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James Benson Irwin (March 17, 1930 – August 8, 1991) was an American astronaut, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and a United States Air Force Aviator. He served as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15, the fourth human lunar landing. He was the eighth person to walk on the Moon.
In 1941, James Irwin lived at 6006 Grand Boulevard in New Port Richey FL and attended Pierce Elementary School (now the site of the New Port Richey Public Library and City Hall). While he was in the 6th grade, James was also enrolled in 7th grade classes at Gulf High School due to his advanced abilities. He is listed as a 7th grader in the 1942 Gulf High School yearbook. Throughout his life, James Irwin frequently returned to New Port Richey, where he was a member of and attended the First Baptist Church. https://www.visitnpr.com/post/the-astronaut-who-called-new-port-richey-home
At about the age of 12, he informed his mother about his desire to go to the Moon, letting her know that he might be the first person to do so Interview with Jim Irwin's parents after his selection to NASA (1966, published at YouTube on January 17, 2018) (he ended up being the eighth). He graduated from East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1947. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in naval science from the United States Naval Academy in 1951, and Master of Science degrees in aeronautical engineering and instrumentation engineering from the University of Michigan in 1957.
He received initial flight training at Hondo Air Base and follow-up training at Reese Air Force Base, Texas. He graduated from the Air Force Experimental Flight Test Pilot School (Class 60C) in 1961, and the Aerospace Research Pilot School in 1963 (Class IV). Prior to joining NASA, he was chief of the Advanced Requirements Branch at Headquarters Air Defense Command. During his time in the United States Air Force he received the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal and two Air Force Commendation Medals. He also received an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award while with the 4750th Training Wing.
Irwin was also a developmental test pilot for the Lockheed YF-12, the Mach 3 fighter-interceptor variant which preceded the SR-71 Blackbird. His first flight of that aircraft was on the day that one of his five children was born.
In 1961, a student pilot that Irwin was training crashed the plane they were flying on a training mission. They both survived, but Irwin suffered compound fractures, amnesia, and nearly lost a leg.Flight of the Falcon: The Thrilling Adventures of Colonel Jim Irwin John Forrest, a U.S. Air Force orthopedic surgeon, was instrumental in preventing the amputation of Irwin's leg.
During his military service, he accumulated more than 7,015 hours flying time, of which 5,300 hours were in jet aircraft.
In 1952, Irwin married his first wife, who was a Catholic. The two had an unhappy marriage made worse by his devotion to his work. By his own account, the marriage failed after two years due to his poor, borderline cruel treatment of her, and he later stated that finding religion again made familial relationships much easier.
In 1959, Irwin married his second wife, the former Mary Ellen Monroe (born 1938). They were married until his death.
Apollo 15 landed in the Moon's Hadley-Apennine region, noted for its mountains and . As a J-Mission, they would spend more time on the Moon than previous missions, to allow for three EVAs. As well, Irwin was the first automobile passenger on the Moon as Scott drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) carried along for this mission in the Lunar Module (LM) Falcon's Descent Stage. Scott and Irwin's stay on the Moon was just under three days at 66 hours and 54 minutes.
Once the Space rendezvous procedure was completed between Falcon and the Endeavour CSM, Irwin and Scott were busy moving items like rock samples into the CSM and preparing the lunar module for final separation. During this intense period of work the earliest symptoms of a heart condition appeared. Both Scott and Irwin had been working with no sleep for 23 hours, during which they conducted a final moonwalk, performed the ascent from the lunar surface, rendezvoused with Endeavour, and encountered the problems that delayed the lunar module jettison maneuver. The astronauts' physiological vital signs were being monitored back on Earth, and the noticed some irregularities in Irwin's heart rhythms. Irwin's heart had developed bigeminy. Charles Berry stated to Chris Kraft, deputy director of the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) at the time: "It's serious, if he were on Earth. I'd have him in ICU being treated for a heart attack." However, Berry concluded that since Endeavour's cabin atmosphere was 100% oxygen when in space, Irwin was in the best of circumstances. Specifically, "In truth, ... he's in an ICU. He's getting one hundred percent oxygen, he's being continuously monitored, and best of all, he's in zero g. Whatever strain his heart is under, well, we can't do better than zero g."
During the post-trans-Earth injection (TEI) phase of the mission there was not much more for Irwin to do other than provide help with Alfred Worden's EVA to retrieve film magazines from the CSM's SIM bay, by donning a pressure suit and monitoring him. He was able to rest and apparently recover during the rest of the mission. The flight surgeons continued to monitor his EKG until splashdown, but his heart rhythm was normal. This incident was not discussed during the mission debriefing sessions, and the condition did not appear when he returned to Earth.
By his own admission, Irwin was not a committed Christian during his years at NASA. After his retirement as a colonel in 1972, Irwin founded the High Flight Foundation. He spent the next 20 years as a "Goodwill Ambassador for the Prince of Peace", stating that "Jesus walking on the earth is more important than man walking on the moon". He said that his experiences in space had made God more real to him than before. Irwin and his wife stated that his Christian rebirth, which happened while he was in space, saved their marriage and made their lives much happier.
Beginning in 1973, Irwin led several expeditions to Mount Ararat, Turkey, in search of the remains of Noah's Ark. In 1982, he was injured during the descent and had to be transported down the mountain on horseback. In More Than Earthlings, Irwin wrote expressing his view that the Genesis creation narrative was real, literal history.
On August 8, 1991, twenty years and a day after his return from the Moon, Irwin suffered another heart attack after a bicycle ride. Attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful, and Irwin died later that day. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Arlington National Cemetery He and his wife, Mary Ellen, to whom he was married for three decades, had five children.
Of the 12 men who have walked on the Moon, Irwin was the first to die. The James Irwin Charter Schools were founded in Colorado in his honor.
A patch cut by Irwin from a backpack abandoned on the Moon during the Apollo 15 mission was auctioned at Christie's in 2001 for $310,500 in a consignment of material from Irwin's estate that garnered "a combined $500,000".
Irwin was a member of Civitan International, a nonprofit organization promoting community service, scientific research, and service to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Irwin's other awards include: Belgium's Order of Leopold in 1971; Kitty Hawk Memorial Award, 1971; New York Police Department St. George Association's Golden Rule Award in 1972; Christian Service Award; Milan Hulbert Trophy of SWAP International in 1973.
He was also awarded an Honorary degree of Astronautical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1971; an Honorary degree Doctorate of Science from the William Jewell College in 1971; and an Honorary degree D.Sc. from the Samford University in 1972.
He was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1983, and posthumously into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, on October 4, 1997.
In 1973, When Irwin visited the city of Minden, Louisiana, to address a gathering at the First Baptist Church, Mayor Tom Colten declared "James Irwin Day" and made Irwin an "honorary citizen of Minden."Pop McDonald, "Mayor Makes Col. James Irwin an 'Honorary Citizen of Minden,'" Minden Press-Herald, February 26, 1973, p. 1.
(1978). 9780310370505, Zondervan Publishing House. ISBN 9780310370505
Death
Irwin suffered three major Heart attack. One occurred less than two years after Apollo 15, when Irwin was 43, while he was playing handball; he underwent an emergency triple bypass operation. Two months later he suffered a subsequent heart attack while skiing in Colorado. Irwin suffered another heart attack on June 6, 1986, when he collapsed during a run and was found pulseless on a curb. Doctors from NASA doubted the incidents were related to space travel, and noted that pre-flight testing indicated him having a tendency for cardiac arrhythmias during strenuous exercise.
Organizations
Irwin was a member of the Air Force Association and the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. He was also a Freemason, initiated in Tejon Lodge No. 104 in Colorado Springs. He was the third Freemason to set foot on the Moon, after Buzz Aldrin and Edgar Mitchell.
Awards and honors
In media
In the 1998 HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon Irwin was played by Gareth Williams.
Bibliography
See also
External links
Categories: 1930 Births, American People Of German Descent, 1991 Deaths, 1971 In Spaceflight, 20th-century American Businesspeople, 20th-century American Engineers, American Aerospace Engineers, American Test Pilots, American People Of Scotch-irish Descent, American Christians, American Christian Young Earth Creationists, American People Of Irish Descent, American People Of Scottish Descent, Apollo 15, Apollo Program Astronauts, Burials At Arlington National Cemetery, Collier Trophy Recipients, Military Personnel From Pittsburgh, Mount Ararat, People Who Have Walked On The Moon, 20th-century American Explorers, Recipients Of The Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Recipients Of The Nasa Distinguished Service Medal, Spacewalkers, United States Air Force Astronauts, United States Air Force Officers, United States Naval Academy Alumni, United States Astronaut Hall Of Fame Inductees, University Of Michigan College Of Engineering Alumni, U.s. Air Force Test Pilot School Alumni, American Creationists
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