Joseph P. Kerwin

Joseph Kerwin is an American physician and former NASA astronaut, born on 19 February 1932. He was the first physician selected for astronaut training and the first doctor from the United States to enter space. He served as science pilot of Skylab 2, the first crewed mission to the Skylab station, from 25 May to 22 June 1973, a stay of 28 days. During Apollo 13 he was the capsule communicator who said the words, "Farewell, Aquarius, and we thank you," as the crew left the lunar module. He was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1997.

Born: 19 February 1932
Country: United States
Flights: 2: Skylab (1973), Skylab 2 (1973)
Time in space: 28 days 0 hours

Data as of 2 November 2026. Source: Wikidata (CC0). All people who have flown in space.

Events

Skylab
- Apollo spacecraft, Saturn V
Skylab was a Saturn V third stage turned into a house. Sixty-three seconds after liftoff the thin shield that was meant to protect it from meteoroids and sunlight tore away, taking one of its two solar arrays with it.
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