By 1966 11 manned American spacecraft had flown into space and returned safely home. While the record in space may have been perfect, astronauts were nonetheless dying in the hectic race to the moon. The public’s response to the death of an astronaut was sympathetic, but at this point in history, less concerned than what it would later become. In 1966, it appeared that a man had to die during an actual mission for the space program to receive a nationwide voice of concern. Unfortunately, a year later in 1967, the Apollo 1 fire would indicate how dangerous the business of space travel was. Two decades later the Challenger accident would remind us once again of how hazardous reaching for the stars can be. The astronauts involved in these two disasters have been immortalized as heroes. At the same time, a few other fallen astronauts have become mere footnotes in space history, and today remain all but forgotten. They were killed before they even stepped into a spacecraft. Elliot See and Charles Bassett were two such voyagers.
Eliot See, who was selected in the second prestigious group of astronauts (often called “the new nine”) in 1962, served as a backup, along with Neil Armstrong, for the 8 day Gemini 5 flight. He was also the capsule communicator during Gemini 6 and 7. See was considered an expert with fuel cells; an electrical energy source used on Gemini and Apollo capsules. After serving as backup on Gemini 5, he was thought to be the logical choice for the Gemini 8 flight with Armstrong, but Chief Astronaut Deke Slayton considered him too weak physically for the planned EVA (ironically because of an abort early in the mission no EVA ever occurred on Gemini 8).
Charlie Bassett was selected as an astronaut in the third group selection in 1963. He was quickly assigned to the Operations and Training branch of NASA. At this post he quickly became an expert on rocket boosters, communications, and simulators. During Gemini 7 and Gemini 6 he served as Capsule Communicator. Bassett was widely regarded as one of the strongest astronauts in NASA. Slayton had planned on assigning Bassett to the prestigious Apollo 3 flight commanded by Frank Borman in 1967 or 1968 (this flight would later become Apollo 8; the first manned flight to the moon).
By February of 1966, See and Bassett had been assigned as the crew of Gemini 9. With See as the commander and Bassett as pilot the mission would last 3 days. Their mission was set for launch in May. The flight would also rendezvous and dock with a target Agena vehicle and Bassett would be the first to test the EVA backpack called the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit (AMU). However, fate would have something else in mind.
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