David Scott is an American astronaut and former military officer who flew on three spaceflights as a pilot and commander with NASA. He is best known as the commander of the Apollo 15 mission, the fourth manned mission to land on the moon.
Scott was born on June 6, 1932, in San Antonio, Texas. He received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1954 and served as a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force.
In 1959, Scott was selected as one of the third group of NASA astronauts. He flew as the pilot on the Gemini 8 mission in 1966, which was the first successful docking of two spacecraft in orbit. He also flew as the command module pilot on the Apollo 9 mission in 1969, which tested the lunar module in Earth orbit.
Scott’s most famous mission was the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, which he commanded. During the mission, he and lunar module pilot James Irwin landed on the moon and conducted three moonwalks, during which they deployed scientific instruments and collected lunar samples. Scott also famously drove a Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) on the moon’s surface, becoming the first astronaut to drive on another world.
After retiring from NASA in 1977, Scott remained active in the aerospace industry and served as a consultant for various companies. He has received numerous awards and accolades for his contributions to the space program, including the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.