Evans, Ronald E. (1933–1990)
American astronaut who served as Command Module (CM) pilot on Apollo
17. Evans received a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University
of Kansas in 1956 and a M.S. in aeronautical engineering from the United
States Naval Postgraduate School in 1964. He was a combat flight instructor
for F8 jet pilots in 1961-62, after which he flew carrier-based combat missions
for seven months. Having been selected as one of 19 new astronauts in April
1966, Evans served as backup CM pilot on Apollo
14 before taking the CM pilot's seat on board Apollo
17 and circling the Moon for three days while colleagues Eugene Cernan
and Harrison Schmitt explored the lunar
surface. He was subsequently the backup CM pilot for the Apollo-Soyuz
Test Project, and then became involved in development of the Space
Shuttle. Evans retired from the Navy in 1975 and from NASA in 1977 to
become director of Space Systems Marketing for Sperry Flight Systems.
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• ASTRONAUTS
AND COSMONAUTS
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