Description: (USAF Pilot and NASA Astronaut Associated with Project Gemini and Project Apollo)
James Alton McDivitt Jr. was a distinguished American test pilot, USAF pilot, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut. He flew combat missions in the Korean War and later became a test pilot, joining the Manned Spacecraft Operations Branch. Selected as part of Astronaut Group 2, he commanded the Gemini 4 and Apollo 9 missions, making significant contributions to the Gemini and Apollo programs. McDivitt later oversaw lunar landing operations and the Apollo spacecraft program before retiring as a brigadier general from the USAF in 1972.