A High-Flying Crew for Apollo

THE astronauts of Apollo 15, all Air Force officers, have distinguished themselves by their tireless efforts to sharpen their scientific skills. They are widely proclaimed to be the most scientifically knowledgeable crew to travel to the moon.

COLONEL DAVID R. SCOTT, 39, Apollo 15's handsome commander, is the only member of the crew to have ventured into space before. In 1966, teamed with Neil Armstrong, he coolly helped land the Gemini 8 spacecraft after it began tumbling wildly in earth orbit. Three years later, Scott was aboard Apollo 9 for another orbital mission. The son of a retired Air Force general, Scott was born in San Antonio, Texas, attended the University of Michigan for a year, then switched to West Point, where he graduated fifth in his class (1954), and later took his master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics at M.I.T. Even more than most astronauts, he is an outspoken patriot. When colors were being suggested for Apollo 15's emblem, Scott asked, "What's wrong with red, white and blue?" Those were the colors selected. Scott is married and the father of a boy and a girl.

MAJOR ALFRED M. WORDEN, 39, the Command-module pilot, is the crew's freest spirit. He likes good food and drink, plays his baby grand piano for visitors to his bachelor flat (everything from Beethoven to bop) and sleeps in a bed topped with a canopy of aluminum reflectors. "It gets me up in the morning," Worden explains. "I can't stand looking at all those ugly faces." Born in Jackson, Mich., Worden graduated from West Point in 1955, switched to the Air Force and later took a master's degree in astronautical and aeronautical engineering and instrumentation at the University of Michigan. His social life is active, ranging from pretty Houston secretaries to New York TV starlets. Worden was quietly divorced from his wife in 1968, but is still on friendly terms with her and remains close to their two daughters.

LIEUT. COLONEL JAMES B. IRWIN, 41, the lunar-module pilot, was almost barred from space. Severely injured in a 1961 plane crash (two broken legs, a fractured jaw and a concussion that temporarily wiped out part of his memory), Irwin was twice rejected by NASA before he was finally selected in 1966. Born in Pittsburgh, Pa., Irwin graduated from the Naval Academy in 1951, accepted a commission in the Air Force and quickly developed a taste for flying. Relatively short (5 ft. 8 in.) and introspective, he runs and plays tennis to keep in shape but seems to like few things better than staying at home with his wife, a former photographer's model, and their four children, Joy, Jill, James and Jan.

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