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.

Columbia (STS-4) launched 1982

STS-4 crew (L-R): Henry Hartsfield, Ken Mattingly

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-4), launched June 27, 1982, was the final test flight for the shuttle program.  After a successful week-long mission, the shuttle was deemed to be operational. Its crew consisted of Commander Ken Mattingly and Pilot Henry Hartsfield.

After launch, the solid rocket boosters were lost when their main parachutes failed. 

They returned to Earth on July 4.

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.

Henry Hartsfield, Space Shuttle astronaut, born 1933

Henry "Hank" Hartsfield, born November 21, 1933 in Birmingham, Alabama, was a veteran of 3 Space Shuttle flights, including one of the first, STS-4 aboard Columbia.  In June 1982, he and Ken Mattingly made the final test run of the Space Shuttle program, which was the last time only two astronauts were aboard a shuttle.

His second flight was on Discovery (STS-41-D) in August-September 1984 as commander.  Its initial launch date was June 26 but at T-6 seconds before blast off, the launch was aborted.  Its mission was delayed over two months.

His third and final flight was aboard Challenger (STS-61-A) in October-November 1985.  It was the last successful flight of the Challenger.  He was commander of the only space shuttle mission to carry 8 astronauts for the entire mission. 

Hartsfield passed away in July 2014 from complications due to back surgery.