John Watts Young, distinguished NASA astronaut, Navy Test Pilot and Aeronautical Engineer, who walked on the Moon during Apollo 16 and commanded the first space shuttle mission, died on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018, at the age of 87.
Young was the first person to fly 6 space missions over the course of 42 years of active NASA service. He was the only person to have piloted, and been commander of, 4 different classes of spacecraft: Gemini, the Apollo Command/Service Module, the Apollo Lunar Module, and the Space Shuttle.
Johnson Space Center Director Ellen Ochoa said — “It would be hard to overstate the impact that John Young had on human space flight. Beyond his well-known and groundbreaking six missions through three programs, he worked tirelessly for decades to understand and mitigate the risks that NASA astronauts face. He had our backs.”
Career
Young joined NASA in 1962 and was the first of the Astronaut Group 2 to fly in space.
Here is a short summary of Young’s six space missions —
Date |
Mission |
Description |
March 1965 |
Gemini 3 |
Pilot of the spacecraft named “Molly Brown”. First crewed Gemini mission. |
July 1966 |
Gemini 10 |
Command pilot.
Objectives included rendezvous, docking and EVA with the Agena Target Vehicle from the Gemini 8 mission.
|
May 1969 |
Apollo 10 |
Command module pilot.
A "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing.
Young remained in the Command Module Charlie Brown while Stafford and Cernan entered the Lunar Module Snoopy and flew it separately without landing.
|
April 1972 |
Apollo 16 |
Commander. Landed on moon with lunar module pilot Charlie Duke.
Young and Duke spent 71 hours on the lunar surface, during which they conducted three extra-vehicular activities or moonwalks, totaling 20 hours and 14 minutes. The pair drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) 26.7 kilometers. On the surface, Young and Duke collected 95.8 kilograms of lunar samples for return to Earth.
|
April 1981 |
STS-1 |
Commanded Space Shuttle Columbia, the Shuttle program's maiden flight. It was the first time a piloted spacecraft was tested in space without a previous unpiloted orbital flight. |
1983 |
STS-9 |
Commander of the first Spacelab mission. The mission, with a 6-person crew, returned more scientific and technical data than all the Apollo and Skylab missions combined. |
In addition to his six spaceflights, Young was a member of five backup crews. He logged thousands of hours of training and flight time, including a total of 835 hours in space.
From May 1987 to February 1996, Young served as Special Assistant to the Director of JSC for Engineering, Operations, and Safety.
In February 1996, Young was assigned as Associate Director (Technical), responsible for technical, operational and safety oversight of all Agency Programs and activities assigned to the Johnson Space Center.
His many awards and honors included six honorary doctorate degrees and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal (1969) with three oak leaf clusters (1981, 2004).
Young retired from NASA on Dec 31, 2004.
Images and Videos
Epilogue
The past couple of years has seen a number of distinguished NASA astronauts that have left the surly bonds of Earth to join their maker. Young, a true pioneer, will be missed by many.
Acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot summed it this way — “John Young was at the forefront of human space exploration with his poise, talent, and tenacity. He was in every way the 'astronaut’s astronaut.' We will miss him.”
What memories does this news bring back for you? Of the Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle era.
References
- Bio at NASA— www.jsc.nasa.gov/…
- Wiki — en.wikipedia.org/…
- NASA Mourns the Passing of Astronaut John Young — www.nasa.gov/…
- Gemini Pioneered the Technology Driving Today's Exploration — www.nasa.gov/…
- Gemini 10: NASA's Epic 1st Double Rendezvous Mission in Photos — www.space.com/…
- A Look Back at Apollo 16 — www.theatlantic.com/...
- Bruce McCandless II - NASA Astronaut, Engineer and Spacewalker - RIP — www.dailykos.com/…
- Piers Sellers, NASA Climate Scientist and Astronaut - RIP — www.dailykos.com/...