View source for Pete Conrad

{{Short description|American astronaut and lunar explorer (1930–1999)}}
{{Other people5|Peter Conrad (disambiguation){{!}}Peter Conrad|Charles Conrad (disambiguation){{!}}Charles Conrad}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox astronaut
| name = Pete Conrad
| image = Pete Conrad in 1964.jpg
| caption = Conrad in 1964
| alt = Head shot of Conrad wearing a red necktie
| birth_name = Charles Conrad Jr.
| birth_date = {{birth date|1930|6|2}}
| birth_place = [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1999|7|8|1930|6|2}}
| death_place = [[Ojai, California]], U.S.
| restingplace = [[Arlington National Cemetery]]
| education = [[Princeton University]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Jane DuBose|1953|1988|end=div}}
* {{marriage|[[Nancy Conrad|Nancy Crane]]|1990}}
}}
| children = 4
| awards = {{ubl|[[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] (2)|[[Distinguished Service Medal (United States Navy)|Navy Distinguished Service Medal]] (2)|[[NASA Distinguished Service Medal]] (2)|[[NASA Exceptional Service Medal]] (2)|[[Congressional Space Medal of Honor]]|[[Collier Trophy]]|[[Harmon Trophy]]|[[Astronaut badge#U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard astronauts|Navy Astronaut Wings]]|[[Yuri Gagarin|Gagarin Gold Space Medal]] ([[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale]])}}
| type = [[NASA astronaut]]
| rank = [[Captain (United States O-6)|Captain]], [[United States Navy|USN]]
| selection = [[NASA Astronaut Group 2|NASA Group 2 (1962)]]
| evas = 4
| eva_time = {{Tree list}}
*12h 46m:
**7h 45m (lunar surface)
**5h 1m (Earth orbit)
{{Tree list/end}}
| time = 49d 3h 38m
| mission = {{ubl|[[Gemini 5]]|[[Gemini 11]]|[[Apollo 12]]|[[Skylab 2]]}}
| insignia = [[File:Gemini5insignia.png|48px]] [[File:Gemini 11 patch.png|45px]] [[File:Apollo 12 insignia.png|48px]] [[File:Skylab1-Patch.png|48px]]
| retirement = December 1973
}}
'''Charles''' "'''Pete'''" '''Conrad Jr.''' (June 2, 1930&nbsp;– July 8, 1999) was an American [[NASA]] [[astronaut]], [[aeronautical engineer]], [[United States Navy|naval officer]], [[United States Naval Aviator|aviator]], and [[test pilot]] who commanded the [[Apollo 12]] mission, on which he became the [[List of people who have walked on the Moon|third person to walk on the Moon]]. Conrad was selected for NASA's [[NASA Astronaut Group 2|second astronaut class]] in 1962.

Conrad was born in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]]. Despite having [[dyslexia]], he earned his [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in [[Aerospace engineering|aeronautical engineering]] from [[Princeton University]]—being the first [[Ivy League]] astronaut—and joined the U.S. Navy. In 1954, Conrad received his naval aviator wings, served as a [[fighter pilot]] and, after graduating from the [[United States Naval Test Pilot School|U.S. Naval Test Pilot School]] (Class 20), as a project test pilot. In 1959, he was an astronaut candidate for [[Project Mercury]].

Conrad set an eight-day space endurance record in 1965 along with his Command Pilot [[Gordon Cooper]] on his first spaceflight, [[Gemini 5]]. Later, Conrad commanded [[Gemini 11]] in 1966, and Apollo 12 in 1969. After Apollo, he commanded [[Skylab 2]], the first crewed Skylab mission, in 1973. On the mission, he and his crewmates repaired significant launch damage to the [[Skylab]] [[space station]]. For this, [[President of the United States|President]] [[Jimmy Carter]] awarded him the [[Congressional Space Medal of Honor]] in 1978.

After Conrad retired from NASA and the Navy in 1973, he became a vice president of American Television and Communications Company. He went on to work for McDonnell Douglas, as a vice president. During his tenure, he served as vice president of marketing, senior vice president of marketing, staff vice president of international business development, and vice president of project development. Conrad died in 1999, from internal injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident, aged 69.

== Early life and education ==
Charles Conrad Jr. was born on June 2, 1930, in [[Philadelphia]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28957076/the_philadelphia_inquirer/|title=New Astronauts, 9 Hottest Jet Pilots in U.S., Have Been Training a Year|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|date=September 18, 1962|page=3|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> the third child and the first son of Charles Conrad Sr. (1892–1969) and Frances De Rappelage Conrad ({{nee}} Vinson; 1899–1981), into a well-to-do real estate and banking family.<ref name=rocketman>{{cite book|last1=Conrad|first1=Nancy|last2=Klausner|first2=Howard|title=Rocketman: Astronaut Pete Conrad's Incredible Ride to the Moon and Beyond|publisher=New American Library|year=2005|isbn=978-0-451-21837-7}}</ref>{{rp|17, 74}}

The [[Great Depression]] wiped out the Conrad family's fortune, just as it had those of so many others. In 1942, the family lost their manor home in Philadelphia, and then moved into a small carriage house, paid for by Frances's brother, Egerton Vinson. Eventually, Charles Sr., broken down by financial failures, left his family.<ref name=rocketman/>{{rp|43}}

Conrad was considered a bright, intelligent boy, but he continually struggled with his schoolwork. He had [[dyslexia]], a condition little understood at the time. Conrad attended the [[Haverford School]], a private academy in [[Haverford, Pennsylvania]], that previous generations of Conrads had attended. Even after his family's financial downturn, his uncle Egerton supported his continued schooling at Haverford. However, Pete's dyslexia continued to frustrate his academic efforts. After he failed most of his 11th grade exams, Haverford expelled him from school.<ref name=rocketman/>{{rp|35, 43}}

Conrad's mother refused to believe that her son was unintelligent, and she set about finding him a suitable school. She found [[Darrow School]] in [[New Lebanon, New York]]. There, Conrad learned how to apply a systems approach to learning, and thus found a way to work around his dyslexia. Despite having to repeat the 11th grade, Conrad so excelled at Darrow that after his graduation in 1949, he not only was admitted to [[Princeton University]], but he was also awarded a full [[Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps|Navy ROTC]] scholarship.<ref name=rocketman/>{{rp|64–67}} While at Darrow, although he was only {{convert|5|ft|6|in}} and weighed {{convert|135|lb}}, Conrad started as the [[Center (gridiron football)|center]] on his football team and became the team captain. "He was a very tough boy, and we won our share of games," said the school's assistant headmaster.<ref name=NYT/>

Starting when he was 15 years old, Conrad worked during the summertime at the Paoli Airfield near [[Paoli, Pennsylvania]], bartering lawn mowing, sweeping, and other odd jobs for airplane flights and occasional instructional time. He learned more about the mechanics and workings of [[aircraft]] and [[aircraft engine]]s, and then he graduated to minor maintenance work. When he was 16, he drove almost {{convert|100|mi|km}} to help a flight instructor whose [[airplane]] had been forced to make an emergency landing. Conrad repaired the plane single-handedly. Thereafter, the instructor gave Conrad the flight lessons that he needed to earn his [[Private pilot licence|pilot's certificate]] even before he graduated from [[Secondary school#United States|high school]].<ref name=rocketman/>{{rp|54–59}}

Conrad continued flying while he was in college, not only keeping his pilot's certificate, but also earning an [[Instrument rating|instrument flight rating]]. He graduated with a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in [[Aerospace engineering|aeronautical engineering]] from Princeton in 1953, after completing a 200-page-long senior thesis titled "''The Design of a Turbo-Jet Military Advanced Trainer''" with Richard V. Warden, Richard W. Vannata, and Calvin H. Perrine.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last1=Warden|first1=Richard V.|last2=Vannatta|first2=Richard W.|last3=Perrine|first3=Calvin H.|last4=Conrad|first4=Charles|date=1953|title=The Design of a Turbo-Jet Military Advanced Trainer|url=https://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp013r074v174 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414153230/https://dataspace.princeton.edu/handle/88435/dsp013r074v174 |archive-date=April 14, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> He was commissioned an [[Ensign (rank)|Ensign]] in the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] as a Naval ROTC graduate.<ref name="navyhist" />

== Aviation career in the U.S. Navy ==
[[File:Pete Conrad - egress training.jpg|thumb|Conrad preparing for water egress training in the Gemini Static Article 5 spacecraft]]
Following his commission in 1953, Conrad was sent to [[Naval Air Station Pensacola]], [[Florida]], for flight training. He was also trained at the [[Naval Air Station Corpus Christi]], [[Texas]]. He was designated a [[United States Naval Aviator|Naval Aviator]] in September 1954<ref name="navyhist">{{cite web|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/biographies-list/bios-c/Conrad-Pete/Conrad-Pete-Text.html|title=Captain Charles Conrad Jr., United States Navy|access-date=June 24, 2016|publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command}}</ref> and became a [[fighter pilot]]. He excelled in Navy flight school, and he served for several years as an [[aircraft carrier]]-based fighter pilot in the Navy. Conrad also served as a [[flight instructor]] in Navy flight schools along the [[Gulf of Mexico]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.space.com/20519-pete-conrad-astronaut-biography.html|title=Pete Conrad: Apollo 12 Commander|publisher=Space.com|date=April 4, 2013|access-date=February 26, 2018|last1=Howell|first1=Elizabeth}}</ref>

Next, Conrad applied for and was accepted by the [[United States Naval Test Pilot School]] at [[Naval Air Station Patuxent River]], [[Patuxent, Maryland]]. His classmates were future fellow astronauts [[Wally Schirra]] and [[Jim Lovell]]. He graduated in 1958, as part of Class 20, and was assigned as a Project Test Pilot.<ref name=rocketman/>{{rp|83,146}} Conrad became a captain in the U.S. Navy on December 11, 1969.<ref name="navyhist" />

During this period, Conrad was invited to take part in the selection process for the first group of astronauts for the [[NASA|National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] (NASA) (the "[[Mercury Seven]]"). Conrad, like his fellow candidates, underwent several days of what they considered to be invasive, demeaning, and unnecessary medical and psychological testing at the [[Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute|Lovelace Clinic]] in [[New Mexico]]. Unlike his fellow candidates, Conrad rebelled against the regimen. During a [[Rorschach test|Rorschach inkblot test]], he told the psychiatrist that one blot card revealed a sexual encounter complete with lurid detail. When shown a blank card, he turned it around, pushed it back and replied, "It's upside down".<ref>{{cite book|last=Lindsay|first=Hamish|title=Tracking Apollo to the Moon|year=2001|publisher=Springer|location=New York [u.a.]|isbn=978-1-85233-212-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/trackingapolloto0000lind/page/36 36]|url=https://archive.org/details/trackingapolloto0000lind|url-access=registration}}</ref>

Then when he was asked to deliver a stool sample to the onsite lab, he placed it in a gift box and tied a red ribbon around it. Eventually, he decided that he had had enough. After dropping his full enema bag on the desk of the clinic's commanding officer, he walked out.<ref name=rocketman/>{{rp|113–119}} His initial application to NASA was denied with the notation ''not suitable for long-duration flight.''<ref name="right_stuff_108">{{cite book|author=Wolfe, Tom|author-link=Tom Wolfe|title=[[The Right Stuff (book)|The Right Stuff]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/rightstuff00tomw/page/108 108]|publisher=[[Farrar, Straus and Giroux|Farrar-Straus-Giroux]]|location=[[New York City|New York]]|year=1979|isbn=978-0-374-25033-1}}.</ref>

After his NASA episode, Conrad returned to the Navy as a fighter pilot, serving in the [[United States Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]]'s second operational [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II|F-4 Phantom II]] squadron, [[VF-96]], on board {{USS|Ranger|CV-61|6}}.<ref name="nasabio">{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/conrad_charles.pdf |title=Astronaut Bio: Charles Conrad Jr.|website=[[NASA]]|access-date=January 15, 2015 |date=July 1999}}</ref> Thereafter, when NASA announced its search for a second group of astronauts, Mercury veteran [[Alan Shepard]], who knew Conrad from their time as [[Naval aviation|naval aviators]] and [[test pilot]]s, approached Conrad and persuaded him to reapply.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.legacy.com/news/culture-and-trends/article/inner-lives-of-the-men-who-walked-on-the-moon|title=Inner Lives of Men Who Walked on the Moon|newspaper=Legacy.com|date=February 10, 2016 |access-date=July 5, 2017}}</ref> This time, Conrad found the medical tests less invasive, and in June 1962 he was selected to join NASA.<ref name=NYT/>

He logged more than 6,500 hours of flying time, with more than 5,000 hours in [[jet aircraft]].<ref name="astronautix">{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/c/conrad.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227204750/http://astronautix.com/c/conrad.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 27, 2016|title=Pete Conrad|publisher=Astronautix|access-date=June 14, 2017}}</ref>

==NASA career==
===Project Gemini===
{{Main|Gemini 5|Gemini 11}}
[[File:Conrad in Recovery Helicopter (9460625874).jpg|thumb|left|Conrad following his Gemini 5 flight]]
[[File:Astronauts Pete Conrad (right) and Richard Gordon pose in front of the recovery helicopter.jpg|thumb|right|Conrad (right) with his Gemini 11 crewmate Dick Gordon, following their flight]]
Conrad joined NASA as part of the second group of astronauts, known as the [[NASA Astronaut Group 2|New Nine]], on September 17, 1962.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33352619/the_tampa_tribune/|title=Here are the Next Nine Astronauts Who Will Join in U.S. Race to the Moon|newspaper=The Tampa Tribune|location=Tampa, Florida|date=September 18, 1962|page=4|via=Newspapers.com|agency=UPI}}</ref> Regarded as one of the best pilots in the group, he was among the first of his group to be assigned a Gemini mission. As pilot of [[Gemini 5]] he, along with his commander [[Gordon Cooper]], set a new space endurance record of eight days. The duration of the Gemini 5 flight was actually 7 days 22 hours and 55 minutes, surpassing the then-current Russian record of five days. Eight days was the time required for the first crewed lunar landing missions. Conrad facetiously referred to the Gemini 5 capsule as ''a flying garbage can''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-02-11-ls-35175-story.html|title=Lunar Rover|access-date=July 11, 2017|newspaper=L.A. Times}}</ref>

Conrad tested many spacecraft systems essential to the [[Apollo program]]. He was also one of the smallest of the astronauts, {{convert|5|ft|6+1/2|in|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} tall,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/astros/conrad.htm|title=Conrad|website=Astronautix|access-date=June 24, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013210914/http://www.astronautix.com/astros/conrad.htm|archive-date=October 13, 2013}}</ref> so he found the confinement of the Gemini capsule less onerous than his Commander Gordon Cooper did. He was then named commander of the [[Gemini 8]] backup crew, and later commander of [[Gemini 11]] with pilot [[Richard F. Gordon Jr.|Richard Gordon]]. Gemini 11 docked with an [[Agena target vehicle]] immediately after achieving orbit. Such a maneuver was an engineering and flight test similar to what the Apollo Command Module (CM) and Lunar Module (LM) would later be required to do. Also, the Gemini 11 flight holds the distinction of being the highest-apogee crewed Earth orbit ever, reaching an [[Apsis|apogee]] of {{convert|1,369|km|miles|sp=us}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/gemini/gemini-xi/gemini-xi.html|title=Conrad|website=NASA|access-date=August 14, 2016|archive-date=February 1, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120201213341/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/gemini/gemini-xi/gemini-xi.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Apollo program===
{{Main|Apollo 12}}
[[File:Pete Conrad during EVA training in the Flight Crew Support Building.jpg|thumb|left|Conrad during his Apollo 12 EVA training]]
[[File:Pete Conrad on LM ladder, Apollo 12.jpg|thumb|right|Conrad descends the [[Apollo Lunar Module|Lunar Module]] ladder, moments before becoming the third human to walk on the Moon]]
[[File:Pete Conrad First Steps on Moon Quote.ogg|thumb|Pete Conrad's quote while descending the LEM ladder]]
Conrad was assigned in December 1966 to command the backup crew for the first Earth orbital test flight of the complete [[Apollo (spacecraft)|Apollo spacecraft]], including the [[Apollo Lunar Module|Lunar Module]] (LM) into [[low Earth orbit]]. Delays in the LM's development pushed this mission to December 1968 as Apollo 8. But when one more delay occurred in readying the first LM for crewed flight, NASA approved and scheduled a lunar orbit mission without the LM as [[Apollo 8]], pushing Conrad's backup mission to [[Apollo 9]] in March 1969. Director of Flight Crew Operations [[Deke Slayton]]'s practice was to assign a backup crew as the prime crew on the third following mission. If the swap of 8 and 9 had not occurred, Conrad might have commanded [[Apollo 11]], the first mission to land on the Moon.<ref>Slayton, Donald; Cassutt, Michael.  ''Deke!''  (Forge, New York 1994) {{ISBN|978-0-312-85918-3}}, pp. 184, 216.</ref>

On November 14, 1969, [[Apollo 12]] was launched with Conrad as commander, [[Richard F. Gordon Jr.|Dick Gordon]] as [[Apollo Command/Service Module#Command Module (CM)|Command Module]] Pilot, and [[Alan Bean]] as Lunar Module Pilot. The launch was the most harrowing of the Apollo program, as a series of lightning strikes just after liftoff temporarily knocked out power and guidance in the Command Module. Five days later, after stepping down from the ladder of the Lunar Module onto a landing pad, Conrad joked about his own small stature by remarking:
{{blockquote|Whoopee! Man, that may have been a small one for [[Neil Armstrong|Neil]], but that's a long one for me.|source=Pete Conrad<ref name=journal>{{cite web|url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a12/a12.eva1prelim.html|publisher=NASA|work=Apollo 12 Lunar Surface Journal|title=That may have been a small one for Neil ...|last1=Jones|first1=Eric|access-date=February 5, 2018}}</ref>}}
He later revealed that he said this in order to win a bet he had made with the Italian journalist [[Oriana Fallaci]] for $500 to prove that NASA did not script astronaut comments. Fallaci was convinced that Armstrong's "One small step for man" statement had been written for him and was not his own words.<ref>Fallaci never paid up. [http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/features/conrad_ambassador_of_exploration.html NASA Honor site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130020332/http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/features/conrad_ambassador_of_exploration.html |date=January 30, 2013 }}; Rocketman, p. 176.</ref> 

Conrad's "long one" referred to the jump from the Lunar Module's ladder to a landing pad, whereas Armstrong's "small step" referred to the small step from the landing pad onto the Moon's surface. Conrad's first words on the lunar surface were:
{{blockquote|Oooh, is that soft and queasy.|source=Pete Conrad<ref name=journal />}}

One of the photos that Conrad took during the mission with his own image visible on the helmet visor of Alan Bean was later listed on ''[[Popular Science]]''{{'}}s photo gallery of the best [[Space selfie|astronaut selfies]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Best Astronaut Selfies|date=October 3, 2013 |url=http://www.popsci.com/gallery/best-astronaut-selfies|publisher=Popular Science Magazine|access-date=December 27, 2013}}</ref>

===Skylab===
{{Main|Skylab 2}}
[[File:Skylab 2 Crew Members.jpg|thumb|Paul J. Weitz, (left) Charles Conrad Jr. (middle); and Joseph P. Kerwin (right); America's first space station crew would spend 28 days in space]]
Conrad's final mission was as commander of [[Skylab 2]], the first crew to board the [[Skylab]] [[space station]]. The station had been damaged on its uncrewed launch, when its [[micrometeoroid]] shield tore away, taking one of two main solar panels with it and jamming the other one so that it could not deploy. Conrad and his crew repaired the damage on two [[Extravehicular activity|spacewalks]]. Conrad managed to pull free the stuck solar panel by sheer brute force, an action of which he was particularly proud. The astronauts also erected a "parasol" solar shield to protect the station from intense solar heating, a function which the lost micrometeoroid shield was supposed to perform. Without the shield, Skylab and its contents would have become unusable.<ref>{{cite book | last = French | first = Francis | author-link = Francis French (author) | author2 = Colin Burgess | author-link2 = Colin Burgess (author) | title = [[In the Shadow of the Moon (book)|In the Shadow of the Moon]] | publisher = University of Nebraska Press | year = 2007 | location = Lincoln, NE | pages = [https://archive.org/details/inshadowofmoonch0000fren/page/136 136–137] | isbn = 978-0-8032-1128-5 }}</ref> President [[Jimmy Carter]] honored Conrad for this in 1978 by awarding him the [[Congressional Space Medal of Honor]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nmspacemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.php?id=62|title=Commanded Apollo 12, the second lunar landing flight|access-date=June 25, 2017|publisher=New Mexico Museum of Space History}}</ref>

During his training for Skylab 2, Conrad had to bail out from NASA [[Northrop T-38 Talon|T-38]] N957NA on May 10, 1972. He was returning to Houston from a visit to [[ILC Dover|ILC Industries]] in [[Delaware]]. On approach to [[Ellington AFB]], he was advised that the weather had deteriorated below minimums so he diverted to Hobby. During the night, [[instrument flight rules]] (IFR) descent, he suffered a generator failure at 800 feet and broke off the approach. He elected to divert to an airfield with better weather. He ran out of fuel as he reached [[Bergstrom AFB]] and was forced to eject at 3,700 feet. He landed about 100 yards from the base operations building and his airplane crashed in an open field about two miles away.

==Post-NASA career==
[[File:Pete Conrad undergoes dental exam.jpg|thumb|Conrad undergoes a dental exam by Skylab 2 Science Pilot, [[Joseph P. Kerwin]], M.D.]]
Conrad retired from NASA and the Navy in 1973, and went to work for American Television and Communications Company. He started as the vice president of operations and chief operating officer. Conrad was in charge of the operation of existing systems and the national development of new cable television systems.<ref name="nasabio" />

In 1976, Conrad accepted a position with [[McDonnell Douglas]] as a vice president and consultant. In 1978, he became vice president of marketing and was responsible for the commercial and military sales of Douglas Aircraft Company. After an engine fell off a [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10]], causing it to [[American Airlines Flight 191|crash with the loss of all passengers and crew]] in 1979, Conrad spearheaded McDonnell Douglas's ultimately unsuccessful efforts to allay the fears of the public and policymakers, and save the plane's reputation. In 1980, he was promoted to senior vice president of marketing. From 1982 to 1984, Conrad served as the senior vice president of marketing and product support. He was appointed staff vice president of international business development in 1984. During the 1990s he consulted for the [[McDonnell Douglas DC-X|Delta Clipper]] experimental [[single-stage-to-orbit]] launch vehicle. He became vice president of project development in 1993.<ref name="nasabio" />

On February 14, 1996, Conrad was part of the crew on a record-breaking around-the-world flight in a [[Learjet]] owned by cable TV pioneer [[Bill Daniels]]. The flight lasted 49 hours, 26 minutes and 8 seconds.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/02/14/learjet-apparently-sets-record-for-round-the-world-flying-time/|title=Learjet Apparently Sets Record For Round-the-world Flying Time|date=February 14, 1996|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=February 5, 2018}}</ref> Today the jet is on permanent static display at [[Denver International Airport]]'s Terminal C.<ref name=rocketman/>

A month before he died, Conrad appeared on [[Nightline|ABC News ''Nightline'']] and said, "I think the [[Space Shuttle]] is worth one billion dollars a launch. I think that it is worth two billion dollars for what it does. I think the Shuttle is worth it for the work it does." In the last interview he gave before his death, Conrad sat down for [[PBS]]'s ''[[Nova (American TV series)|Nova]]'' series and discussed where he felt the future direction of space travel should go. He considered returning to the Moon "a waste of taxpayer money", but recommended missions to [[Mars]] and asteroids.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tothemoon/conrad.html|title=Pete Conrad|publisher=NOVA Online|access-date=February 5, 2018}}</ref>

In 2006, NASA posthumously awarded him the Ambassador of Exploration Award for his work for the agency and science.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/features/conrad_ambassador_of_exploration.html|title=NASA Honors Apollo 12 Commander Charles Conrad|access-date=June 25, 2017|publisher=NASA|archive-date=October 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022084435/http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/features/conrad_ambassador_of_exploration.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Personal life==
{{quote box|quote=When you can't be good, be colorful.|source=–Conrad's personal motto.<ref name=NYT/>}}

While at Princeton, Conrad met Jane DuBose, a student at [[Bryn Mawr College|Bryn Mawr]], whose family owned a {{convert|1600|acre|ha|adj=on}} ranch near [[Uvalde, Texas]]. Her father, Winn DuBose, was the first person to call Conrad "Pete" rather than "Peter", the name he had used since birth. Upon his graduation from Princeton and acceptance of his navy commission, Conrad and Jane were married on June 16, 1953. They had four sons.<ref name=rocketman/>

Given the demands of his career in the Navy and NASA, Conrad and Jane spent considerable time apart, and Conrad saw less of his sons than he would have liked. In 1988, Conrad and Jane divorced, both later remarrying.<ref name="nasabio" /><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2015/02/neil_armstrong_s_closet_what_i_found_when_i_went_through_the_belongings.html|title=My mom married the third man to walk on the moon. We didn't always get along|last1=Crane|first1=Dan|magazine=Slate|access-date=February 6, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/can-walking-on-the-moon-be-better-than-sex-in-space|title=Can Walking on the Moon Be Better Than Sex in Space?|last1=Koppel|first1=Lily|website=Daily Beast|access-date=February 6, 2018|date=July 6, 2013}}</ref>

In 1989, Conrad's youngest son, Christopher, was diagnosed with a malignant [[lymphoma]]. He died in April 1990, at the age of 29.<ref name=rocketman/>{{rp|230–1}}

Conrad met [[Nancy Conrad|Nancy Crane]], a [[Denver, Colorado|Denver]] divorcee, through mutual friends. Conrad and Crane married in 1990.<ref>{{cite book |last=Burgess |first=Colin |title=Selecting the Mercury Seven: The Search for America's First Astronauts |year=2011 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4419-8404-3 |oclc=731918463 |page=289}}</ref>

Conrad was a [[Cub Scouting (Boy Scouts of America)|Cub Scout]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scouting.org/FILESTORE/pdf/02-558.pdf|title=Astronauts and the BSA|publisher=Boy Scouts of America|access-date=June 25, 2017|date=2006|page=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622104220/http://www.scouting.org/FILESTORE/pdf/02-558.pdf|archive-date=June 22, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> His recreational interests included [[golf]], [[water skiing]] and [[auto racing]], such as [[Formula Vee]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Super Vee|journal=Vee Line|date=February 1970|issue=64|pages=4|url=http://www.formulavee.us/vee_lines/VeeLine%2064b%20Feb%2070.pdf|access-date=July 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304081637/http://www.formulavee.us/vee_lines/VeeLine%2064b%20Feb%2070.pdf|archive-date=March 4, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Death==
Conrad died on July 8, 1999, from internal injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. While traveling with his wife and friends from his [[Huntington Beach, California|Huntington Beach]] home to [[Monterey, California]], his motorcycle crashed on a turn. Conrad later died in a hospital in [[Ojai, California|Ojai]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Third Man to Walk on Moon Dies in Motorcycle Accident|url=http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/news/conrad_pr_19990709.html|newspaper=NASA|date=July 9, 1999}}</ref> He was wearing a helmet at the time and was operating within the speed limit.<ref name=NYT/> He was buried with full honours at [[Arlington National Cemetery]],<ref>[https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgZjb25yYWQSB2NoYXJsZXM-/ Burial Detail: Conrad, Charles (Section 11, Grave 113-3)] – ANC Explorer</ref> with many Apollo-era astronauts in attendance and a performance of "[[Amazing Grace]]" by music legend [[Willie Nelson]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://historical.ha.com/itm/autographs/charles-pete-conrad-jr-memorial-service-program-signed-by-his-apollo-12-crewmates-with-conrad-signature-on-card/a/6103-40239.s | title=Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr. Memorial Service Program Signed by His &#124; Lot #40239 }}</ref>

The [[Johnson Space Center|Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center]] in [[Houston, Texas]] has a grove of trees that have been planted to honor the memory of the astronauts who have died. After Conrad's death, [[NASA]] planted a tree in his honor. During the dedication ceremony, his [[Apollo 12]] crewmate [[Alan Bean]] used his speech to lighten the sombre occasion by injecting a little levity, pretending to "channel" Conrad's instructions from the hereafter. Bean said Conrad wanted NASA to light his tree every Christmas season with coloured lights instead of the white used for everyone else, in keeping with his motto "when you can't be good, be colourful". NASA has honoured this request, and every Christmas since then, all of the trees in the grove have been lit with white lights—except Conrad's tree, which has been lit with red lights.<ref name=rocketman/>{{rp|xiii}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/jscfeatures/articles/000000654.html|title=Spirit of space pioneers shines brightly at Astronaut Memorial Grove|publisher=[[Johnson Space Center|Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center]]|access-date=February 25, 2018|archive-date=June 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619232603/https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/jscfeatures/articles/000000654.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Awards and honors==
[[File:(Left to right) Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon, and Al Bean pose with the Apollo 12 Saturn V.jpg|right|thumb|Conrad, [[Richard F. Gordon Jr.|Dick Gordon]], and [[Alan Bean]] pose with their Apollo 12 Saturn V Moon rocket in the background.]]
* Two [[Distinguished Service Medal (United States Navy)|Navy Distinguished Service Medals]]<ref name="nasabio"/>
* Two [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]]es<ref name="nasabio"/>
* [[Congressional Space Medal of Honor]] (1978)<ref name="nasabio"/>
* Two [[NASA Distinguished Service Medal]]s<ref name="nasabio"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44062092/arizona_republic/|title=Agnew Confers Awards on Crews of 3 Apollos|newspaper=Arizona Republic|location=Phoenix, Arizona|date=November 14, 1970|agency=Associated Press|page=23|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
* Two [[NASA Exceptional Service Medal]]s<ref name="nasabio"/>
* [[Yuri Gagarin]] Gold Space Medal ([[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale]])<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29930122/the_daily_courier/|title=Astronauts Honored|agency=UPI|newspaper=The Daily Courier|location=Connellsville, Pennsylvania|date=October 28, 1974|page=4|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
* [[Harmon Trophy]] (1974)<ref name="nasabio"/>
* [[Thompson Trophy]] (1974)<ref name="nasabio"/>

He is inducted into several Aviation and Astronaut Halls of Fame. In 1980 he was inducted into the [[National Aviation Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Enshrinee Pete Conrad |url=https://nationalaviation.org/enshrinee/charles-pete-conrad-jr/ |website=nationalaviation.org |publisher=National Aviation Hall of Fame |access-date=February 1, 2023}}</ref> He was one of ten Gemini astronauts inducted into the [[International Space Hall of Fame]] in 1982.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28841417/albuquerque_journal/|title=Astronauts Laud Gemini as Precursor to Shuttle|last1=Shay|first1=Erin|newspaper=Albuquerque Journal|location=Albuquerque, New Mexico|date=October 3, 1982|page=3|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Conrad and his fellow Gemini astronauts were inducted into the [[United States Astronaut Hall of Fame|U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame]] in 1993.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33582881/florida_today/|title=Activities Honor Gemini Astronauts|newspaper=Florida Today|location=Cocoa, Florida|date=March 14, 1993|page=41|via=Newspapers.com|last1=Clark|first1=Amy}}</ref> Conrad was presented an [[Honorary degree|Honorary]] [[Master of Arts]] degree from Princeton in 1966; an Honorary [[Doctor of Laws]] degree from [[Nebraska Wesleyan University|Lincoln-Wesleyan University]] in 1970, and an Honorary [[Doctor of Science]] degree from [[King's College (Pennsylvania)|Kings College]], [[Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania]] in 1971.<ref name="nasabio"/>

The three Skylab astronaut crews were awarded the 1973 [[Robert J. Collier Trophy]] "For proving beyond question the value of man in future explorations of space and the production of data of benefit to all the people on Earth."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://naa.aero/awards/awards-and-trophies/collier-trophy/collier-1970-1979-winners|title=Collier 1970–1979 Recipients|access-date=February 9, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20455982/the_orlando_sentinel/|title=Collier Trophy at Test Range|newspaper=The Orlando Sentinel|location=Orlando, Florida|date=October 3, 1974|page=21|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> [[Gerald P. Carr|Gerald Carr]] accepted the 1975 [[Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy]] from President Ford, awarded to the Skylab astronauts.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20406167/daily_press/|title=For Praises Astronauts, Space Program|agency=UPI|date=April 12, 1975|location=Newport News|newspaper=Daily Press|page=23|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> They were awarded AIAA's 1974 [[Haley Astronautics Award]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43588056/abilene_reporternews/|title=Astronaut Thinks Pioneering About to Begin in Space|newspaper=Abilene Reporter-News|location=Abilene, Texas|date=October 31, 1974|page=8-A|via=Newspapers.com|agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

Conrad was a [[fellow]] of the [[American Astronautical Society]]; [[New York Academy of Sciences]]; [[American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics]], and the [[Society of Experimental Test Pilots]].<ref name="astronautix" />

==In popular media==
[[File:Conrad-aexp.png|thumb|right|Conrad appeared as a spokesman for [[American Express]] ]]
Conrad was discussed at length in [[Tom Wolfe]]'s 1979 book, ''[[The Right Stuff (book)|The Right Stuff]]'', about the pilots engaged in U.S. postwar research about rockets, although he was never mentioned in the [[The Right Stuff (film)|1983 film version]]. He played a news commentator in the 1975 made-for-TV movie ''[[Stowaway to the Moon (film)|Stowaway to the Moon]]'', and himself in the 1991 television movie [[Plymouth (film)|''Plymouth'']], about a fictional lunar base,<ref name="Selecting the Mercury Seven">{{cite book |last=Burgess |first=Colin | author-link=Colin Burgess (author) |title=Selecting the Mercury Seven: The Search for America's First Astronauts |location=New York; London |publisher=Springer |year=2011 |series=Springer-Praxis books in space exploration |isbn=978-1-4419-8405-0 |oclc=747105631|page=290}}</ref> and in an [[American Express]] television commercial.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/10/us/pete-conrad-69-the-third-man-to-walk-on-the-moon-dies-after-a-motorcycle-crash.html |newspaper=New York Times|title=Pete Conrad, 69, the Third Man to Walk on the Moon, Dies After a Motorcycle Crash|last1=Wren|first1=Christopher S.|date=July 10, 1999|access-date=June 24, 2016}}</ref>

In the 1995 film ''[[Apollo 13 (film)|Apollo 13]]'', Conrad was played by [[David Andrews (actor)|David Andrews]]; in the 1998 [[HBO]] [[miniseries]] [[From the Earth to the Moon (miniseries)|''From the Earth to the Moon'']], by [[Peter Scolari]] and [[Paul McCrane]];<ref name="Selecting the Mercury Seven" /> in the 2018 film ''[[First Man (film)|First Man]]'', by [[Ethan Embry]],<ref>{{cite news |title=The True Story of 'First Man': How Accurate Are the Characters |newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter  |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/true-story-first-man-how-accurate-are-characters-1137752/ |access-date=November 7, 2021 |date=October 12, 2018 |first=Sydney |last=Odman }}</ref> and in the 2019 [[alternate history]] web television series ''[[For All Mankind (TV series)|For All Mankind]]'' by Steven Pritchard.

{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book | last=Chaikin | first=Andrew | title=A man on the moon : the voyages of the Apollo astronauts | publisher=Viking | location=New York| year=1994 | isbn=978-0-670-81446-6 | oclc=29548704 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book | last=Conrad | first=Nancy | title=Rocket man : astronaut Pete Conrad's incredible ride to the moon and beyond | publisher=New American Library | location=New York | year=2005 | isbn=978-0-451-21509-3 | oclc=57311427 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book | last=Slayton | first=Donald | title=Deke! : U.S. manned space, from Mercury to the shuttle | publisher=Forge | location=New York | year=1995 | isbn=978-0-312-85918-3 | oclc=42051303  |ref=none}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Pete Conrad}}
* [http://www.conradchallenge.org/conrad-foundation/ Conrad Foundation]
* [https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip_15-9g5gb1zn56 Interview with Pete Conrad for NOVA series: To the Moon] WGBH Educational Foundation, raw footage, 1998
* {{IMDb name|0175616}}
* {{C-SPAN|9849}}

{{People who have traveled to the Moon|state=expanded}}
{{Congressional Space Medal of Honor}}
{{NASA Astronaut Group 2|state=autocollapse}}
{{Gemini program}}
{{Skylab}}
{{U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Aviation|Spaceflight|Solar System|Pennsylvania|United States}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad, Pete}}
[[Category:Pete Conrad| ]]
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:Apollo 12]]
[[Category:Apollo program astronauts]]
[[Category:Aviators from Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:Collier Trophy recipients]]
[[Category:Darrow School alumni]]
[[Category:Harmon Trophy winners]]
[[Category:Motorcycle road incident deaths]]
[[Category:National Aviation Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:People from New Lebanon, New York]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:People who have walked on the Moon]]
[[Category:20th-century American explorers]]
[[Category:Princeton University School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal]]
[[Category:Road incident deaths in California]]
[[Category:United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:United States Naval Aviators]]
[[Category:United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni]]
[[Category:United States Navy astronauts]]
[[Category:United States Navy captains]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:Scientists with dyslexia]]
[[Category:American scientists with disabilities]]
[[Category:American flight instructors]]
[[Category:Project Gemini astronauts]]
[[Category:Skylab program astronauts]]
[[Category:Spacewalkers]]
[[Category:NASA Astronaut Group 2]]