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Could 'I Dream Of Jeannie' happen in real life?
I of course am not referring to the riotously impossible circumstance of Major Nelson's many, many spaceflights --- I think he had two in the Mercury capsule alone, within a single year --- but to his successfully living with an unmarried (and foreign!) woman. It's legendary --- to the point one starts suspecting the rumors are overblown --- that the press corps kept silence during the Space Race days about astronaut infidelities, lest the fun of the whole project get bogged down in scandal and whatnot. However, Duane G raveline's divorce (in 1966) did get him kicked out of the program so fast he barely showed up on film. Deke Slayton claimed it was because a divorce would interfere with the job, but it was the 60s, after all, and the press was paying attention. However, Nelson was a veteran astronaut when he met Jeannie, and a bachelor, and, despite considerable distractions seems to have met all the astronaut office's performance demands. So, given that, could he get away with it? If he could, would he stop being able to get away with it after the Apollo 1 Fire and the increased press skepticism regarding NASA, or after Apollo 11 and the end of the Space Race as an urgent national priority? If he couldn't then, when could he? (I imagine astronauts could live with someone of the opposite sex today without attracting attention, but 2013 is a phenomenally different world from 1963.) -- http://nebusresearch.wordpress.com/ Joseph Nebus Latest: Reading the Comics, 16 May 2013 http://wp.me/p1RYhY-sf --------------------------------------------------------+--------------------- |
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Could 'I Dream Of Jeannie' happen in real life?
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#3
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Could 'I Dream Of Jeannie' happen in real life?
Brian Thorn writes:
On Tue, 21 May 2013 01:16:17 +0000 (UTC), (Joseph Nebus) wrote: I of course am not referring to the riotously impossible circumstance of Major Nelson's many, many spaceflights --- I think he had two in the Mercury capsule alone, within a single year - Nor the fact that the female lead lived in a bottle and could perform magic? Well, Tom Stafford flew Gemini 6 in December 1965 and Gemini 9 in June 1966; Pete Conrad flew Gemini 5 in August 1965 and Gemini 11 in September 1966; and Jim Lovell flew Gemini 7 in December 1965 and Gemini 12 in November 1966... All three of those cases were affected by the death of the prime crew of Gemini 9, which bumped a lot of crews forward. Also, with two seats on Gemini vs. one on Mercury, there was more of a chance to be on a given flight. |
#4
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Could 'I Dream Of Jeannie' happen in real life?
I thought you were referring to the way Major Nelson would be sitting in the capsule, waiting for liftoff, while his booster alternated between being an Atlas, Titan II, and Titan III, all in a matter of seconds.
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#5
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Could 'I Dream Of Jeannie' happen in real life?
In Chris Jones writes:
Brian Thorn writes: On Tue, 21 May 2013 01:16:17 +0000 (UTC), (Joseph Nebus) wrote: I of course am not referring to the riotously impossible circumstance of Major Nelson's many, many spaceflights --- I think he had two in the Mercury capsule alone, within a single year - Nor the fact that the female lead lived in a bottle and could perform magic? Well, sure. I mean, the genie is easy to believe in. An astronaut who gets to fly more than John Young even when his personal life seems to be an endless parade of weird little follies (and who lives in Florida rather than Texas)? That's a stretch. Well, Tom Stafford flew Gemini 6 in December 1965 and Gemini 9 in June 1966; Pete Conrad flew Gemini 5 in August 1965 and Gemini 11 in September 1966; and Jim Lovell flew Gemini 7 in December 1965 and Gemini 12 in November 1966... All three of those cases were affected by the death of the prime crew of Gemini 9, which bumped a lot of crews forward. Also, with two seats on Gemini vs. one on Mercury, there was more of a chance to be on a given flight. A fair point. I am delighted to see that Astronautix has a surely full roster of his career, though, including two Mercury flights --- MA-10 and a secret Mercury flight --- and Gemini 13, plus a lunar orbiting Apollo *and* a landing mission. And then there's the space shuttle work. http://www.astronautix.com/astros/nelthony.htm -- http://nebusresearch.wordpress.com/ Joseph Nebus Latest: Reading the Comics, 16 May 2013 http://wp.me/p1RYhY-sf --------------------------------------------------------+--------------------- |
#6
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Could 'I Dream Of Jeannie' happen in real life?
"Joseph Nebus" wrote in message
... In Chris Jones writes: Brian Thorn writes: On Tue, 21 May 2013 01:16:17 +0000 (UTC), (Joseph Nebus) wrote: I of course am not referring to the riotously impossible circumstance of Major Nelson's many, many spaceflights --- I think he had two in the Mercury capsule alone, within a single year - Nor the fact that the female lead lived in a bottle and could perform magic? Well, sure. I mean, the genie is easy to believe in. An astronaut who gets to fly more than John Young even when his personal life seems to be an endless parade of weird little follies (and who lives in Florida rather than Texas)? That's a stretch. They had the same problem in 'The Cape', with Corbin Bernsen as Chief Astronaut in the Shuttle era. Those guys had a flight record that made Story Musgrave look like a rookie. -- Gordon Davie Edinburgh, Scotland "Slipped the surly bonds of Earth...to touch the face of God." |
#7
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Could 'I Dream Of Jeannie' happen in real life?
On Tue, 21 May 2013 01:16:17 +0000 (UTC), (Joseph
Nebus) wrote: I of course am not referring to the riotously impossible circumstance of Major Nelson's many, many spaceflights --- I think he had two in the Mercury capsule alone, within a single year --- but to his successfully living with an unmarried (and foreign!) woman. Roger Healey doesn't seem to have the right stuff to be an astronaut. |
#8
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Could 'I Dream Of Jeannie' happen in real life?
In Jan Philips writes:
On Tue, 21 May 2013 01:16:17 +0000 (UTC), (Joseph Nebus) wrote: I of course am not referring to the riotously impossible circumstance of Major Nelson's many, many spaceflights --- I think he had two in the Mercury capsule alone, within a single year --- but to his successfully living with an unmarried (and foreign!) woman. Roger Healey doesn't seem to have the right stuff to be an astronaut. You might think, but he and Nelson flew together on Gemini 13 near the end of 1966 (weirdly, Nelson made the spacewalk), and then on *two* lunar missions, one orbiting in March 1969, and one landing in January 1970. Slated for the STS-71-P all-army shuttle mission, but that was cancelled after the Challenger accident. First Army astronaut, too. http://www.astronautix.com/astros/healey.htm (I don't know why I find this subject so delightful, I just do.) -- http://nebusresearch.wordpress.com/ Joseph Nebus Latest: Reading the Comics, June 1, 2013 http://wp.me/p1RYhY-su --------------------------------------------------------+--------------------- |
#9
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Could 'I Dream Of Jeannie' happen in real life?
....Note that I fired off my *second* e-mail to Mark Wade reminding him that he needed to update Nelson's bio to include his having taken his final flight on November 23rd of last year. His widow is still alive, and is noted for having not perceivably aged in the four decades in which they were married.
Roger Healey, at last report, is also still alive and well, having retired to New Mexico. :OM: |
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