Early Project Mercury Media Event Ends with Astronaut Prank

By Bob Granath

That voice you heard providing the countdown for the liftoff of Apollo 11 was Jack King. While his name may not be well known, his voice was immortalized as the world watched and listened to the launch of the first lunar landing mission on July 16, 1969.

King was hired by Kennedy Space Center’s first director, Dr. Kurt Debus, in 1960 to serve as NASA’s first chief of Public Information for the Florida spaceport.

According to Hugh Harris, retired director of NASA Public Affairs at Kennedy, King was instrumental in instituting open communications with the public during the beginning of America’s civilian space program.

“Jack helped establish the original systems to ensure the news media received timely and accurate information about both the early human flight programs and the unmanned missions,” Harris said.

I came to recognize his name and voice when he counted down the launch of NASA astronauts Jim McDivitt and Ed White for Gemini IV on June 3, 1965. Later that day, White performed America’s first spacewalk.

In 1996, I was manager of Public Relations for United Space Alliance at Kennedy. I needed someone to serve as my chief of media relations. When I learned the native Bostonian was looking to move back to the Space Coast after several years working in Washington, D.C., I knew he would be a natural fit.

During the years we worked together, King told numerous stories about the early days of America’s space program at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

After attending a Port Canaveral meeting of the National Space Club, we were driving back to our offices at Kennedy and passing Hangar S at the Cape. Hangar S is where spacecraft for NASA’s Project Mercury were processed, astronauts trained and the crew quarters were located on the second floor.

“There’s Hangar S, if those walls could talk,” I said, hoping to hear an interesting anecdote.

Jack did not disappoint.

The following is the story as told by Jack King:

In April 1961 we were just a few weeks from the launch of Alan Shepard. The Soviets had just beaten us with the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin. We needed to show everyone we weren’t all asleep.

We also knew the news media needed to have an idea what the astronauts would be doing the morning of a launch and they could use photos and film to include with TV coverage of that first manned launch. It was all new at this point.

We scheduled a media event, much like NASA does now. We took reporters to Hangar S, showed them around focusing on the crew quarters. I enlisted original Mercury Astronaut Gordon Cooper to serve as “tour guide.”

Gordo showed them the bedroom. It looked a lot like a college dormitory with bunk beds. He then led them to the room where the astronaut who was about to be launched into space would have breakfast.

Dr. Bill Douglas, the astronauts personal physician, performed a brief medical checkup as he would on launch day. Next, Gordo went though the complex process of putting on the spacesuit astronauts wear during the flight.

We then took the group of reporters and photographers outside the main door to the hanger. Gordo came out in the silver spacesuit carrying his hand-held air conditioner to keep him comfortable against the Florida heat and humidity. He smiled, waved and climbed aboard the waiting transfer van, the specially outfitted truck that world transport the astronaut to the launch pad.

There was one unusual addition. Cooper was followed aboard the transfer van by Dr. Douglas. That would not be the case on the actual launch day. But I figured, “Oh, well, this is only a simulation.”

The reporters were then loaded on a bus and taken to the Cape’s Launch Pad 5 where Shepard’s Mercury capsule was mounted atop the Redstone rocket, all surrounded by the gantry.

The transfer van truck pulled up and Gordo steps off smiling and waving as he walked from the van to the gantry’s elevator, followed by Dr. Douglas.

The still and film photographers are getting great background photos and all appeared to be going as planned.

Then Gordo stopped at the doorway to the gantry elevator.

“What is he up to?”

Gordo puts down his air conditioner, grabbed the elevator door frame with his gloved hands and shouted, “I won’t go, you can’t make me!”

“Yes, you will!,” Dr. Douglas said, shoving Gordo into the elevator. The doctor then slammed the elevator gate closed, pushed the button and up they went.

The reporters all cracked up and laughed hilariously.

All I could do was laugh with them, bury my face in my hand and say, “Ugh, Gordo did it to me again.”

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