NASA Astronaut Group 3 NASA Astronaut Group 3 Astronaut Group 3 was a group of fourteen astronauts selected by NASA. Their selection was announced in October 1963. Four died in training accidents before they could fly in space. All of the surviving ten flew in the Apollo program; five also flew Gemini missions. Aldrin, Bean, Cernan and Scott walked on the Moon. They are the only ones of the first 19 NASA astronaut groups to have no members at all fly on the Space Shuttle. Group 3 was the first to waive the requirement of a test pilot background, though military jet fighter aircraft
Buzz Aldrin classroom work, and soon decided to pursue a doctorate instead. In January 1963, he earned a Sc.D. degree in astronautics. His doctoral thesis was "Line-of-Sight Guidance Techniques for Manned Orbital Rendezvous", the dedication of which read, "In the hopes that this work may in some way contribute to their exploration of space, this is dedicated to the crew members of this country's present and future manned space programs. If only I could join them in their exciting endeavors!" Aldrin chose his doctoral thesis in the hope that it would help him be selected as an astronaut, although it meant foregoing