William R. Pogue
William Reid Pogue was an American Air Force officer, fighter pilot, test pilot, teacher, author, and NASA astronaut. Known publicly as Bill Pogue, he was selected in NASA Astronaut Group 5 in 1966 and flew as Pilot of Skylab 4.
- Born
- January 23, 1930
- Died
- March 3, 2014
- Birthplace
- Okemah, Oklahoma,United States
Flights
1
Spacewalks
2
EVA time
13 hours, 34 minutes
In space
84 days, 1 hour, 15 minutes
Bio
Pogue entered the United States Air Force in 1951, flew combat missions during the Korean War, and later flew with the Thunderbirds. He also taught mathematics at the United States Air Force Academy and trained as a test pilot through the Empire Test Pilots' School.
Before Skylab, Pogue worked on Apollo support assignments and was associated with late-Apollo planning, including the canceled Apollo 19 mission path. His operational experience helped prepare him for the long-duration Skylab assignment.
On Skylab 4, Pogue flew with Gerald Carr and Edward Gibson for 84 days, then the longest crewed mission in history. The crew completed extensive solar, Earth-observation, medical, student, and engineering work while learning how human crews handled months in orbit.
Pogue retired from NASA and the Air Force in 1975 and later wrote and taught about aviation and spaceflight. His name is also attached to the Seiko chronograph he wore during Skylab, known among watch collectors as the Pogue.