Elliott See
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Elliott McKay See, Jr. (July 23, 1927 – February 28, 1966) was a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy (1949), selected in the second group of astronauts. See acted as Back up Pilot for Gemini 5 and was in-line to fly a Prime Crew Pilot for Gemini 8 but was promoted to be the command pilot of Gemini 9; however, he and pilot Charles Bassett were killed in a plane crash in St. Louis, Missouri before Gemini 9 flew. See's death had a decisive effect on the crew selections for the early Apollo manned missions. NASA was keen for a civilian to be the Commander of the first moon landing and See along with Neil Armstrong would have been the only other civilian test pilot with space experience in the Astronaut pool had he lived.
External links
- NASA biography (http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/see-em.html)