Deke Slayton
One of the original Mercury 7 astronauts faced some disappointment, but that didn’t stop him from getting into space
“Slayton was due to be the first American in orbit around the Earth”
Donald “Deke” Slayton was a determined character who strived to journey into space, overcoming medical issues while helping choose the Apollo astronauts that would make history.
Born on 1 March 1924 in Sparta, Wisconsin, Slayton took to aviation at an early age, enrolling as an aviation cadet on his 18th birthday. After receiving his wings he spent a lot of time flying combat missions throughout Europe and then the Ryukyu Islands before Japan’s surrender in 1945. After the end of World War II Slayton was discharged from the Air Force, giving him the time to gain a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Minnesota.
In 1951 he was recalled to aviation duty for a further four years. It was at this time that the United States was entering its Space Race with the Soviet Union, the two great nations going head to head to see who could conquer the cosmos first. It was around 1959 when the US began ironing out the details of Project Mercury, which was the nation’s plan to get its first set of astronauts into space and achieve low-Earth orbit. After a series of applications, examinations and invitations, Slayton would be asked to join NASA’s Space Task Group for Project Mercury.
On 9 April 1959 NASA announced its famous Mercury 7, the astronauts that would take the nation forwards into the final frontier. After the announcement, the hard work began. Their training consisted of a little of everything, from introductory space science lessons to scuba diving. However, each of the seven was also trained in a specialist subject which was related to the mission. In the case of Slayton, he got to know the ins and outs of the Atlas missile that would jettison them into space.
When the time came for action, all of the Mercury 7 were prepped and ready to show the world what they could do. Slayton was due to be the first American in orbit around Earth. However, in the previous flight of Friendship 7, John Glenn’s suborbital flight became an orbital flight, meaning Slayton would become the second American to reach orbital status.
Unfortunately, prior to the launch medical professionals identified a heart condition known as idiopathic atrial fibrillation, meaning Slayton had an erratic heart rate. This meant that his backup, Scott Carpenter, would fly the mission instead. Sadly his condition left him unable to fly any mission in the Mercury, Gemini or Apollo programs, but Slayton was still a Herculean figure during this time. He began coordinating the responsibilities for manned space flights. He managed to do all this planning while also joining in training, being constantly monitored throughout the process. In 1966 he became director of flight crew operations and was key in picking the Apollo crews that would journey successfully to the Moon.
Slayton would eventually achieve his personal goal of reaching space, however. He finally launched on 15 July 1975 when he participated in the first rendezvous between American and Soviet spacecraft as part of the Apollo-Soyuz
Test Project. This wasn’t without sacrifice, as he had to change his lifestyle dramatically. This included quitting smoking, daily exercise, putting down the coffee permanently and ensuring an increase in vitamin intake – all changes he was willing to make to finally achieve his goal. This just goes to show that after years of hard work and dedication, anyone can eventually have their crowning moment.