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William R. Pogue Facts & Worksheets

William R. Pogue was a successful colonel with the United States Air Force.

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William Pogue was a successful colonel with the United States Air Force. He fought in the Korean War and was a member of the USAF Thunderbirds before joining NASA in 1966.

See the fact file below for more information on the William R. Pogue or alternatively, you can download our 26-page William R. Pogue worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

BACKGROUND

  • William Pogue was a kind and energetic man with a passion for flying. He was a proud member of the USAF Thunderbirds before joining NASA as an astronaut.
  • William was selected to join a NASA mission called “Sylab4”.

EARLY LIFE & MILITARY CAREER

  • William Pogue was born on January 23, 1930 in Okemah, Oklahoma.
  • As a child, William was interested in Boy Scouts and flying planes. He flew his first plane while he was still in high school.
  • After completing high school in 1947, he attended Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
  • After graduating from Oklahoma Baptist University with a Bachelor’s degree in science (1951), William joined the United States Air Force (USAF).
  • Shortly after joining the USAF, William began the aviation cadet training program (1952).
  • From 1952-1953 William fought in with the USAF in the Korean War.
  • During his service in the Korean War, William flew a total of 43 combat missions.
  • After fighting in the Korean War, William went on to join the USAF Thunderbirds as an aerobatics pilot (1955-1957).
  • Between 1960 and 1963, William was an assistant professor at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. While working in this position, William applied to NASA to become an astronaut but was rejected because he did not have enough experience.
  • In 1965 William attended a two year test pilot training course with the British Ministry of Aviation. He successfully completed this training and went on to become a major in the USAF.

NASA CAREER & SKYLAB

  • William was selected to join NASA’s Apollo project in 1966. The objective of the program was to send humans to the Moon and then return them safely to Earth.
  • William was selected to be a member of the support crews for the Apollo 7, Apollo 11, Apollo 13, and Apollo 14 missions.
  • As a support crew, William was responsible for helping Astronauts complete their mission by communicating with them through a command centre on Earth.

SKYLAB

  • William was selected by NASA to participate in the Skylab program (1966). The Skylab was the first space station launched into orbit by the United States.
  • The Skylab featured an orbital workshop, a solar observatory, and direct Earth observation. Many experiments were conducted inside the Skylab.

SKYLAB 4

  • The Skylab 4 mission was completed by William Pogue and two other astronauts, Gerald P. Carr and Edward G. Gibson.
  • William and his crewmates launched into space on November 16, 1973. Their objective was to perform maintenance on the Skylab space station and observe the Earth, the Sun, and a specific comet called “Comet Kohoutek”.
  • During his time at the Skylab, William performed two different extravehicular activities (EVAs).
  • On William’s first EVA, he spent 6.5 hours conducting experiments and replacing film inside the solar observatory. In total, the Skylab 4 crew completed 54 different experiments and 1,214 orbits or evolutions aboard the Skylab.
  • The Skylab 4 mission lasted a total of 84 days; this was the longest human space flight up until 1975.
  • William and his crewmates returned to Earth on February 8, 1974.

POST NASA CAREER

  • Shortly after completing the Skylab 4 mission, William retired from NASA (September 1, 1975).
  • After retiring from NASA, William began working as a an aerospace consultant. In this role, he helped design components for space stations.
  • William wrote a book in 1985 called “How Do You Go to the Bathroom in Space?” In this book, he answered many questions about how to live in space.

LEGACY

  • William was presented with the most prestigious award an astronaut can receive, the “NASA Distinguished Service Medal”. He was presented with this medal by President Nixon in 1974.
  • Also in 1974, an airport in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, was named after William. This airport is called “William R. Pogue Municipal Airport”.
  • William has been inducted into three different halls of fame: Five Civilized Tribes Hall of Fame (1975), the Oklahoma Aviation and Space Hall of Fame (1980), and US Astronaut Hall of Fame (1997).

PERSONAL LIFE

  • William was married three times. He was first married in 1952, to a woman named Helen Juanita Dittmar. William and Helen had three children.
  • After divorcing Helen, William married a woman named Jean Ann Baird in 1979. William remained married to Jean until she passed away in 2009.
  • William then married a third time. His third wife was named Tina and they married in 2012.
  • On March 3, 2014, William passed away from natural causes, he was 84 years old.
  • Upon his death, William’s wife Tina organized donations to a charity called the “Astronaut Scholarship Foundation”. This charity helps support the development of new astronauts.
  • On June 5, 2019, William’s ashes were launched into Earth’s orbit. This type of funeral is called a “space burial”.
  • In addition to his space burial, William had a commemorative plaque placed in Sand Springs, Oklahoma.

William R. Pogue Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about William R. Pogue across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use William R. Pogue worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about William Pogue who  was a successful colonel with the United States Air Force. He fought in the Korean War and was a member of the USAF Thunderbirds before joining NASA in 1966.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • William R. Pogue Facts
  • Word Scramble
  • NASA News Article
  • Space Mission Diagram
  • Skylab Crossword
  • Aeronautic Timeline
  • Skylab Experiment
  • Thunderbird Wordsearch
  • See, Think, Wonder
  • Five Words
  • Career Highlights

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