Editing Donn F. Eisele

{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
{{Short description|American astronaut (1930–1987)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox astronaut
| name = Donn Eisele
| image = Eisele donn.jpg
| caption = Eisele in 1964
| birth_name = Donn Fulton Eisele
| birth_place = [[Columbus, Ohio]], U.S.
| birth_date = {{birth date|1930|6|23}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1987|12|1|1930|6|23}}
| death_place = [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]]
| spouse = {{marriage|Harriet Hamilton|1952|1969|reason=divorced}}<br />{{marriage|Susan Harter|1969}}
| children = 6
| education = [[United States Naval Academy]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])<br>[[Air University (United States Air Force)|Air University]] ([[Master of Science|MS]])
| awards = [[Distinguished Flying Cross (USA)|Distinguished Flying Cross]]<br>[[NASA Exceptional Service Medal]]<br>[[American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics|AIAA]] Haley Astronautics Award<br>[[National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences]] Special Trustees Award<br>[[NASA Distinguished Service Medal]] (posthumously)
| restingplace = [[Arlington National Cemetery]]
| type = [[NASA astronaut]]
| rank = [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]], [[United States Air Force|USAF]]
| time = 10d 20h 8m
| selection = [[NASA Astronaut Group 3|NASA Group 3 (1963)]]
| mission = [[Apollo 7]]
| insignia = [[File:AP7lucky7.png|40px]]
| retirement = June 1, 1970
}}
'''Donn Fulton Eisele''' (June 23, 1930 &ndash; December 1, 1987) ([[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] [[United States Air Force|USAF]]) was a [[United States Air Force|United States Air Force officer]], [[test pilot]], and later a [[List of astronauts by selection#1963|NASA astronaut]]. He served as [[command module pilot]] for the [[Apollo 7]] mission in 1968. After retiring from both NASA and the Air Force in 1972, he became the [[Peace Corps]] country director for [[Thailand]], before moving into private business.

==Biography==
===Early life and education===
Eisele was born June 23, 1930, in [[Columbus, Ohio]], to Herman Eugene Eisele (1899–1964) and Lee Ila June Eisele ({{nee}} Davisson; 1900–1964).<ref>{{cite news|title=89 years ago today: Birth of Donn Eisele, Columbus' forgotten astronaut|first=Michael |last=Meckler|url=https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/technology/2019/06/23/89-years-ago-today-birth/4845194007/|date=June 23, 2019|publisher=The Columbus Dispatch|access-date=January 29, 2023}}</ref> He graduated from [[West High School (Columbus, Ohio)|West High School]] in 1948.<ref name="Astronaut Bio: Donn F. Eisele" /> He was an active [[Boy Scouts of America|Boy Scout]] and earned the rank of [[Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)|Еagle Scout]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/740566main_current.pdf |title=Information Summaries Astronaut Fact Book |publisher=NASA |access-date=December 5, 2017 }}</ref> He received a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree from the [[United States Naval Academy]] in [[Annapolis, Maryland]], in 1952,<ref name="Astronaut Bio: Donn F. Eisele">{{Cite web|title = Astronaut Bio: Donn F. Eisele|url = https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/eisele_donn.pdf |website = NASA |access-date = January 21, 2021 |date=December 1987}}</ref> and chose a commission in the [[United States Air Force]]. He received a [[Master of Science]] degree in [[Astronautics]] from the U.S. [[Air Force Institute of Technology]] (AFIT), [[Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio]], in 1960.<ref name="nmmuseum">{{cite web|url=http://www.nmspacemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.php?id=76|title=Command Module pilot on Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo flight|publisher=New Mexico Museum of Space History|access-date=December 4, 2017}}</ref>

===Flight experience===
Following his commission, Eisele was sent to flight training. He was trained at [[Goodfellow Air Force Base]], [[Texas]], [[Williams Air Force Base]], [[Arizona]], and [[Tyndall Air Force Base]], [[Florida]]. After receiving his [[U.S. Air Force aeronautical rating|pilot wings]] in 1954, Eisele served four years as an interceptor pilot in [[South Dakota]] and in [[Libya]] until 1958.<ref>{{cite book|title=In the Shadow of the Moon, A Challenging Journey to Tranquility, 1965-1969
|first1=Francis |last1=French|first2=Colin |last2=Burgess|date=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y_16I8NzSjEC|access-date=January 29, 2023|page=194|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=9780803209848 }}</ref> He attended and graduated from the [[U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School|U.S. Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School]] (Class 62A) at [[Edwards Air Force Base]], [[California]], in 1962; his classmates included [[Charles Bassett]] and [[Theodore Freeman]]. Eisele was a project engineer and experimental [[test pilot]] at the [[Air Force Special Weapons Center]] at [[Kirtland Air Force Base]], [[New Mexico]]. He flew experimental test flights in support of special weapons development programs.<ref>{{cite book |title=Apollo Pilot: The Memoir of Astronaut Donn Eisele |first1=Donn |last1=Eisele |first2=Francis |last2=French |first3=Susie Eisele |last3=Black |first4=Amy Shira |last4=Teitel |location=Lincoln |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |year=2017 |pages=7–12 |isbn=978-0-8032-6283-6 |oclc=946906316 }}</ref> He logged more than 4,200 hours flying time, 3,600 of which were in [[jet aircraft]].<ref name="Astronaut Bio: Donn F. Eisele"/>

===NASA career===
{{Main|Apollo 7}}
[[File:Donn F. Eisele 68P-419-m.jpg|thumb|left|Eisele prior to launching of Apollo 7]]
[[File:The Apollo 7 Prime Crew - GPN-2000-001160.jpg|thumb|The Apollo 7 crew: Eisele (l.), [[Wally Schirra]] (c.), and [[Walter Cunningham]] (r.)]]
[[File:Barbara Eden and Bob Hope NASA.jpg|thumb|[[Barbara Eden]], [[Bob Hope]], the Apollo 7 astronauts, and [[Paul Haney]] (voice of Mission Control) on ''The Bob Hope Show'' (November 6, 1968)]]

Eisele was part of [[NASA Astronaut Group 3|NASA's third group of astronauts]], selected in October 1963. In early 1966, Eisele was quietly selected as pilot for the [[Apollo 1]] crew, along with Command Pilot [[Gus Grissom|Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom]] and Senior Pilot [[Ed White (astronaut)|Ed White]]. But after dislocating his shoulder twice during training in January 1966, Eisele was replaced by [[Roger B. Chaffee]]. After corrective surgery on January 27, Eisele was named to the crew for the second crewed Apollo flight, with Command Pilot [[Wally Schirra|Walter "Wally" Schirra]] and Pilot [[Walter Cunningham]]. At this time, Eisele was promoted to the Senior Pilot position.<ref>{{cite web
| last1 = Teitel
 | first1 = Amy Shira
 | title = How Donn Eisele Became "Whatshisname," the Command Module Pilot of Apollo 7
 | website = Popular Science
 | date = December 4, 2013
| access-date = June 22, 2016
 | url = http://www.popsci.com/blog-network/vintage-space/how-donn-eisele-became-whatshisname-command-module-pilot-apollo-7
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170223150744/http://www.popsci.com/blog-network/vintage-space/how-donn-eisele-became-whatshisname-command-module-pilot-apollo-7   
 | archive-date = February 23, 2017
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83118main_1966.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225161708/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83118main_1966.pdf |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |title=Eisele to have Operation on Left Shoulder |publisher=NASA }}</ref>

In December 1966, Apollo 2 was canceled on the grounds that it would be an unnecessary repeat of Apollo 1, and Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham became the backups to Grissom's crew. But after Grissom, White, and Chaffee were killed in the Apollo 1 spacecraft fire of January 27, 1967, Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham were named to fly the first crewed Apollo mission instead. It would ultimately be called [[Apollo 7]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/app-b.html|title=Chariots for Apollo, Appendix B|website=www.hq.nasa.gov|access-date=June 29, 2018}}</ref>

As the launch date approached, Eisele's participation was at risk; he was having an [[Affair#Extramarital affair|extramarital affair]] with a woman who would later become his second wife.<ref name="collect" /> Astronaut Office Chief [[Deke Slayton]] had warned the crew that they were all "expendable", and that any extramarital affairs must not become public.<ref name="collect">{{cite web | title= 'I worked with NASA, not for NASA': An interview with astronaut Walter "Wally" Schirra| url= http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-022202d.html |page= 4 (of 5) |date= February 22, 2002| first= Francis |last= French| work= [[collectSPACE]] | access-date=May 1, 2012}}</ref>

Eisele remained on the crew, and on October 11, 1968, Apollo 7 was launched on an 11-day mission—the [[List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types|first crewed flight test of the third generation]] United States spacecraft. By this time, the Senior Pilot title was changed to [[Command Module Pilot]]. Together with spacecraft commander Schirra and [[Lunar Module Pilot]] Cunningham, Eisele performed simulated [[Transposition, docking, and extraction|transposition and docking]] maneuvers with the upper stage of their [[Saturn IB]] launch vehicle, and acted as navigator, taking star sightings and aligning the spacecraft's guidance and navigation platform. The crew completed eight successful test firing maneuvers of the service module's propulsion engine. They also tested the performance of all spacecraft systems and broadcast the first live televised coverage of crew activities.<ref name="nmmuseum" />

Apollo 7 was placed in a [[geocentric orbit]] with an [[apogee]] of {{convert|153.5|nmi|km mi}} and [[perigee]] of {{convert|122.6|nmi|km mi}}.<ref name="Astronaut Bio: Donn F. Eisele"/> The 260-hour, 4.5 million mile (7.25 Gm; 7.25 million km) shakedown flight was successfully concluded on October 22, 1968, with splashdown occurring in the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]], 8&nbsp;miles (15&nbsp;km) from the carrier [[USS Essex (CV-9)|USS ''Essex'']] and only {{convert|0.3|mi|km m}} from the predicted target.<ref name="Astronaut Bio: Donn F. Eisele"/> Eisele logged 260 hours in space.<ref name="Astronaut Bio: Donn F. Eisele"/>

Eisele served as backup Command Module Pilot for the 1969 [[Apollo 10]] flight.<ref name="nmmuseum" /> Eisele resigned from the Astronaut Office in 1970 and became technical assistant for crewed spaceflight at the NASA [[Langley Research Center]], a position he occupied until retiring from both NASA and the Air Force in 1972.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1987/12/03/apollo-astronaut-donn-fulton-eisele-dies-at-age-57/9455c819-ee4d-4815-b3e2-4b0f3f9fdd48/|title=Apollo Astronaut Donn Fulton Eisele Dies at Age 57|newspaper=Washington Post|date=December 3, 1987|access-date=December 4, 2017}}</ref>

===Post-NASA career===
In July 1972, Eisele became Country Director of the U.S. [[Peace Corps]] in [[Thailand]]. Returning from Thailand two years later, he became Sales Manager for [[Marion Power Shovel Company|Marion Power Shovel]], a division of [[Dresser Industries]].<ref name="Astronaut Bio: Donn F. Eisele"/> Eisele then handled private and corporate accounts for the investment firm of [[Oppenheimer & Company]].<ref name="Astronaut Bio: Donn F. Eisele"/>

In 1980, Eisele moved to Wilton Manors, Florida. In 1981, Eisele was appointed to a vacant seat on the [[Wilton Manors]] City Commission, and served in that political office for roughly one year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1987-12-04/news/8702090363_1_donn-f-eisele-memorial-service-apollo|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007042533/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1987-12-04/news/8702090363_1_donn-f-eisele-memorial-service-apollo|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 7, 2012|title=Services Set For Astronaut Donn Eisele|date=December 4, 1987|publisher=Sun Sentinel|access-date=November 20, 2017}}</ref>  After Eisele's death, the City of Wilton Manors named Donn Eisele Park in his memory.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wiltonmanors.com/158/Donn-Eisele-Park|title=Donn Eisele Park|publisher=Wilton Manors|access-date=November 20, 2017}}</ref>

Eisele was a guide in the 1986 [[Concorde]] [[Halley's Comet#1986|Comet]] Chase flights out of [[Miami]] and [[New York City]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-03-16/news/8601160604_1_air-france-concorde-british-airways-concorde-two-concorde|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205194716/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-03-16/news/8601160604_1_air-france-concorde-british-airways-concorde-two-concorde|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 5, 2017|title=Comet Chasers Line Up For Look At Halley's Aboard Concorde|publisher=Sun Sentinel|date=March 16, 1986|last1=Maurer|first1=Yolanda|access-date=December 4, 2017}}</ref>

===Death===
[[File:Col. Donn F. Eisele (18976251869).jpg|thumb|Grave of Donn Eisele at [[Arlington National Cemetery]]]]
In 1987, at the age of 57, Eisele died of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] while on a business trip to [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]], where he was to attend the opening of a new Space Camp patterned on the one at the [[U.S. Space & Rocket Center]] in [[Huntsville, Alabama]]. Eisele was cremated in Japan, and his ashes were buried in [[Arlington National Cemetery]] with [[Military funeral|full military honors]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/dfeisele.htm |title=Donn F. Eisele Colonel, United States Air Force |website=Arlington National Cemetery |access-date=June 21, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/03/obituaries/donn-f-eisele-57-one-of-3-crewmen-on-apollo-7-mission.html|title=Donn F. Eisele, 57; One of 3 Crewmen On Apollo 7 Mission|newspaper=New York Times|last1=McQuiston|first1=John|date=December 3, 1987|access-date=December 4, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-04-mn-17477-story.html|title=Astronaut Eisele to Be Buried at Arlington|date=December 4, 1987|access-date=December 4, 2017|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

==Organizations==
Eisele was an [[Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)|Eagle Scout]], a member of [[Tau Beta Pi]], and a [[Freemason]], belonging to Luther B. Turner Lodge # 732 in Columbus, Ohio.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/masonicmuseum/americas_astronauts_fdcs.htm|title="America's Astronauts" - Masonic First Day Covers|website=The Phoenixmasonry Masonic Museum and Library|access-date=June 21, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Astronaut Bio: Donn F. Eisele"/>

==Awards and honors==
Among the honors he received during his career were the [[NASA Exceptional Service Medal]], the Air Force Senior Pilot [[Astronaut badge#U.S. Air Force astronauts|Astronaut Wings]], and the Air Force [[Distinguished Flying Cross (USA)|Distinguished Flying Cross]]. He was a co-recipient of the [[AIAA]] 1969 Haley Astronautics Award and was presented the [[National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences]] Special Trustees Award in 1969.<ref name="Astronaut Bio: Donn F. Eisele"/>

Eisele was a part of a group of Apollo astronauts to be inducted into the [[International Space Hall of Fame]] in 1983.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29964158/el_paso_times/|title=Space Hall Inducts 14 Apollo Program Astronauts|last1=Sheppard|first1=David|newspaper=El Paso Times|location=El Paso, Texas|date=October 2, 1983|page=18|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> He was one of 24 Apollo astronauts who were inducted into the [[U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame]] in 1997.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28283877/florida_today/|title=Ceremony to Honor Astronauts|newspaper=Florida Today|location=Cocoa, Florida|page=2B|date=October 2, 1997|last1=Meyer|first1=Marilyn|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In 2008, NASA posthumously awarded Eisele the [[NASA Distinguished Service Medal]] for his Apollo 7 mission.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-102008a.html
|title=First Apollo flight crew last to be honored
|publisher= [[collectSPACE]]
|access-date=October 20, 2008}}</ref>

==Legacy==
A family-approved account of Donn Eisele's life appears in the 2007 book ''[[In the Shadow of the Moon (book)|In the Shadow of the Moon]]''. Eisele's posthumously discovered memoir ''Apollo Pilot'' was published by [[University of Nebraska Press]] in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/,677299.aspx|title=Outward Odyssey: A People's History of Spaceflight Series|access-date=June 22, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610024250/http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/,677299.aspx|archive-date=June 10, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/science/sd-me-astronaut-eisele-20170118-story.html|title=The guts and glory of forgotten astronaut Donn Eisele|first=Gary|last=Robbins|date=January 19, 2017}}</ref>

In the 1998 [[HBO]] miniseries ''[[From the Earth to the Moon (miniseries)|From the Earth to the Moon]]'', [[List of From the Earth to the Moon cast members#Astronauts|Eisele was portrayed]] by John Mese.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120570/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast|title=From the Earth to the Moon, Full Cast and Crew|website=IMDb|access-date=December 4, 2017}}</ref> In the final three episodes of the 2015 [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] television series ''[[The Astronaut Wives Club]]'', Eisele was portrayed by Ryan Doom.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3530726/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast|title=The Astronaut Wives, Full Cast and Crew|website=IMDb|access-date=December 4, 2017}}</ref>

Susan Eisele Black donated a sample of a [[Moon rock]] to Broward County Main Library on behalf of her late husband, on October 23, 2007. [[Broward County Library]], located in [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]], is the only library in the United States to have a lunar rock on display. The precious Moon rock is typically exhibited at science museums and schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.broward.org/library/pdfs/newsrlse_moonrock100907.pdf|title=First Library in America to Receive a Moon Rock for Public Display 
|website=Broward County Commission|date=October 9, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516223122/http://www.broward.org/library/pdfs/newsrlse_moonrock100907.pdf |archive-date=May 16, 2008|url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of Eagle Scouts]]
*[[The Astronaut Monument]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20161228022035/http://astronautix.com/e/eisele.html Astronautix biography of Donn F. Eisele]
*[http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/eisele_donn.htm Spacefacts biography of Donn F. Eisele]
*[http://www.spaceacts.com/STARSHIP/seh/eisele.htm Eisele at Spaceacts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032931/http://www.spaceacts.com/STARSHIP/seh/eisele.htm |date=March 4, 2016 }}
*[http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/E/Eisele.html Eisele at Encyclopedia of Science]

{{NASA Astronaut Group 3}}
{{U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Aviation|Spaceflight|Ohio|United States}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisele, Donn F.}}
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:1987 deaths]]
[[Category:1968 in spaceflight]]
[[Category:Apollo 1]]
[[Category:Apollo 7]]
[[Category:Air Force Institute of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:American test pilots]]
[[Category:Apollo program astronauts]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:People from Wilton Manors, Florida]]
[[Category:Florida city council members]]
[[Category:Aviators from Ohio]]
[[Category:American Freemasons]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Columbus, Ohio]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Ohio]]
[[Category:Emmy Award winners]]
[[Category:Peace Corps people]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal]]
[[Category:United States Air Force officers]]
[[Category:United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]]
[[Category:U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni]]
[[Category:United States Air Force astronauts]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American politicians]]