The daughter of one of Americas Original 7 astronauts just had her belongings stolen, including some mementos from her late father, astronaut Gordon Cooper. His daughter, Colleen Cooper, who Ive known for a number of years told me she was moving from her home in Hawaii to Walnut Creek, California. She believes the thieves were unaware that some of the items they stole were not just national treasures from the first days of the countrys manned spaceflight program, they were her personal memories of her father. Colleen said she feels comfortable making this information public so the case is solved more quickly. Here is a quote from Colleen for your use: I dont think the company has any idea who my dad was, but there were a few memorabilia/ flown items in my boxes that wouldnt necessarily be recognizable. I just dont want these items to be thrown away by the thieves. Most of the things I am missing are sentimental. Family photos that cannot be replaced, my photos with President Reagan, etc. I can replace all of my electronics... Her father was the youngest member of NASAs first seven astronauts, flew the final manned flight of NASAs Mercury space program in 1963. He became the first American to fly a day long mission in space aboard the Mercury-Atlas Faith 7 capsule. He was the last American to launch to space solo. A problem with the automated reentry of the Faith 7 capsule forced Gordon Cooper to take manual control, where he drew marks on the window, and used his eyes and his watch to help make sure to safely reenter the Earths atmosphere. He flew again, two years later, as commander of Gemini 5, which was an 8 day mission, showing astronauts could survive in space long enough to get to the moon and back, which NASA would do next with the Apollo program. Cooper was the first person to make two orbital flights to space. His daughter Colleen says that she is trying to find out if any of her fathers flown space items have been recovered. She says the moving company she hired told her her belongings had been stolen during the move, but said for a long time they were uncooperative. Colleen has filed her own police report with Hayward Police Department, California which is now working the case. The moving companys headquarters are listed in Phoenix Arizona. As I do not want to impede the police investigation, I am not relaying the name of the moving company here. I am sure that will be contained in the report from Californias Hayward Police Department, which will be a matter of public record. Gordon Cooper died in 2004, and his ashes were launched into space just two years ago by SpaceX during a mission to the International Space Station. The only member of Americas Original 7 as theyre known who is still alive is John Glenn. ### PICTURES BELOW: -NASA photo of Americas Original 7 astronauts. Gordon Cooper is in the back row, on the right side of the screen. -Facebook photo from Colleen Cooper: Gordon Coopers daughter, Colleen Cooper, seen on the left at the entry hatch to Space Shuttle Atlantis, which is 147 feet above the launch pad surface at the end of the orbiter access arm of Launch Complex 39A. This was in May 2009, just before the May launch of the STS-125 Atlantis mission, the last Space Shuttle Mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Her sister, Liz Cooper Bethoney who also lives in California is in the center, and at the right is Suzy Cooper, Gordon Coopers second wife, and the mother of the two of his children seen in this picture. He had two other children with his first wife. NOTES: In the interest of full disclosure, Ive talked to Colleen for some years. Her father was one of my first astronaut interviews when he was signing copies of his book in Merritt Island Florida, just down the road from where he launched into space. Colleen Cooper is willing to talk, but pressed for time. Message me for the latest on that. All of the information in this report can be used freely by anyone, including the news agencies who contacted me on Wednesday, and other agencies just seeing this.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 05:14:36 +0000
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