Birthdate: March 6, 1927
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Shawnee
Died: October 4, 2004
Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr. was an American aerospace engineer, test pilot, and United States Air Force pilot. He was one of the original seven astronauts in Project Mercury, the first human space program of the United States. Cooper piloted the longest Mercury spaceflight, Mercury-Atlas 9, and later served as the command pilot of Gemini 5, setting a new space endurance record. In addition to his achievements in space exploration, Cooper also had a passion for racing cars and boats. He retired from NASA and the Air Force as a colonel in 1970.
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