Charles Arthur "Charlie" Bassett II (December 30, 1931 – February 28, 1966) (

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

) was an American

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

. He went to

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

for two years and later graduated from

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

Electrical Engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. He joined the Air Force as a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

and graduated from both the Air Force's Experimental Test Pilot School and the

Aerospace Research Pilot School The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (USAF TPS) is the Air Force's advanced flight training school that trains experimental test pilots, flight test engineers, and flight test navigators to carry out tests and evaluations of new aerospace w ...

. Bassett was married and had two children. He was selected as a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

in 1963 and was assigned to ''

Gemini 9 Gemini 9A (officially Gemini IX-A) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was a 1966 crewed spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It was the seventh crewed Gemini flight, the 15th crewed American fligh ...

''. He died in an airplane crash during training for his first spaceflight. He is memorialized on the

Space Mirror Memorial The Space Mirror Memorial, which forms part of the larger Astronauts Memorial, is a National Memorial on the grounds of the John F. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Merritt Island, Florida. It is maintained by the Astronauts Memorial Foun ...

;

The Astronaut Monument The Astronaut Monument is a monument commemorating the training of Apollo program, Apollo Astronaut, astronauts in northern Iceland in 1965 and 1967. It is located outside the Exploration Museum in Húsavík, and contains the names of 32 Apollo as ...

; and the ''

Fallen Astronaut ''Fallen Astronaut'' is a aluminum sculpture created by Belgian artist Paul Van Hoeydonck. It is a stylized figure of an astronaut in a spacesuit, intended to commemorate the astronauts and Astronaut#Cosmonaut, cosmonauts who have died in t ...

'' memorial plaque, which was placed on the Moon during the

Apollo 15 Apollo 15 (July 26August 7, 1971) was the ninth crewed mission in the Apollo program and the fourth Moon landing. It was the first List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types, J mission, with a longer stay on the Moon and a greate ...

mission.

Early life and education

Bassett was born on December 30, 1931, in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, to Charles Arthur "Pete" Bassett (1897–1957) and Fannie Belle Milby Bassett ( James; 1907–1993). Bassett was active in the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

, where he achieved its second-highest rank,

Life Scout Advancement and recognition in Scouting America is a tradition dating from the inception of the Scouting movement. A fundamental purpose of advancement is the self-confidence a young man or woman acquires from his participation in Scouting. Advanc ...

. During high school, Bassett was a model plane aficionado. He belonged to a club that built gasoline-powered models and flew them in the school gym. Bassett's interest in model airplanes translated to real aircraft; he made his first solo flight at age 16. He worked odd jobs at the airport to earn money for flying lessons and earned his

private pilot license A private pilot licence (PPL) or private pilot certificate is a type of pilot licence that allows the holder to act as pilot in command of an aircraft privately (not for remuneration). The basic licence requirements are determined by the Inter ...

at age seventeen. After graduating from

Berea High School Berea High School (BHS) was a high school located in Berea, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1882 and served students in grades nine through 12. Its most recent campus, located immediately east of Baldwin Wallace University, was built in ...

, in Berea, in 1950, he attended

, in

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

, from 1950 to 1952. Midway through college in 1952, Bassett enrolled in

Air Force ROTC The Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AFROTC) is one of the three primary commissioning sources for officers in the United States Air Force and United States Space Force, the other two being the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA ...

; he entered the U.S. Air Force as an

aviation cadet A flight cadet or is a military or civilian occupational title that is held by someone who is in training to perform aircrew duties in an airplane. The trainee does not need to become a pilot, as flight cadets may also learn to serve as a bombard ...

in October of that year. He attended Texas Technological College, now

, from 1958 to 1960. He received a

degree with honors in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

from Texas Tech and did graduate work at

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(USC) in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Military service

He started his career with training at Stallings Air Base,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and

Bryan Air Force Base Bryan Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base in Brazos County, Texas, located west of Bryan. Bryan Air Force Base was originally activated in 1943 as a U.S. Army Air Forces installation known as Bryan Army Air Field. The base hous ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Bassett graduated from Bryan in December 1953 and was commissioned in the Air Force. He arrived for additional training in

Nellis Air Force Base Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloquialism, colloq.) is a United States Air Force military installation, installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts Aerial warfare, air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exerc ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, as a second lieutenant. There, he flew trainer aircraft, such as the T-6, the

T-28 T28 may refer to: Aircraft * Enstrom T-28, an American helicopter * North American T-28 Trojan, an American trainer * Slingsby T.28, a British glider Armoured land vehicles * T-28 (medium tank), a Soviet tank * T28 super-heavy tank, an ...

, and the

T-33 The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

, and flew the jet fighter

F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

in 1954. He went to

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

with the 8th Fighter Bomber Group and flew a F-86 Sabre. Bassett was too late to fly any

combat mission ''Combat Mission'' is a series of computer wargames simulating tactical battles. The series has progressed through two distinct game engines. The original game engine, referred to as 'CMx1' by the developer, Battlefront.com, powered a trio of g ...

s, and said, "If you don't have any challenge, you never know how good you are." Bassett was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

in May 1955. He returned from Korea in 1955 and was assigned to

Suffolk County Air Force Base Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base is an air defense military installation located at civilian public-use Francis S. Gabreski Airport, located just north of Westhampton Beach, New York. It is currently the home base of the New York Ai ...

, in New York, flying aircraft such as the F-86D, the

F-102 The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger is an interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Convair. A member of the Century Series, the F-102 was the first operational supersonic interceptor and delta-wing fighter op ...

, and the

C-119 The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) is an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechani ...

. In November 1960, Bassett went to

Maxwell Air Force Base Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. ...

, in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, to attend

Squadron Officer School Squadron Officer School (SOS), is a 5.5-week-long Professional Military Education (PME) course for U.S. Air Force and Space Force Captains, Department of the Air Force Civilian (DAFC) equivalents and International Officers. It fulfills the ...

. He also graduated from the Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School (Class 62A) and the

(Class III) and was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Bassett was an experimental

and engineering test pilot in the Fighter Projects Office at

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and logged over 3,600 hours of flying time, including over 2,900 hours in a

jet aircraft A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by one or more jet engines. Whereas the engines in Propeller (aircraft), propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much ...

NASA career

Bassett was one of

's third group of astronauts, named in October 1963. In addition to participating in the overall astronaut training program, he had specific responsibilities related to training and simulators. On November 8, 1965, he was selected as pilot of the

mission with

Elliot See Elliot McKay See Jr. (July 23, 1927 – February 28, 1966) was an American engineer, United States naval aviator, naval aviator, test pilot and NASA astronaut. See received an appointment to the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1945. H ...

as command pilot. Bassett was scheduled to make an untethered ninety-minute

spacewalk Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable atmosphere of Earth, Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environme ...

, which was undertaken by

Gene Cernan Eugene Andrew Cernan (; March 14, 1934 – January 16, 2017) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot. Cernan traveled into space three times and to the Moon twice: as pilot ...

on Gemini 9A. According to chief astronaut

Deke Slayton Donald Kent "Deke" Slayton (March 1, 1924 – June 13, 1993) was an American Air Force pilot, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts. He went on to become NASA's first Chief of the Astronaut O ...

's autobiography, he chose Bassett for Gemini 9 because he was "strong enough to carry" both himself and See. Slayton had also assigned Bassett as

command module pilot Astronauts hold a variety of ranks and positions. Each of these roles carries responsibilities that are essential to the operation of a spacecraft. A spacecraft's cockpit, filled with sophisticated equipment, requires skills differing from those ...

for the second backup

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

crew, alongside

Frank Borman Frank Frederick Borman II (March 14, 1928 – November 7, 2023) was an American United States Air Force (USAF) colonel (United States), colonel, aeronautical engineer, NASA astronaut, test pilot, and businessman. He was the commander of Apollo ...

and

William Anders William Alison Anders (17 October 1933 – 7 June 2024) was an American United States Air Force (USAF) major general, electrical engineer, nuclear engineer, NASA astronaut, and businessman. In December 1968, he was a member of the crew of ...

Personal life

On June 22, 1955, Bassett married Jeannie Martin. They had two children.

Death

The Original Gemini 9 Prime Crew - GPN-2000-001352

Bassett and Elliot See died on February 28, 1966, when their

T-38 T38 or T-38 may refer to: Aviation * Allison T38, an American turboprop aircraft engine * Northrop T-38 Talon, an American jet trainer aircraft * Slingsby T.38 Grasshopper, a British training glider Other uses * T38 (classification), a disabi ...

trainer jet, piloted by See, crashed into

McDonnell Aircraft The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 6, 1939, by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom II ...

Building 101, known as the McDonnell Space Center, from

Lambert Field St. Louis Lambert International Airport is the primary international airport serving metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Commonly referred to as Lambert Field or simply Lambert, it is the largest and busiest airport in the s ...

airport in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. Building 101 was where the Gemini spacecraft was built, and the two astronauts were going there that Monday morning to train for two weeks in a simulator. They died within of their spacecraft. Both astronauts died instantly from

trauma Trauma most often refers to: *Psychological trauma, in psychology and psychiatric medicine, refers to severe mental and emotional injury caused by distressing events *Traumatic injury, sudden physical injury caused by an external force, which doe ...

sustained in the crash. See was thrown clear of the cockpit and was found in the parking lot still strapped to his ejection seat with the parachute partially open. Bassett was decapitated on impact; his severed head was found later in the day in the rafters of the damaged assembly building. Both men's remains were buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

on Friday, March 4. During funeral services in Texas two days earlier, astronauts

Jim McDivitt Jim or JIM may refer to: Names * Jim (given name) Jim is a given name or a hypocorism of the given name James (name), James or Jimena, and a short form of Jimmy. People * Jim Acosta (born 1971), American journalist * Jim Adkins (born 1975), Am ...

and

Jim Lovell James Arthur Lovell Jr. ( ; born March 25, 1928) is an American retired astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as command module pilot of Apollo 8, he became, with Frank Borman and William Anders, one of the fi ...

and civilian pilot Jere Cobb flew the

missing man formation The missing man formation is an aerial salute performed as part of a flypast of aircraft at a funeral or memorial event, typically in memory of a fallen pilot, a well-known military service member or veteran, or a well-known political figure. Th ...

in Bassett's honor, while

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin ( ; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three extravehicular activity, spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, and was the Lunar Module Eag ...

Bill Anders William Alison Anders (17 October 1933 – 7 June 2024) was an American United States Air Force (USAF) major general, electrical engineer, nuclear engineer, NASA astronaut, and businessman. In December 1968, he was a member of the crew of ...

, and

Walter Cunningham Ronnie Walter Cunningham (March 16, 1932 – January 3, 2023) was an American astronaut, fighter pilot, physicist, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and author of the 1977 book ''The All-American Boys''. NASA's third civilian astronaut (after N ...

did the same to honor See. A NASA investigative panel later concluded that

pilot error In aviation, pilot error generally refers to an action or decision made by a Aircraft pilot#Airline, pilot that is a substantial contributing factor leading to an Aviation accidents and incidents, aviation accident. It also includes a pilot ...

, caused by poor visibility due to bad weather, was the principal cause of the accident. The panel concluded that See was flying too low to the ground during his second approach, probably because of the poor visibility.

Memorials

Bassett is honored at the

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is the visitor center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida. It features exhibits and displays, historic spacecraft and memorabilia, shows, two IMAX theaters, and a range of bus tou ...

, alongside 24 other NASA astronauts who died in the pursuit of space exploration. His name also appears on the ''

'' memorial plaque at

Hadley Rille Hadley may refer to: Places Earth Canada * Hadley Bay, on the north of Victoria Island, Nunavut England * Hadley, London, a former civil parish within Barnet Urban District from 1894 to 1965 * Hadley, Shropshire, part of the new town of T ...

on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

, placed by the

mission in 1971. Texas Tech University dedicated an Electrical Engineering Research Laboratory building in Bassett's honor in November 1996.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Astronauts memorial foundation website

from 2011)

*
Arlington National Cemetery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bassett, Charles Arthur 1931 births 1966 deaths Accidental deaths in Missouri American electrical engineers American test pilots Aviators from Ohio Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Deaths by decapitation Engineers from Ohio Military personnel from Dayton, Ohio Ohio State University alumni Space program fatalities Texas Tech University alumni 20th-century American engineers United States Air Force astronauts United States Air Force officers U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni USC Viterbi School of Engineering alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1966