Space Coast remembers 'great American' Gene Cernan
When Gene Cernan struggled to return to his Gemini 9 capsule after a difficult spacewalk, and when his Apollo 10 spacecraft began rolling as it descended toward the lunar surface, Tom Stafford was at his side.
Stafford remembered Cernan, who died Monday at 82, as a talented pilot and astronaut who could overcome such close calls, and as an eloquent advocate for exploration.
“It’s a real sad day,” said Stafford, who lives near Satellite Beach. “We lost a great American, a great hero. He was like a brother to me.”
Stafford commanded the two missions Cernan flew before Apollo 17, when Cernan became the last human to leave boot prints on the moon in December 1972. The pair also served together on two backup crews.
“He did a great job in every mission he flew,” said Stafford. “He was a great pilot. He had good reactions, thought well ahead. He was a great teammate.”
Cernan remained an ardent supporter of human spaceflight long after he left NASA in 1976.
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“He did a great job speaking as an advocate for the space program,” said Stafford. “He’s probably one of the best spokesmen for space exploration of any of the astronauts.”
Cernan welcomed opportunities to talk to students through his role as a trustee for the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, a position he resigned just last year due to health problems.
“He was passionate about the space program,” said Tammy Sudler, executive director of the foundation based at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. “He always wanted to keep things moving forward and being better.”
Cernan’s speeches could quickly bring an audience to tears, Sudler recalled.
“He was going to excite them about where we were going as a country, where the space program could go, and not forget the achievements that have been made,” she said. “It wasn’t about him, it was about what they’ve accomplished and how they helped change the world.”
Since early in his astronaut career, Cernan was known for his physical strength and fitness.
“He always gave the impression of being an extremely fit guy,” said Bob Sieck, a retired NASA engineer and shuttle launch director. “He didn’t want health or weakness to be a factor in the success of what he did.”
At public events, Cernan invariably was introduced as “the last man on the moon,” Sieck remembered.
That was the title of a book Cernan co-wrote in 1999 and a documentary film released last year.
But it was not a claim to fame that Cernan wanted to keep.
“He would quickly rebuff that by saying, ‘No, I want to be referred to as the most recent astronaut to walk on the moon,’” said Sieck, of Viera. “He would say, ‘I don’t like ‘last.’ That implies we’re not going to do it again.’”
Cernan wanted many more to follow in his footsteps on the moon.
Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean@floridatoday.com.