Stuart A. Roosa

Stuart Roosa

Stuart Allen Roosa, a Colonel in the United States Air Force (Retired), was born on August 16, 1933 in Durango, Colorado and grew up in Claremore, Oklahoma. His nickname was “Smoky.” He served as backup command module pilot for the Apollo 16 and 17 missions, and was assigned to the space shuttle program until his retirement from the Air Force in 1976.

He was a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, New York Safari Club, Board of Directors, People-to-People Sports Committee, Hunting Hall of Fame, Circumnavigators Club, Explorers Club, Confederate Air Force, Shikar-Safari-Club, and Gulfport Yacht Club.

Roosa died on December 12, 1994 in Fairfax, Virginia due to complications of pancreatitis.

NASA Biography

Space Flights:

  • Command Module Pilot, Apollo 14, January 31-February 9, 1971

Total Hours in Space: 216+

Astronaut Group: 5-April 4, 1966

Degrees: BS, Aeronautical Engineering, University of Colorado, presented an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of St. Thomas (Houston, Texas) in 1971; completed the Advanced Management Course at Harvard Business School in 1973.

Military Service & Awards: NASA Distinguished Service Medal; JSC Superior Achievement Award (1970); Air Force Command Pilot Astronaut Wings; Air Force Distinguished Service Medal; the Arnold Air Society’s John F. Kennedy Award (1971); the City of New York Gold Medal in 1971; the American Astronautical Society’s Flight Achievement Award for 1971; the Order of Tchad (1973); and the Order of Central African Empire (1973).

Interred at Arlington National Cemetery: December 15, 1994

Joan Barrett Roosa was born on May 23, 1934 in Boonesville, Mississippi. She attended the University of Mississippi, and graduated later from Mississippi University for Women with a degree in history. She and her husband had a daughter, Rosemary and three sons — Christopher, John, and Stuart Allen Roosa Jr. Mrs. Roosa died on October 30, 2007 in Gulfport, Mississippi and was interred with her husband on November 9, 2007.

Section: 7A
Grave: 73
Grid: TU-23/24

How to locate: From the visitor’s center follow the signs to the Tomb of the Unknowns. Section 7A is a small area to the left of the sidewalk very close to the Tomb of the Unknowns. When facing the section when standing at Roosevelt Drive, the gravesite is in the fifth row back.