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This is a NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project transcript of astronaut James A. McDivitt, interviewed by Doug Ward at Elk Lake, Michigan, on 29 June 1999. McDivitt talks about flying F-86s in Korea, test pilot work at Edwards, and his first class at the Aerospace Research Pilot School. He also covers turning down Dyna-soar, joining NASA in 1962 and learning to be an Apollo Program Manager. He describes the Change Board and says decisions were not second-guessed.
“Headquarters”6 pages
Johnson Space Center Oral History Project James A. McDivitt 29 June 1999 12-70 spacecraft had a tough time doing that, but we knew they were going to work because we had done them. Yeah, that was a interesting time. WARD: Of course after 9, instead of getting back in line for another Apollo mission, you moved into management, into the Apollo Program Management Office. How did you make that decision to get out of being an active astronaut and going into program management? MCDIVITT: Yeah. After I flew Apollo 9, it was apparent to me that I wasn’t going to be the first guy to land on the Moon, which was important to me. And being the second or third guy wasn’t that important to me. Now I say it, “It was apparent.” I mean, it looked like we were going to be successful. I mean, things were really going along well. Much better than we expected. And I thought that lunar module was kind of the key to the whole thing. If it worked, we had a chance. If it didn’t work, you know, we’d be at it for another two or three decades. And so, I had people calling me and asking me to do different things. I think the Air Force wanted me to come back and run a big space program they had. I forget what it was. The MOL [Manned Orbiting Laboratory] Program, I think it was. Maybe it was something else. I don’t remember it. And like I was telling you earlier, when I was asked to do the Dyna-soar thing, I went and looked. So, I remember General Phillips said—I’d just gone back to the Air Force and he was running the MOL Program, and he called me and asked if I would—he was running all of Research and Development for the Air Force. He asked me if I’d run the MOL Program. “I don’t know. Let me think.” So, I flew out to California and talked to a bunch of Second Lieutenants who would tell me the truth! And I concluded that that bugger wasn’t going to make it either! So, I went back and told him, “No.” And he said, “Now, Jim, I know that that’s going to fly. I just talked to the Secretary of the Air Force
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