Robert Henry Lawrence Jr
America, 1935-67
The first African-American astronaut, Robert Henry Lawrence Jr would die tragically while serving as in-flight instructor to a trainee pilot. Six months earlier he had been selected as part of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory programme, one of the most ambitious space flight programmes up until this point. Lawrence Jr was the only member of the crew with a doctorate. In 1997 his name was inscribed on the Kennedy Space Center’s Space Mirror Memorial to astronauts who have lost their lives.
Alan Shepard
America, 1923-98
The first
