Who Is Gordon Cooper? Age, Biography and Wiki
Gordon Cooper was born on March 6, 1927, and tragically passed away on October 4, 2004. As of 2025, he would have been 98 years old. Throughout his illustrious career, Cooper became one of NASA's original Mercury Seven astronauts and was famous for his role in the first American manned spaceflight program. He was also known for commanding the longest manned space mission of its time during the Gemini 5 flight in August 1965. Cooper's remarkable contributions to space exploration have solidified his place in history as a significant figure in both aviation and astronautics.
| Occupation | Technology |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | March 6, 1927 |
| Age | 77 Years |
| Birth Place | Shawnee, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Pisces |
| Country | U.S |
| Date of death | 4 October, 2004 |
| Died Place | Ventura, California, U.S. |
Popularity
Gordon Cooper's Popularity over time
Height, Weight & Measurements
While specific details about his physical measurements aren't precisely documented, Gordon Cooper was known to have a tall athletic build, typical for astronauts of his era. His height was approximately 6 feet (183 cm). Cooper maintained a fit physique that was essential for the physical demands of space travel during the 1960s.
Family, Dating & Relationship Status
Gordon Cooper was married to his high school sweetheart, Trudy S. Cooper, with whom he had three children. Although the couple divorced in 1977, they remained amicable co-parents throughout their lives. Following his divorce, Cooper's personal life became more private, and there’s limited information regarding any relationships that may have followed.
Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr. and his wife, Hattie Lee Herd. His mother was a school teacher. His father enlisted in the United States Navy during World War I, and served on the presidential yacht USS Mayflower (PY-1). After the war, Cooper Sr.
completed his high school education; Hattie Lee was one of his teachers, although she was only two years older than he. He joined the Oklahoma National Guard, flying a Curtiss JN-4 biplane, despite never having formal military pilot training. He graduated from college and law school, and became a state district judge.
He was called to active duty during World War II, and served in the Pacific theater in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. He transferred to United States Air Force (USAF) after it was formed in 1947, and was stationed at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii Territory. Cooper Sr. retired from the USAF with the rank of colonel in 1957.
Net Worth and Salary
At the time of his passing in 2004, Gordon Cooper's net worth was estimated to be around $5 million. His earnings primarily stemmed from his career as an astronaut, where he was compensated for missions and various public speaking engagements following his retirement. He also had investments in several business ventures that contributed to his overall net worth.
The astronauts drew their salaries as military officers, and an important component of that was flight pay. In Cooper's case, it amounted to $145 a month. NASA saw no reason to provide the astronauts with aircraft, so they had to fly to meetings around the country on commercial airlines.
To continue earning their flight pay, Grissom and Slayton would go out on the weekend to Langley Air Force Base, and attempt to put in the required four hours a month, competing for T-33 aircraft with senior deskbound colonels and generals.
Cooper traveled to McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base in Tennessee, where a friend let him fly higher-performance F-104B jets. This came up when Cooper had lunch with William Hines, a reporter for The Washington Star, and was duly reported in the paper. Cooper then discussed the issue with Congressman James G. Fulton.
The matter was taken up by the House Committee on Science and Astronautics. Within weeks the astronauts had priority access to USAF F-102s, something which Cooper considered a "hot plane", but could still take off from and land at short civilian airfields; however, this debacle did not make Cooper popular with senior NASA management.
Career, Business and Investments
After joining NASA as one of the Mercury Seven astronauts, Cooper became an instrumental figure in the U.S. space program. His pivotal missions, including Mercury's Faith 7 and Gemini 5, showcased human spaceflight capabilities and gathered invaluable data. Beyond his astronaut career, Cooper dabbled in various business endeavors, including aviation consulting and public speaking. His passion for flying persisted, and he had a successful career as a test pilot and involved in aviation-oriented enterprises.
After General Motors executive Ed Cole presented Shepard with a brand-new Chevrolet Corvette, Jim Rathmann, a racing car driver who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1960, and was a Chevrolet dealer in Melbourne, Florida, convinced Cole to turn this into an ongoing marketing campaign.
Henceforth, astronauts would be able to lease brand-new Corvettes for a dollar a year. All of the Mercury Seven but Glenn soon took up the offer. Cooper, Grissom and Shepard were soon racing their Corvettes around Cape Canaveral, with the police ignoring their exploits.
From a marketing perspective, it was very successful, and helped the highly priced Corvette become established as a desirable brand. Cooper held licenses with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). He also enjoyed racing speedboats.
Social Network
Gordon Cooper was not only an icon in what he accomplished for NASA but also maintained a presence in popular culture. Although not extensively active on contemporary social media platforms (as he passed in 2004), he has a significant following among space enthusiasts and historians. Many online forums discuss Cooper's admirable contributions and experiences, highlighting his legacy.
There were several mission-threatening technical problems toward the end of Faith 7's flight. During the 19th orbit, the capsule had a power failure. Carbon dioxide levels began rising, both in Cooper's suit and in the cabin, and the cabin temperature climbed to over 130 F.
The clock and then the gyroscopes failed, but the radio, which was connected directly to the battery, remained working, and allowed Cooper to communicate with the mission controllers.
Like all Mercury flights, was designed for fully automatic control, a controversial engineering decision which reduced the role of an astronaut to that of a passenger, and prompted Chuck Yeager to describe Mercury astronauts as "Spam in a can". "This flight would put an end to all that nonsense," Cooper later wrote.
"My electronics were shot and a had the stick."
Education
Cooper attended the U.S. Naval Academy after high school and later received his degree in aeronautical engineering. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in mechanical engineering. This strong educational background laid the groundwork for his future endeavors in aerospace and space exploration, distinguishing him as one of the pioneering astronauts of the 20th century.
Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr. (March 6, 1927 – October 4, 2004) was an American aerospace engineer, test pilot, United States Air Force pilot, and the youngest of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the first human space program of the United States.
Cooper learned to fly as a child, and after service in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, he was commissioned into the United States Air Force in 1949. After service as a fighter pilot, he qualified as a test pilot in 1956, and was selected as an astronaut in 1959.
