Remembering astronaut Ken Mattingly (1936-2023)

Thomas "Ken" Mattingly, an American astronaut who went into space three times, passed away October 31. He was 87.  

Born in Chicago, Illinois, he moved with his family to Hialeah, Florida and soon, airplanes became an early fascination.  He graduated from Miami Edison High School in 1954 and received a BS degrees in aeronautical engineering from Auburn  University in 1958.  He then joined the navy and in 1966 he was selected as an astronaut.

He was scheduled to be the Command Module Pilot on the Apollo 13 mission, but he was removed form the mission because he had been exposed to German measles (which he didn't catch) and was replaced by Jack Swigert.  Mattingly did play a large role in helping the crew get safely back to Earth.

He was placed onto the crew of Apollo 16, the fifth lunar landing mission with John Young and Charlie Duke.  Mattingly and Young were the only two Apollo astronauts to fly on the Space Shuttle missions.  Mattingly carried out an EVA to retrieve film and data packages from the science bay on the side of the service module.

Mattingly served as commander of Columbia (STS-4) in June 1982, the fourth and final orbital test of Columbia.

He served as commander on Discovery (STS-51-C), a Department of Defense mission, in January 1985.

He retired from the Navy in 1986 as Rear admiral.  He passed away in Arlington, Virginia.

Happy birthday, Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke!

Charles "Charlie" Duke, born October 3, 1935 in Charlotte, North Carolina, went to the moon on Apollo 16 as Lunar Module Pilot in April 1972.  He became the tenth and youngest person to walk on the moon.

He retired in January 1976.

John Young, Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle astronaut, born 1930

John W. Young, born September 24, 1930 in San Francisco, California, has been referred to as NASA's most experienced astronaut.  He was the only person to participate in three different space programs. 

In the 1960s, he flew on Gemini 3 and Gemini 10.  He flew on Apollo 10 and Apollo 16, making him one of three people to go to the moon twice.  In the 1980s, he flew twice on Columbia (STS-1), the first space shuttle flight, and again on STS-9.

After 42 years with NASA, he retired in December 2004.  He passed away in January 2018 from complications from pneumonia. 

Remembering Space Shuttle astronaut Don Peterson (1933-2018)

For the second time in a week, a former astronaut has passed away.   Donald Peterson, who was a mission specialist on Challenger's maiden voyage (STS-6) passed away May 27 from Alzheimer's disease and bone cancer.  He was 84.

He was in the third group of astronauts assigned to the US Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program, but when MOL was cancelled he went to NASA as an astronaut.

He served as astronaut support crew for Apollo 16 and then was assigned to the space shuttle program. During the STS-6 mission, he and Story Musgrave performed the first ever EVA of the shuttle program, logging just over 4 hours.

Apollo 16 launched 1972

Apollo 16 crew (L-R): Ken Mattingly, John Young, Charles Duke

Mission patch

Apollo 16, launched April 16, 1972, was the fifth mission to land on the moon and the tenth manned mission in NASA's Apollo program.  Its crew consisted of Commander John Young, Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly, and Lunar Module Pilot Charles Duke.

On Day 5 of the mission, Young and Duke undocked from the Command Module Casper and prepared the Lunar Lander Orion for landing.  They touched down in the lunar highlands, the area of the moon with brighter surfaces.

Young and Duke (the youngest person to walk on the moon) spent 71 hours on the lunar surface, which included three EVAs totalling just over 20 hours.  They drove almost 17 miles in the Lunar Roving Vehicle.

Ken Mattingly performed a one-hour EVA to retrieve several film cassettes from the exterior of the Service Module.

On April 23, the lunar module blasted off and rendezvoused with the Command Module.  They splashed down April 27 in the South Pacific Ocean.

Happy birthday, Apollo and Space Shuttle astronaut Ken Mattingly!

Ken Mattingly, born March 17, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois, is one of twenty-four people to fly to the moon.  Mattingly was Command Module Pilot for the Apollo 16 mission in April 1972.  During the return portion of the mission, he performed an EVA to retrieve film and data packages from the science bay on the side of the service module.

He had been assigned to be Command Module Pilot for Apollo 13 but was scrubbed only 72 hours before, due to being exposed to the measles.  Gary Sinise played Mattingly in the movie Apollo 13.

During the space shuttle program, Mattingly commanded Columbia (STS-4) with Henry Harsfield June-July 1982, the final test flight for the shuttle.

He commanded Discovery (STS-51-C) in January 1985, the first space shuttle mission dedicated to the Department of Defense.

Remembering astronaut John Young (1930-2018)

John Watts Young, an astronaut whose career spanned the Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs, passed away yesterday at age 87.  In 1965, he flew on the first manned Gemini mission, Gemini 3 and was commander of Gemini X in July 1966.

On Apollo 10, he became the first person to orbit the moon and drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle on the moon during the Apollo 16 mission.  He is one of three people to go to the moon twice.

In April 1981, he commanded the first Space Shuttle mission, STS-1 on Columbia.  His sixth and final mission was commander on Columbia (STS-9) in November 1983.

Happy birthday, Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise!

Fred Haise, born November 14, 1933 in Biloxi, Mississippi, was an astronaut on the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission.  After high school, he served in the US Marines as a fighter pilot.  He graduated from the University of  Oklahoma with a degreee in aeronautical engineering in 1959 before becoming an astronaut.

Haise was scheduled to be the sixth human to walk on the moon during the Apollo 13 mission behind Jim Lovell, who was to be the fifth.  Jack Swigert was the Command Module Pilot.  Of course, we all know they didn't get to land on the moon but they returned to Earth safely.  Bill Paxton played Haise in the movie Apollo 13.

He was backup for the Apollo 16 mission and was slated for the Apollo 19 mission, but the latter was cancelled due to budget cuts.  Haise left NASA in 1979.

Apollo 16, 5th moon landing, 1972

Apollo 16 crew: Thomas Mattingly, John Young, Charles Duke

Apollo 16, the fifth and next to last manned mission to the moon, touched down on the lunar surface April 21, 1972. The crew consisted of Commander John Young, Command Module Pilot Thomas Mattingly and Lunar Module Pilot Charles Duke.  Young and Duke put almost 27 kilometers on their lunar rover exploring the Descartes region of the moon, which includes the Cayley formation and the Kant Plateau.  They remained on the moon's surface for almost three days before returning to the lunar module on April 24.  They splashed down on April 27.