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Joseph P. Kerwin
As science pilot aboard the first Skylab space station mission in 1973, Joseph P. Kerwin, M.D., became not only the first medical doctor to practice in orbit, he also became a space repairman.
He was born February 19, 1932, in Oak Park, Illinois. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from College of Holy Cross in 1953 and a Doctor of Medicine from Northwestern University Medical School in 1957. Kerwin completed his internship at the District of Columbia General Hospital, then joined the Navy and attended the U.S. Navy School of Aviation Medicine at Pensacola, Florida. He was designated a naval flight surgeon in 1958. He earned his flight wings in 1962.
NASA selected Kerwin in its first group of six scientist-astronauts in June 1965. He was named science pilot for Skylab 2, first first manned mission to the Skylab 1 space station, along with Commander Charles Conrad Jr. and Command Module pilot Paul Weitz. Their adventure began May 14, 1973, when a Saturn 5 rocket boosted into orbit the unmanned Skylab 1, as large as a three-bedroom house. On the climb into orbit, a combination meteoroid and heat shield ripped away from the station, exposing it to the searing rays of the sun. The shield in flying off also tore away one of the workshop's electricity-producing power panels and jammed the other against the side of the vehicle. The launching of Conrad, Weitz and Kerwin was delayed 10 days while experts sought ways to save the $2.6 million project. First priority went to cooling down the laboratory, where temperatures inside soared to 125 degrees. They devised a sunshade of thin, aluminized Mylar and nylon to erect over the exposed surface. For freeing the solar panel, cutting and prying tools were made.
The rescue mission began May 25 with the liftoff of the Skylab 2 astronauts in an Apollo capsule atop a Saturn 1B rocket. Six hours later they moved in on the station and confirmed the damage. Weitz, wearing a bulky space suit and with Kerwin hanging on to his legs, leaned out the open Apollo hatch and tried unsuccessfully to jerk the stuck panel loose with a long-handled tool resembling a boat hook. The astronauts docked with the station and slept overnight in the Apollo. The next day they entered the sweltering lab and erected the folded-up sun shield by shoving it through a small scientific airlock module with a telescopic pole, then opened it like an umbrella into a 22-by-24-foot sheet that covered the exposed area. Temperatures began dropping immediately. The astronauts then set up shop, unpacking supplies and setting up scientific instruments to study the sun and Earth. Kerwin, the first physician in space, organized his medical laboratory. He drew blood and monitored bodily functions and medical workouts of the crewmen. The power shortage limited their activity, so on the 13th day, Conrad and Kerwin, attached to 60-foot lifelines, took a space walk and used a cutting tool and their own muscle to free to stuck solar panel. The panel unfurled and doubled the amount of electricity available. The astronauts settled into a daily routine and on the 28th day, they boarded their Apollo and returned home after a record stay in orbit.
Following the flight, Kerwin became Director, Space and Life Sciences at NASA's Johnson Space Center. He resigned from NASA and from the Navy as a captain and from 1987 to 1996 he held management positions with Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space Company. He presently heads Krug Life Sciences, Inc. in Houston, which has a major research contract with NASA.
Joseph Kerwin was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame on October 4, 1997.