HEROES of SPACE
GORDON COOPER
Cooper flew a solo mission in space and set flight endurance records
B orn on 6 March 1927 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Cooper left school at the age of 18 and enlisted in the US Marine Corps. Upon his discharge, he moved to Hawaii to live with his parents, attending the island’s university before being placed on active duty with the United States Air Force. He then flew fighter jets in West Germany between 1954 and 1955 in the midst of the Cold War ahead of completing his degree in aerospace engineering. By the end of the decade, he had logged more than 7,000 hours of flight time.