Moonwalk

Despite AbbeyБЂ™s БЂњforget itБЂ«comment, I couldnБЂ™t believe my reputation hadnБЂ™t been damaged. Young had been my tor-mentor, and my joy at his departure was unalloyed. ThatБЂ™s not to say I couldnБЂ™t admire the man for his achievements in the cockpit. He had flown in space six times, including a moonwalk mission and the first space shuttle mission. The latter had probably been the most dangerous mission ever flown by any astronaut. While many of us questioned JohnБЂ™s leadership abilities, no one doubted his flying skills and guts. On April 27, 1987, TFNG Dan Brandenstein was picked to replace Young. I knew he would do a superb job as chief of astronauts. But at the same time I was angry that Abbey had screwed the air force again. The grapevine had it that the selection criteria for the position had mandated a TFNG who had flown as a shuttle commander. There were three navy TFNGs who qualified: Brandenstein, Hauck, and Hoot Gibson. There was only a single USAF TFNG veteran commander: Brewster Shaw. And why did such a disparity exist? Because of AbbeyБЂ™s longtime preferential treatment of the U.S. Navy astronauts ...»