James McDivitt
American astronaut and test pilot (1929-2022) · United States · On the map · Astronauts · Died at 93
James Alton McDivitt Jr. was an American test pilot, United States Air Force (USAF) pilot, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut in the Gemini and Apollo programs. He joined the USAF in 1951 and flew 145 combat missions in the Korean War.
James McDivitt is read about 115 times a day, in 35 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 110 days, one point a day.
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Media & music
Photos 10
James McDivitt in his Air Force uniform as a colonel
Patricia McDivitt (right) visits Mission Control in Houston during the Gemini 4 mission.
McDivitt (right) and White in their space suits for the Gemini 4 mission
McDivitt inside Command Module Gumdrop during Apollo 9 mission
The Apollo 9 crew, McDivitt, Scott, Schweickart. Apollo 8 is on the launch pad behind them.
Jim McDivitt, February 2009Awards
About this person
In 1959, after graduating first in his class with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Michigan through the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) program, he qualified as a test pilot at the Air Force Experimental Flight Test Pilot School and Aerospace Research Pilot School, and joined the Manned Spacecraft Operations Branch. By September 1962, McDivitt had logged over 2,500 flight hours, of which more than 2,000 hours were in jet aircraft. This included flying as a chase pilot for Robert M. White's North American X-15 flight on July 17, 1962, in which White reached an altitude of 59.5 miles (95.8 km) and became the first X-15 pilot to be awarded Astronaut Wings.
