John A. Powers
Encyclopedia
John Anthony Powers better known as Shorty Powers, was an American public affairs officer for NASA
from 1959 to 1963 during Project Mercury
. A US Air Force lieutenant colonel
and war veteran, he was known as the "voice of the astronauts," the "voice of Mercury Control," and the "eighth astronaut
." He received his nickname for his 5-foot, 6-inch (1.68 m) height.
; but when he was an infant his family moved to Downers Grove, Illinois
where he was a cheerleader at Downers Grove North High School. After graduation, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps
in 1942 and became a C-46 and C-47
pilot with the 349th Troop Carrier Group
. He was one of six pilots who volunteered to learn the technique of snatching fully loaded troop gliders
off the ground, and spent the end of World War II ferrying gasoline in cargo planes to Gen. George Patton's command in Germany.
Powers left the service in January 1947; but was recalled to active duty in December 1948 and flew as part of the Berlin Airlift, making 185 round-trip flights. Powers later volunteered for the Korean War
. He flew 55 night missions in B-26 bombers with the 13th Bombardment Squadron
and received the Bronze Star, the Air Medal
, the Distinguished Flying Cross
and a combat promotion to major.
Following Korea, Powers bounced around the Air Force, helping establish the first Community Relations Program in 1955. After being assigned to the personal staff of Maj. Gen. Bernard Schriever with the Air Research Development Command in Los Angeles, he handled the public dissemination of information related to the Air Force's ballistic missile program.
in April 1959 as its public affairs officer at the request of T. Keith Glennan
, NASA's first administrator. Very early on April 12, 1961, John G. Warner, a UPI
rewrite-man in Washington, DC, roused Powers from sleep at Langley Research Center
in Hampton, Virginia
seeking comment on the flight
of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin
, the first person in space. Powers replied, in part, "We're all asleep down here," which made headlines.
He served as mission commentator for the six manned Mercury flights, introducing "A-OK
" into the American vocabulary to signify procedures during the missions had proceed as planned. He claimed astronaut Alan Shepard
first used the expression during his Freedom 7 flight, but communication transcripts later showed he had not. In The Right Stuff
, Tom Wolfe
wrote that Powers had borrowed it "from NASA engineers who used it during radio transmission tests because the sharper sound of A cut through the static better than O".
Powers enjoyed the limelight, and was accused of scheduling news conferences so he could appear live on national television and occasionally twisting the facts. For example, he told reporters the day before Gus Grissom
's flight that the astronaut had gone fishing that day and had cooked and eaten his catch, which would have violated his pre-flight diet.
Manned Spacecraft Center Director Robert Gilruth announced Powers' reassignment on July 26, 1963, reportedly following a dispute with NASA Headquarters
over handling publicity for the final Mercury flight
. He was succeeded by Paul Haney on September 1, and Powers soon resigned.
. He became part owner of KMSC-FM
in Clear Lake, Texas
(the call letters standing for the Manned Spacecraft Center), where he anchored live coverage of Gemini
and Apollo flights, distributed to radio stations across the country. He also served a spokesman for products including the 1965 Oldsmobile Delta 88
(touting its "Super Rocket V-8" engine), Carrier
air conditioners, Triptone motion sickness pills, and Tareyton
cigarettes (which claimed to use the same charcoal-activated filter used for the astronauts' oxygen supply). He lectured extensively about the space program; and in 1967, he authored a newspaper column syndicated by Field Enterprises
called "Space Talk", answering readers' questions. He was married three times and was the father of three children.
Powers moved to Phoenix, Arizona
in 1978, and died there at his home on December 31, 1979 at age 57 from a gastro-intestinal hemorrhage related to chronic alcoholism
.
space comedy, Way...Way Out
.
He is referenced in the 1988 cult film, Miracle Mile
, by actor Kurt Fuller
when, as Soviet warheads appear over Los Angeles, he states, "Beam me up, Shorty Powers".
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
from 1959 to 1963 during Project Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
. A US Air Force lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
and war veteran, he was known as the "voice of the astronauts," the "voice of Mercury Control," and the "eighth astronaut
Mercury Seven
Mercury Seven was the group of seven Mercury astronauts selected by NASA on April 9, 1959. They are also referred to as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1...
." He received his nickname for his 5-foot, 6-inch (1.68 m) height.
Biography
Powers was born in Toledo, OhioToledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
; but when he was an infant his family moved to Downers Grove, Illinois
Downers Grove, Illinois
Downers Grove is a village in Downers Grove and Lisle Townships, DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 48,724 at the 2000 census, with an official estimated population of 49,250 in 2008.-History:...
where he was a cheerleader at Downers Grove North High School. After graduation, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
in 1942 and became a C-46 and C-47
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
pilot with the 349th Troop Carrier Group
349th Operations Group
The 349th Operations Group is a United States Air Force Reserve unit assigned to the 349th Air Mobility Wing. The unit is stationed at Travis Air Force Base, California.The 349 OG controls all operational flying squadrons of the 349 AW....
. He was one of six pilots who volunteered to learn the technique of snatching fully loaded troop gliders
Waco CG-4
The Waco CG-4 was the most widely used United States troop/cargo military glider of World War II. It was designated the CG-4 by the United States Army Air Forces, and named Hadrian in British military service....
off the ground, and spent the end of World War II ferrying gasoline in cargo planes to Gen. George Patton's command in Germany.
Powers left the service in January 1947; but was recalled to active duty in December 1948 and flew as part of the Berlin Airlift, making 185 round-trip flights. Powers later volunteered for the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. He flew 55 night missions in B-26 bombers with the 13th Bombardment Squadron
13th Bomb Squadron
The 13th Bomb Squadron is an active United States Air Force organization assigned to the 509th Operations Group, stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri...
and received the Bronze Star, the Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
, the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
and a combat promotion to major.
Following Korea, Powers bounced around the Air Force, helping establish the first Community Relations Program in 1955. After being assigned to the personal staff of Maj. Gen. Bernard Schriever with the Air Research Development Command in Los Angeles, he handled the public dissemination of information related to the Air Force's ballistic missile program.
Project Mercury
Powers' experience with public affairs caught the attention of the newly formed NASA, and he was detailed to NASA's Space Task GroupSpace Task Group
The Space Task Group was a working group of NASA engineers created in 1958, tasked with superintending America's manned spaceflight programs. It was headed by Robert Gilruth andbased at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. After President John F...
in April 1959 as its public affairs officer at the request of T. Keith Glennan
T. Keith Glennan
Thomas Keith Glennan was the first Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, serving from August 19, 1958 to January 20, 1961.-Early career:...
, NASA's first administrator. Very early on April 12, 1961, John G. Warner, a UPI
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
rewrite-man in Washington, DC, roused Powers from sleep at Langley Research Center
Langley Research Center
Langley Research Center is the oldest of NASA's field centers, located in Hampton, Virginia, United States. It directly borders Poquoson, Virginia and Langley Air Force Base...
in Hampton, Virginia
Hampton, Virginia
Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...
seeking comment on the flight
Vostok 1
Vostok 1 was the first spaceflight in the Vostok program and the first human spaceflight in history. The Vostok 3KA spacecraft was launched on April 12, 1961. The flight took Yuri Gagarin, a cosmonaut from the Soviet Union, into space. The flight marked the first time that a human entered outer...
of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....
, the first person in space. Powers replied, in part, "We're all asleep down here," which made headlines.
He served as mission commentator for the six manned Mercury flights, introducing "A-OK
A-ok
An A-OK is both a saying, derived from okay, and a hand-gesture done by connecting the thumb and forefinger in to a circle , and holding the other fingers straight or relaxed in the air.Unicode symbol U+1F44C represents this gesture....
" into the American vocabulary to signify procedures during the missions had proceed as planned. He claimed astronaut Alan Shepard
Alan Shepard
Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. was an American naval aviator, test pilot, flag officer, and NASA astronaut who in 1961 became the second person, and the first American, in space. This Mercury flight was designed to enter space, but not to achieve orbit...
first used the expression during his Freedom 7 flight, but communication transcripts later showed he had not. In The Right Stuff
The Right Stuff (book)
The Right Stuff is a 1979 book by Tom Wolfe about the pilots engaged in U.S. postwar experiments with experimental rocket-powered, high-speed aircraft as well as documenting the stories of the first Project Mercury astronauts selected for the NASA space program...
, Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...
wrote that Powers had borrowed it "from NASA engineers who used it during radio transmission tests because the sharper sound of A cut through the static better than O".
Powers enjoyed the limelight, and was accused of scheduling news conferences so he could appear live on national television and occasionally twisting the facts. For example, he told reporters the day before Gus Grissom
Gus Grissom
Virgil Ivan Grissom , , better known as Gus Grissom, was one of the original NASA Project Mercury astronauts and a United States Air Force pilot...
's flight that the astronaut had gone fishing that day and had cooked and eaten his catch, which would have violated his pre-flight diet.
Manned Spacecraft Center Director Robert Gilruth announced Powers' reassignment on July 26, 1963, reportedly following a dispute with NASA Headquarters
NASA Headquarters
Two Independence Square, often referenced as NASA Headquarters, is a low-rise building in the two-building Independence Square complex at 300 E Street SW in Washington D.C. The building houses NASA leadership who provide overall guidance and direction to the US government executive branch agency...
over handling publicity for the final Mercury flight
MA-9
MA-9 may refer to:* Massachusetts Route 9* Mercury-Atlas 9, a spaceflight of Project Mercury...
. He was succeeded by Paul Haney on September 1, and Powers soon resigned.
Later years
Powers retired from the Air Force in 1964 and opened a public relations firm in HoustonHouston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. He became part owner of KMSC-FM
KMJQ
KMJQ, "Majic 102.1" is a Houston radio station with an urban adult contemporary musical format. It is owned by Radio One.-History:The station originally went on-the-air in 1961 as KAJC-FM with studios and transmitter in Alvin, Texas, a Houston suburb...
in Clear Lake, Texas
Clear Lake, Texas
Clear Lake is near the south shore of Lavon Lake, twelve miles southeast of McKinney in southeastern Collin County...
(the call letters standing for the Manned Spacecraft Center), where he anchored live coverage of Gemini
Project Gemini
Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program of NASA, the civilian space agency of the United States government. Project Gemini was conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, with ten manned flights occurring in 1965 and 1966....
and Apollo flights, distributed to radio stations across the country. He also served a spokesman for products including the 1965 Oldsmobile Delta 88
Oldsmobile 88
The Oldsmobile 88 was a full-size car sold by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors and produced from 1949 until 1999. From 1950 to 1974 the 88 was the division's top-selling line, particularly the entry-level models such as the 88 and Dynamic 88...
(touting its "Super Rocket V-8" engine), Carrier
Carrier Corporation
The Carrier Corporation is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and distributors of heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, and a global leader in the commercial refrigeration and food service equipment industry...
air conditioners, Triptone motion sickness pills, and Tareyton
Tareyton
Tareyton is a brand of cigarettes originally manufactured by the American Tobacco Company. It began as a variation of Herbert Tareyton cork-tipped non-filter cigarettes . As filters gained in popularity in the late 1950s, Tareyton was created in 1954 as the filtered version of Herbert Tareyton,...
cigarettes (which claimed to use the same charcoal-activated filter used for the astronauts' oxygen supply). He lectured extensively about the space program; and in 1967, he authored a newspaper column syndicated by Field Enterprises
Field Enterprises
Field Enterprises was a private holding company founded on August 31, 1944, by Marshall Field III and others whose main asset was the Chicago Sun. That same year the company acquired the book publishers Simon & Schuster and Pocket Books....
called "Space Talk", answering readers' questions. He was married three times and was the father of three children.
Powers moved to Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
in 1978, and died there at his home on December 31, 1979 at age 57 from a gastro-intestinal hemorrhage related to chronic alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
.
Film and TV
Powers appeared as himself in the Dennis the Menace TV episode, "Junior Astronaut", first aired on January 13, 1963. He also was the narrator for the 1966 Jerry LewisJerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
space comedy, Way...Way Out
Way...Way Out
Way...Way Out is a 1966 American film comedy starring Jerry Lewis and released by 20th Century Fox on October 21, 1966.-Plot:The year is 1989, and the United States decides to send a married couple to live on the moon and operate a U.S. weather station...
.
He is referenced in the 1988 cult film, Miracle Mile
Miracle Mile (film)
Miracle Mile is a 1988 apocalyptic thriller cult film written and directed by Steve De Jarnatt, and starring Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham that takes place mostly in real time. It is named after the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles, where most of the action takes place. The movie was...
, by actor Kurt Fuller
Kurt Fuller
Kurt Fuller is an American character actor. He has appeared in a number of television, film, and stage projects. He graduated from Lincoln High School in Stockton, California in 1971.-Career:...
when, as Soviet warheads appear over Los Angeles, he states, "Beam me up, Shorty Powers".