Oklahoma is known for cowboys, Native American culture, and the love of football. But did you know that Oklahoma also produces more astronauts per capita than any other state in the country? There are currently seven astronauts who were born in Oklahoma, and many more Oklahoma natives involved in the NASA space programs with a total of at least 15 astronauts in the NASA program that have ties to Oklahoma.
Our first Oklahoma astronaut was Gordon Cooper from Shawnee who, in 1963, orbited the earth 22 times as part of the Mercury mission. Also hailing from Oklahoma are William Pogue (Okemah), Owen Garriott (Enid), Shannon Lucid (Bethany), John Herrington (Wetumka), Stuart Roose (Claremore), and Tom Stafford (Weatherford).
Perhaps the most celebrated Oklahoma astronaut of them all is Gen. Tom Stafford. He was a key player for both the Gemini and Apollo missions, not to mention the Apollo-Soyuz Project, the first crewed international space mission between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Stafford also commanded the Apollo 10 mission, which was a dress rehearsal for the eventual moon landing by the crew of Apollo 11 in 1969.
