Donn Fulton Eisele (June 23, 1930 – December 1, 1987) (
Colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
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 a
United States Air Force officer,
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 ...
, and later a
NASA astronaut. He served as
command module pilot for the
Apollo 7
Apollo 7 (October 11–22, 1968) was the first crewed flight in NASA's Apollo program, and saw the resumption of human spaceflight by the agency after the fire that had killed the three Apollo 1 astronauts during a launch rehearsal test ...
mission in 1968. After retiring from both NASA and the Air Force in 1972, he became the
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
country director for
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, before moving into private business.
Biography
Early life and education
Eisele was born June 23, 1930, in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
, to Herman Eugene Eisele (1899–1964) and Lee Ila June Eisele ( Davisson; 1900–1964). He graduated from
West High School in 1948.
He was an active
Boy Scout and earned the rank of
Еagle Scout. He received 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 from the
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...
in
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...
, in 1952,
and chose a commission in the
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 ...
. He received a
Master of Science
A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...
degree in
Astronautics
Astronautics (or cosmonautics) is the practice of sending spacecraft beyond atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Spaceflight is one of its main applications and space science is its overarching field.
The term ''astronautics' ...
from the U.S.
Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT),
Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, in 1960.
Flight experience
Following his commission, Eisele was sent to flight training. He was trained at
Goodfellow Air Force Base,
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 ...
,
Williams Air Force Base
Williams Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located in Maricopa County, Arizona, east of Chandler, Arizona, Chandler, and about southeast of Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix. It is a designated Superfund site due to a num ...
,
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, and
Tyndall Air Force Base
Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt. Frank Benjamin Tyndall. The base operating unit and host wing is the 325th Fighter Wing (3 ...
,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. After receiving his
pilot wings in 1954, Eisele served four years as an interceptor pilot in
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...
and in
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
until 1958. He attended and graduated from the
U.S. Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School (Class 62A) 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 ...
, in 1962; his classmates included
Charles Bassett and
Theodore Freeman. Eisele was a project engineer and experimental
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 ...
at the
Air Force Special Weapons Center at
Kirtland Air Force Base,
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
. He flew experimental test flights in support of special weapons development programs. He logged more than 4,200 hours flying time, 3,600 of which were in
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

Eisele was part of
NASA's third group of astronauts, selected in October 1963. In early 1966, Eisele was quietly selected as pilot for the
Apollo 1
Apollo 1, initially designated AS-204, was planned to be the first crewed mission of the Apollo program, the American undertaking to land the first man on the Moon. It was planned to launch on February 21, 1967, as the first low Earth orbital ...
crew, along with Command Pilot
Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom and Senior Pilot
Ed White. But after dislocating his shoulder twice during training in January 1966, Eisele was replaced by
Roger B. Chaffee. After corrective surgery on January 27, Eisele was named to the crew for the second crewed Apollo flight, with Command Pilot
Walter "Wally" Schirra and Pilot
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 ...
. At this time, Eisele was promoted to the Senior Pilot position.
In December 1966, Apollo 2 was canceled on the grounds that it would be an unnecessary repeat of Apollo 1, and Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham became the backups to Grissom's crew. But after Grissom, White, and Chaffee were killed in the Apollo 1 spacecraft fire of January 27, 1967, Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham were named to fly the first crewed Apollo mission instead. It would ultimately be called
Apollo 7
Apollo 7 (October 11–22, 1968) was the first crewed flight in NASA's Apollo program, and saw the resumption of human spaceflight by the agency after the fire that had killed the three Apollo 1 astronauts during a launch rehearsal test ...
.
As the launch date approached, Eisele's participation was at risk; he was having an
extramarital affair with a woman who would later become his second wife.
Astronaut Office Chief
Deke Slayton had warned the crew that they were all "expendable", and that any extramarital affairs must not become public.
Eisele remained on the crew, and on October 11, 1968, Apollo 7 was launched on an 11-day mission—the
first crewed flight test of the third generation United States spacecraft. By this time, the Senior Pilot title was changed to
Command Module Pilot. Together with spacecraft commander Schirra and
Lunar Module Pilot
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 me ...
Cunningham, Eisele performed simulated
transposition and docking maneuvers with the upper stage of their
Saturn IB launch vehicle, and acted as navigator, taking star sightings and aligning the spacecraft's guidance and navigation platform. The crew completed eight successful test firing maneuvers of the service module's propulsion engine. They also tested the performance of all spacecraft systems and broadcast the first live televised coverage of crew activities.
Apollo 7 was placed in a
geocentric orbit
A geocentric orbit, Earth-centered orbit, or Earth orbit involves any object orbiting Earth, such as the Moon or artificial satellites. In 1997, NASA estimated there were approximately 2,465 artificial satellite payloads orbiting Earth and 6,21 ...
with an
apogee of and
perigee
An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. The line of apsides (also called apse line, or major axis of the orbit) is the line connecting the two extreme values.
Apsides perta ...
of .
The 260-hour, 4.5 million mile (7.25 Gm; 7.25 million km) shakedown flight was successfully concluded on October 22, 1968, with splashdown occurring in the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
, 8 miles (15 km) from the carrier
USS ''Essex'' and only from the predicted target.
Eisele logged 260 hours in space.
Eisele served as backup Command Module Pilot for the 1969
Apollo 10
Apollo 10 (May 18–26, 1969) was the fourth human spaceflight in the United States' Apollo program and the second to orbit the Moon. NASA, the mission's operator, described it as a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing (Apollo 11, two ...
flight.
Eisele resigned from the Astronaut Office in 1970 and became technical assistant for crewed spaceflight at the NASA
Langley Research Center
The Langley Research Center (LaRC or NASA Langley), located in Hampton, Virginia, near the Chesapeake Bay front of Langley Air Force Base, is the oldest of NASA's field centers. LaRC has focused primarily on aeronautical research but has also ...
, a position he occupied until retiring from both NASA and the Air Force in 1972.
Post-NASA career
In July 1972, Eisele became Country Director of the U.S.
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
in
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
. Returning from Thailand two years later, he became Sales Manager for
Marion Power Shovel
Marion Power Shovel Company was an American firm that designed, manufactured and sold steam shovels, power shovels, blast hole drills, excavators, and dragline excavators for use in the construction and mining industries. The company was a ma ...
, a division of
Dresser Industries.
Eisele then handled private and corporate accounts for the investment firm of
Oppenheimer & Company.
In 1980, Eisele moved to Wilton Manors, Florida. In 1981, Eisele was appointed to a vacant seat on the
Wilton Manors City Commission, and served in that political office for roughly one year. After Eisele's death, the City of Wilton Manors named Donn Eisele Park in his memory.
Eisele was a guide in the 1986
Concorde
Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).
Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...
Comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...
Chase flights out of
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
Death
In 1987, at the age of 57, Eisele died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
while on a business trip to
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, where he was to attend the opening of a new Space Camp patterned on the one at the
U.S. Space & Rocket Center in
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...
. Eisele was cremated in Japan, and his ashes 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.
...
with
full military honors.
Organizations
Eisele was an
Eagle Scout, a member of
Tau Beta Pi
The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...
, and a
Freemason
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
, belonging to Luther B. Turner Lodge # 732 in Columbus, Ohio.
Awards and honors
Among the honors he received during his career were the
NASA Exceptional Service Medal
The NASA Exceptional Service Medal is an award granted to U.S. government employees for significant sustained performance characterized by unusual initiative or creative ability that clearly demonstrates substantial improvement in engineering, a ...
, the Air Force Senior Pilot
Astronaut Wings, and the Air Force
Distinguished Flying Cross. He was a co-recipient of the
AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...
1969 Haley Astronautics Award and was presented the
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), also known as the National Television Academy until 2007, is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of televisio ...
Special Trustees Award in 1969.
Eisele was a part of a group of Apollo astronauts to be inducted into the
International Space Hall of Fame in 1983. He was one of 24 Apollo astronauts who were inducted into the
U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2008, NASA posthumously awarded Eisele the
NASA Distinguished Service Medal for his Apollo 7 mission.
Legacy
A family-approved account of Donn Eisele's life appears in the 2007 book ''
In the Shadow of the Moon''. Eisele's posthumously discovered memoir ''Apollo Pilot'' was published by
University of Nebraska Press
The University of Nebraska Press (UNP) was founded in 1941 and is an academic publisher of scholarly and general-interest books. The press is under the auspices of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the main campus of the University of Ne ...
in 2017.
In the 1998
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
miniseries ''
From the Earth to the Moon
''From the Earth to the Moon: A Direct Route in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes'' () is an 1865 novel by Jules Verne. It tells the story of the Baltimore Gun Club, a post-American Civil War society of weapons enthusiasts, and their attempts to build an en ...
'',
Eisele was portrayed by John Mese. In the final three episodes of the 2015
ABC television series ''
The Astronaut Wives Club'', Eisele was portrayed by Ryan Doom.
Susan Eisele Black donated a sample of a
Moon rock
Moon rock or lunar rock is rock originating from Earth's Moon. This includes lunar material collected during the course of human exploration of the Moon, and rock that has been ejected naturally from the Moon's surface and landed on Earth ...
to Broward County Main Library on behalf of her late husband, on October 23, 2007.
Broward County Library, located in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...
, is the only library in the United States to have a lunar rock on display. The precious Moon rock is typically exhibited at science museums and schools.
See also
*
List of Eagle Scouts
*
The Astronaut Monument
References
External links
Astronautix biography of Donn F. Eisele
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisele, Donn F.
1930 births
1987 deaths
1968 in spaceflight
Apollo 1
Apollo 7
Air Force Institute of Technology alumni
American test pilots
Apollo program astronauts
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
People from Wilton Manors, Florida
Florida city council members
Aviators from Ohio
American Freemasons
Businesspeople from Columbus, Ohio
Military personnel from Ohio
Emmy Award winners
Peace Corps people
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Recipients of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal
Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal
United States Air Force officers
United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees
United States Naval Academy alumni
U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni
United States Air Force astronauts
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American politicians