Alan Bean was born in Wheeler, Texas, in 1932. He graduated from high school in Fort Worth in 1950, where in Bean's last year, he was selected for a NROTC Scholarship at the University of Texas, Austin. Five years later, Alan Bean was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree and was commissioned Ensign, United States Navy.
In 1956, Bean completed flight training and was awarded Naval Aviator wings. He was assigned to Jet Attack Squadron 44 in Jacksonville, Florida. Four years later, Alan Bean was selected for Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland. When his schooling was completed, Alan Bean was assigned in November of 1969 to the Service Test Division of the Naval Air Test Center. Alan Bean spent three exciting years as a test pilot flying almost every type of plane in Navy service. But Bean was also interested in art and enrolled in night art classes at nearby St. Mary's College.
In 1963, Alan Bean was selected as an astronaut for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. He was the lunar module pilot on the Apollo 12. This was man's second lunar landing and Alan Bean became the fourth man to set foot on the moon.
In 1973, Alan Bean again flew in space as spacecraft commander of the Skylab Mission II. This mission lasted fifty--nine days and traveled 24,400,000 miles. His crew accomplished 150 percent of their pre-mission goals, a record unequaled even today. Alan Bean was then selected as backup spacecraft commander for the joint American-Russian Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Alan Bean was assigned as Chief of Operations and Training and Acting Chief Astronaut until the first flight of the space shuttle. Throughout Alan Bean's career as an astronaut when not in specific mission training, Bean studied art at nights and on the weekend. In 1981, Alan Bean resigned as a NASA astronaut to devote full time to painting and speaking.
While at NASA, Alan Bean helped establish eleven world records in space and astronautics. He was awarded two NASA Distinguished Service Medals and two Navy Distinguished Service Medals. Alan Bean has received the Robert J. Collier Trophy, Yuri Gagarin Gold Medal and numerous other National and International honors. He is listed in all major Who's Who. Alan Bean has flown twenty-seven types of military aircraft as well as many civilian airplanes and has logged 7,145 hours of flight time. Alan Bean is an accomplished artist creating paintings that help record for future generations humankind's first exploration of another world.
