In article ,
says...
Kevin Willoughby wrote in message ...
Wally's "I'm cooler than you, let's light this candle" might be an
example of this.
I believe that was Al Shepard in 1961.

Anyway, if I interpret the answers received so far, then it appears to
me that some of us really do believe that the astronauts made it all
happen, and the non-astronauts (administrators, program managers,
bean-counters, engineers, technicians, what-have-you) just sort of
marked time until an astronaut appeared on the scene.

Not at all. The astronauts were engineering test pilots, and as such did
have a fair amount of input to various of the system development
processes for Gemini and Apollo. Gus Grissom designed much of the
cockpit layout for Gemini, and Pete Conrad did the same thing for the
Apollo Lunar Module. They were brought in before any metal was cut and
arranged paper switches, dials and read-outs on plywood cockpit surfaces
to optimize the usability of the cockpits.

Mike Collins had a large amount of input to the design of the hand-held
maneuvering unit used on Gemini IV and his own Gemini X. He also had a
lot of input on the EVA suit design.

Nearly all of the Mercury astronauts made design suggestions that were
incorporated into later Mercury spacecraft, including the window. They
also worked with designers to modify the cockpit instrumentation to
optimize its use.

In addition, astronauts had a *lot* of influence on the procedures
followed within the spacecraft. They had to fly the things, after all.

These are just a few well-known examples of astronaut inputs to hardware,
software and procedures designs. There are lots more.

This is exactly the same kind of input that engineering test pilots have
brought to airplane development and testing programs. These weren't just
pilots, most of them had engineering degrees and were just as qualified
to have design inputs as a guy who spent his entire career flying a
drafting table.

The question I have is why do you have a problem with astronauts being
given credit for the work they did when they weren't preparing for or
flying missions? What's your agenda?

--

It's not the pace of life I mind; | Doug Van Dorn
it's the sudden stop at the end... |