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{{short description|United States Air Force test pilot and astronaut (1931–1966)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{good article}}
{{about|the American astronaut|other people named Charles Bassett|Charles Bassett (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox astronaut
|name = Charlie Bassett
|image = Charles Bassett S64-31443.jpg
|caption = Bassett in 1964
|birth_name = Charles Arthur Bassett II
|birth_date = {{birth date|1931|12|30}}
|birth_place = [[Dayton, Ohio]], U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|1966|2|28|1931|12|30}}
|death_place = [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], U.S.
|restingplace = {{nowrap|[[Arlington National Cemetery]]}}
|education = [[Ohio State University]]<br>[[Texas Tech University]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])<br>[[University of Southern California]]
|type = [[NASA astronaut]]
|rank = [[Major (United States)|Major]], [[United States Air Force|USAF]]
|selection = [[NASA Astronaut Group 3|NASA Group 3 (1963)]]
|signature = Charles Bassett signature.svg
}}
'''Charles Arthur "Charlie" Bassett II''' (December 30, 1931 – February 28, 1966) ([[Major (United States)|Major]], [[United States Air Force|USAF]]) was an American [[electrical engineer]] and [[United States Air Force]] [[test pilot]]. He went to [[Ohio State University]] for two years and later graduated from [[Texas Tech University]] with a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in [[Electrical Engineering]]. He joined the Air Force as a [[Aviator|pilot]] and graduated from both the [[U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School|Air Force's Experimental Test Pilot School]] and the [[Aerospace Research Pilot School]]. Bassett was married and had two children.

He was selected as a [[NASA]] [[astronaut]] in 1963 and was assigned to ''[[Gemini 9]]''. He died in [[1966 NASA T-38 crash|an airplane crash]] during training for his first spaceflight. He is memorialized on the [[Space Mirror Memorial]]; [[The Astronaut Monument]]; and the ''[[Fallen Astronaut]]'' memorial plaque, which was placed on the Moon during the [[Apollo 15]] mission.

== Early life and education ==
Bassett was born on December 30, 1931, in [[Dayton, Ohio]], to Charles Arthur "Pete" Bassett (1897–1957) and Fannie Belle Milby Bassett ({{nee}} James; 1907–1993).{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|2003|p=49}} Bassett was active in the [[Boy Scouts of America]], where he achieved its second-highest rank, [[Life Scout]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/02-558.pdf|title=Astronauts and the BSA|year=2006|access-date=March 24, 2019|publisher=Boy Scouts of America|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113070608/https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/02-558.pdf|archive-date=November 13, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> During high school, Bassett was a model plane aficionado. He belonged to a club that built gasoline-powered models and flew them in the school gym. Bassett's interest in model airplanes translated to real aircraft; he made his first solo flight at age 16. He worked odd jobs at the airport to earn money for flying lessons and earned his [[Private pilot licence|private pilot license]] at age seventeen.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|2003|pp=50–51}}

After graduating from [[Berea High School]], in [[Berea, Ohio|Berea]], in 1950, he attended [[Ohio State University]], in [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]], from 1950 to 1952. Midway through college in 1952, Bassett enrolled in [[Air Force ROTC]]; he entered the U.S. Air Force as an [[aviation cadet]] in October of that year.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|2003|p=49}} He attended Texas Technological College, now [[Texas Tech University]], from 1958 to 1960. He received a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree with honors in [[electrical engineering]] from Texas Tech and did graduate work at [[University of Southern California]] (USC) in [[Los Angeles]].<ref name="NASA Bio">{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/bassett_charles.pdf|title=Charles A. Bassett, II (Captain, USAF) NASA Astronaut (Deceased)|publisher=NASA |date=March 1966|access-date=January 9, 2021}}</ref>

== Military service ==
[[File:ARPS Class III.jpg|thumb|right|ARPS Class III graduates Front row: [[Edward Givens]], [[Tommie D. Benefield|Tommie Benefield]], Charlie Bassett, [[Francis G. Neubeck|Greg Neubeck]] and [[Michael Collins (astronaut)|Mike Collins]]. Back row: Al Atwell, Neil Garland, Jim Roman, Al Uhalt and [[Joe Engle]]]]
He started his career with training at [[Stallings Air Base]], [[North Carolina]], and [[Bryan Air Force Base]], [[Texas]]. Bassett graduated from Bryan in December 1953 and was commissioned in the Air Force. He arrived for additional training in [[Nellis Air Force Base]], [[Nevada]], as a [[second lieutenant]].{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|2003|p=49}} There, he flew trainer aircraft, such as the [[North American T-6 Texan|T-6]], the [[North American T-28 Trojan|T-28]], and the [[T-33]], and flew the jet fighter [[F-86 Sabre]] in 1954.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|2003|pp=49–50}}

He went to [[Korea]] with the [[8th Fighter Squadron|8th Fighter Bomber Group]] and flew a F-86 Sabre. Bassett was too late to fly any [[Aerial warfare|combat mission]]s, and said, "If you don't have any challenge, you never know how good you are."<ref name="tt" /> Bassett was promoted to [[first lieutenant]] in May 1955.<ref name="tt">{{cite web|url=http://www.depts.ttu.edu/coe/alumni/de/bios.php?name=Charles%20A.%20Bassett,%20II|title=Distinguished Engineer Citations|website=Texas Tech University|access-date=December 13, 2016}}</ref> He returned from Korea in 1955 and was assigned to [[Suffolk County Air Force Base]], in New York, flying aircraft such as the F-86D, the [[F-102]], and the [[C-119]].{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|2003|p=50}}

In November 1960, Bassett went to [[Maxwell Air Force Base]], in [[Alabama]], to attend [[Squadron Officer School]]. He also graduated from the [[U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School|Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School]] (Class 62A) and the [[Aerospace Research Pilot School]] (Class III) and was promoted to [[Captain (United States O-3)|captain]].{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|2003|p=56}} Bassett was an experimental [[test pilot]] and engineering test pilot in the Fighter Projects Office at [[Edwards Air Force Base]], [[California]], and logged over 3,600 hours of flying time, including over 2,900 hours in a [[jet aircraft]].<ref name="NASA Bio" />

== NASA career ==
Bassett was one of [[NASA]]'s [[Astronaut Group 3|third group]] of astronauts, named in October 1963.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|2003|p=58}} In addition to participating in the overall astronaut training program, he had specific responsibilities related to training and simulators. On November 8, 1965, he was selected as pilot of the [[Gemini 9]] mission with [[Elliot See]] as command pilot.<ref name="NASA Bio" /> Bassett was scheduled to make an untethered ninety-minute [[Extravehicular activity|spacewalk]],<ref name=braffr>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qrdeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bTAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3606%2C5993768 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |agency=Associated Press |title=Next space walk to be Buck Rogers affair |date=December 29, 1965 |page=5}}</ref> which was undertaken by [[Gene Cernan]] on Gemini 9A.

According to chief astronaut [[Deke Slayton]]'s autobiography, he chose Bassett for Gemini 9 because he was "strong enough to carry" both himself and See. Slayton had also assigned Bassett as [[command module pilot]] for the second backup [[Apollo program|Apollo]] crew, alongside [[Frank Borman]] and [[William Anders]].{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|p=167}}

== Personal life ==
On June 22, 1955, Bassett married Jeannie Martin.{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|2003|pp=52–55}} They had two children.<ref name="NASA Bio" /><ref name="tasklderg" />{{sfn|Burgess|Doolan|2003|pp=55–56}}

== Death ==
{{Main|1966 NASA T-38 crash}}
[[File:The Original Gemini 9 Prime Crew - GPN-2000-001352.jpg|thumb|[[Elliot See]] and Charles Bassett]]
Bassett and Elliot See died on February 28, 1966, when their [[T-38 Talon|T-38]] trainer jet, piloted by See, crashed into [[McDonnell Aircraft]] Building 101, known as the McDonnell Space Center, {{convert|1000|ft}} from [[Lambert Field]] airport in [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]].<ref name="tasklderg">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aqxVAAAAIBAJ&pg=5267%2C6076141|newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard|location=(Oregon)|title=2 astronauts killed as plane hits plant|date=February 28, 1966|page=1A|via=Google News|agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/clip/29296086/chicago_tribune/|work=Chicago Tribune|title=2 space men perish in jet|date=March 1, 1966|page=1|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Building 101 was where the Gemini spacecraft was built, and the two astronauts were going there that Monday morning to train for two weeks in a simulator. They died within {{convert|500|ft|spell=in}} of their spacecraft.<ref>{{cite news|first=W. Pate|last=McMichael|work=[[St. Louis Magazine]]|location=[[St. Louis, MO]]|title=Losing The Moon|url=http://www.stlmag.com/St-Louis-Magazine/May-2006/Losing-The-Moon/|date=May 2006|access-date=June 10, 2012}}</ref>

Both astronauts died instantly from [[Trauma (medicine)|trauma]] sustained in the crash. See was thrown clear of the cockpit and was found in the parking lot still strapped to his ejection seat with the parachute partially open. Bassett was decapitated on impact; his severed head was found later in the day in the rafters of the damaged assembly building.

Both men's remains were buried in [[Arlington National Cemetery]] on Friday, March 4.<ref name=tsaarl>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SCgRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NOEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5107%2C599673 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon) |agency=Associated Press |title=Taps sounded at Arlington |date=March 4, 1966 |page=5A}}</ref><ref name=sptmbu>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=e99YAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wfcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1593%2C948653 |work=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location=(Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Space team is buried |date=March 4, 1966 |page=2}}</ref><ref name=fosranc>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=R2tWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4OgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5570%2C1091743 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=Associated Press (photo) |title=At funeral of fellow astronaut |date=March 5, 1966 |page=12}}</ref> During funeral services in Texas two days earlier, astronauts [[Jim McDivitt]] and [[Jim Lovell]] and civilian pilot Jere Cobb flew the [[missing man formation]] in Bassett's honor, while [[Buzz Aldrin]], [[Bill Anders]], and [[Walter Cunningham]] did the same to honor See.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29300913/the_record/|title=Astronauts are Bid Farewell in Texas|agency=UPI|newspaper=The Record|location=Hackensack, New Jersey|date=March 3, 1966|page=37|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=flytrb>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ed9YAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wfcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3292%2C270711 |work=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location=(Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Jet planes fly tribute at funeral |date=March 2, 1966 |page=2}}</ref><ref name=tftrb>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RigRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NOEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6743%2C91994 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon) |agency=Associated Press |title=3 fly T38s in tribute to astronaut |date=March 2, 1966 |page=3A}}</ref>

A NASA investigative panel later concluded that [[pilot error]], caused by poor visibility due to bad weather, was the principal cause of the accident. The panel concluded that See was flying too low to the ground during his second approach, probably because of the poor visibility.<ref>{{cite news|work=Space News Roundup|publisher=NASA|title=Accident Board Reports Findings in See-Bassett Crash|url=http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/roundups/issues/66-06-10.pdf|date=June 10, 1966|access-date=December 12, 2016}}</ref>

== Memorials ==
[[File:Space Mirror Memorial Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr., 1966 NASA T-38 crash (cropped).JPG|thumb|140px|Bassett's name on the [[Space Mirror Memorial]]]]
Bassett is honored at the [[Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center]]'s [[Space Mirror Memorial]], alongside 24 other NASA astronauts who died in the pursuit of space exploration.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29300631/florida_today/|title=For Memorial Design Winner, Sky's the Limit|newspaper=Florida Today|location=Cocoa, Florida|page=2|date=January 28, 1988|via=Newspapers.com|last1=Cole|first1=Jeff|last2=Lunner|first2=Chet}}</ref>

His name also appears on the ''[[Fallen Astronaut]]'' memorial plaque at [[Hadley–Apennine|Hadley Rille]] on the [[Moon]], placed by the [[Apollo 15]] mission in 1971.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/there-is-a-sculpture-on-the-moon-commemorating-fallen-astronauts-358909/?no-ist|title=There Is a Sculpture on the Moon Commemorating Fallen Astronauts|date=January 7, 2013|last1=Eveleth|first1=Rose|author-link=Rose Eveleth|publisher=Smithsonian.com|access-date=October 9, 2016}}</ref> Texas Tech University dedicated an Electrical Engineering Research Laboratory building in Bassett's honor in November 1996.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://today.ttu.edu/posts/2011/07/texas-tech-makes-its-mark-on-nasa-2|title=Texas Tech Makes Its Mark on NASA|last1=Slyker|first1=Karin|date=July 7, 2011|access-date=December 13, 2016|website=Texas Tech University|archive-date=August 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818151009/https://today.ttu.edu/posts/2011/07/texas-tech-makes-its-mark-on-nasa-2|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[List of spaceflight-related accidents and incidents]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
*{{cite book|title=Fallen Astronauts: Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon|last1=Burgess|first1=Colin|last2=Doolan|first2=Kate|isbn=978-0-8032-6212-6|publisher=Bibson Books|date=2003}}
*{{cite book|title=Deke! U.S. Manned Space: From Mercury to the Shuttle|last1=Slayton|first1=Donald K. "Deke"|author-link1=Deke Slayton|last2=Cassutt|first2=Michael|author-link2=Michael Cassutt|year=1994|edition=1st|publisher=[[Forge Books|Forge]] ([[St. Martin's Press]])|location=[[New York City|New York]]|isbn=0-312-85503-6|lccn=94-2463|oclc=29845663|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/dekeusmannedspac00slay}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://www.amfcse.org/charles-a-bassett-ii Astronauts memorial foundation website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325035853/https://www.amfcse.org/charles-a-bassett-ii |date=March 25, 2022 }} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110807062028/http://amfcse.org/honor/bassett.htm a different archived version] from 2011)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20020705144708/http://www.astronautix.com/astros/bassett.htm Astronautix biography of Charles Bassett]
*{{IMDb name|4266080}}
*[https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgdiYXNzZXR0EgdjaGFybGVz/ Arlington National Cemetery]

{{NASA Astronaut Group 3}}
{{Gemini program}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Aviation|Spaceflight|Ohio|United States}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bassett, Charles Arthur}}
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:1966 deaths]]
[[Category:Accidental deaths in Missouri]]
[[Category:American electrical engineers]]
[[Category:American test pilots]]
[[Category:Aviators from Ohio]]
[[Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:Deaths by decapitation]]
[[Category:Engineers from Ohio]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Dayton, Ohio]]
[[Category:Ohio State University alumni]]
[[Category:Space program fatalities]]
[[Category:Texas Tech University alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American engineers]]
[[Category:United States Air Force astronauts]]
[[Category:United States Air Force officers]]
[[Category:U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni]]
[[Category:USC Viterbi School of Engineering alumni]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1966]]

Charles Bassett - Revision history

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wikipedia>Moist hammer: Punctuation & link corrections