Charles "Pete" Conrad, the Apollo 12 astronaut who was the third man to set foot on the moon, dies after losing control of his motorcycle on a mountain road near Ojai, California.
Pete Conrad died at Ojai Valley Hospital, five hours after crashing his 1996 Harley-Davidson. His wife, Nancy, was riding behind on another motorcycle when the crash occurred. Conrad went wide on a corner and lost control on California Highway 150 about three miles east of Ojai in an unincorporated area of Ventura County. The couple and several of their friends had been riding their bikes heading north to Monterey.
It was not uncommon to see the 69 year-old space pioneer out riding his Harley. In an interview with The Los Angeles Times several years ago, Conrad said he enjoyed "Fast bikes, fast cars and anything that moves."
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Pete Conrad and Cmdr. L. Gordon Cooper were launched on the Gemini 5 flight Aug. 21, 1965. Despite mechanical difficulties, near-aborts and physical discomfort, the flight lasted eight days. It was the longest manned space flight to that date.
Conrad's next space exploration was when he commanded the three-day Gemini 11 flight on Sept. 18, 1966. The Gemini missions kept pushing the frontier, paving the way for Conrad's biggest challenge: The Apollo 12 voyage from Nov. 14 to 24, 1969.
It was on that mission that Conrad and astronaut Alan Bean walked on the dusty lunar surface collecting rocks and conducting experiments. In a 1996 interview, Conrad recalled looking homeward from the lunar surface: "The Earth resembled a beautiful blue marble suspended against a black velvet blanket." Conrad was later awarded a Space Medal of Honor.
Pete Conrad and Cmdr. L. Gordon Cooper were launched on the Gemini 5 flight Aug. 21, 1965. Despite mechanical difficulties, near-aborts and physical discomfort, the flight lasted eight days. It was the longest manned space flight to that date.
Conrad's next space exploration was when he commanded the three-day Gemini 11 flight on Sept. 18, 1966. The Gemini missions kept pushing the frontier, paving the way for Conrad's biggest challenge: The Apollo 12 voyage from Nov. 14 to 24, 1969.
It was on that mission that Conrad and astronaut Alan Bean walked on the dusty lunar surface collecting rocks and conducting experiments. In a 1996 interview, Conrad recalled looking homeward from the lunar surface: "The Earth resembled a beautiful blue marble suspended against a black velvet blanket." Conrad was later awarded a Space Medal of Honor.
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