American mechanical and aeronautical engineer, United States Marine Corps officer, naval aviator, and NASA astronaut, the commander of Skylab 4 during the longest manned space exploration to date. Carr and his teammates were in space from 16 November 1973 to 8 February 1974, for a total of 1,214 revolutions of the earth, and they shared the world record for individual time in space: 2,017 hours 15 minutes 32 seconds.
Gerry Carr grew up in Santa Ana, California, which he considered his hometown, and he graduated from Santa Ana High School. He began his military service with the Navy in 1949, and the following year, was appointed a midshipman (NROTC). He enrolled at the University of Southern California and went on to receive his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1954. Upon his graduation, he was given his commission and sent to the U.S. Marine Corps Officers? Basic School at Quantico, Virginia. His education continued, and he received his BS in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1961, following this with his Master of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from Princeton just one year later. In 1975, he was given an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Parks College, St. Louis University, St. Louis, Illinois.
After military flight training school, he served with a fighter squadron from 1962-1965, piloting the F-8 Crusader in both the U.S. and the Far East. On 4 April 1966, NASA selected their fifth group of astronauts, and Carr was chosen. He was involved in the development and testing of the lunar roving vehicle used by the Apollo crews. He received many awards for both his exemplary military service and his work as an astronaut, including the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.
In 1974, he was named the head of the design support group. In September 1975, he retired from the U.S. Marines, with a rank of Colonel. He retired from NASA a few years later, in June 1977, following which he accepted a position at Applied Research in southern California, from 1981 to 1983. From 1983 until 1985 Carr was manager of The University of Texas 300-inch (7.6 m) Telescope Project. Carr founded CAMUS, Inc. in 1984 based in Vermont.
Between 1955 and 1964, Carr and his wife had six children, including two sets of twins; all the children were given first names beginning with the letter “J,” Jennifer Anne, twins Jamee Adele and Jeffrey Ernest, John Christian and twins Jessica Louise and Joshua Lee. Divorced, he remarried in 1979, to Dr. Patricia L. Musick. He loved outdoors activities such as sailing, bird hunting and fishing, and played racquetball. He did woodworking as a hobby, and one of his projects was the restoration of an old automobile. He belonged to many professional organizations, and was a Director for the Houston POPS Orchestra. Carr died in Albany, New York, on 26 August 2020, four days after his 88th birthday.
Link to Wikipedia biography