Joseph P. Kerwin
Joseph Peter Kerwin is an American physician, naval flight surgeon, and former NASA astronaut. He was selected with NASA Astronaut Group 4 in 1965, the first group of scientist-astronauts, and became the first physician selected for astronaut training.
- Born
- February 19, 1932
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- Oak Park, Illinois,United States
Flights
1
Spacewalks
1
EVA time
3 hours, 23 minutes
In space
28 days, 50 minutes
Bio
Kerwin trained as both a doctor and a naval aviator. After earning a medical degree from Northwestern University, he served in the United States Navy Medical Corps and became one of the small number of Navy physicians qualified as flight surgeons and pilots.
His only spaceflight was Skylab 2 in 1973, the first crewed mission to the Skylab orbital workshop. Kerwin flew as Science Pilot with Pete Conrad and Paul Weitz after Skylab had been damaged during launch, and the crew helped repair and activate the station so the rest of the program could proceed.
During the mission, Kerwin performed biomedical experiments, monitored crew health, and completed an with Conrad as part of the repair effort. His medical background made him central to Skylab's long-duration human physiology research.
After flight, Kerwin remained involved in astronaut operations, Space Shuttle payload work, space-station medical planning, and later commercial life-sciences work. He also co-authored Homesteading Space, a history of the Skylab program, with Owen Garriott and David Hitt.