and earned a B.S. in Aeronautics in 1956 and an M.S. in Astronautics in 1963. He enlisted in the US Air Force as a pilot with the 101st Tactical Fighter Wing, racking up more than 4000 hours of flight time. He applied for the NASA astronaut program and was accepted in October of 1963. On March 21, 1966, he was chosen as back-up pilot, for Roger B. Chaffee, on the Apollo 1 mission. In December of that year that crew was chosen to fly the fist manned Earth orbital test of the Apollo Lunar Module, and Schweikart was assigned as Lunar Module Pilot. The Apollo 1 mission was launched in March of 1969. Schweikart was the first to perform an Extravehicular Activity (EVA) in the entire Apollo program, in which he tested the Portable Life Support System that was later used by the astronauts who walked on the mo