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 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, astronaut Robert Crippen!

Robert "Bob" Crippen, born September 11, 1937, was aboard the first ever Space Shuttle flight, STS-1, on Columbia in April 1981.  He served as commander on 3 more missions, each on Challenger.  His second mission, with Sally Ride, was STS-7 in June 1983, during which satellites for Canada and Indonesia were released.

His third mission (STS-41-C) in April 1984 involved the first satellite repair operation, capturing, fixing and then releasing the Solar Maximum Mission satellite.

His final mission (STS-41-G) in October 1984 was the first 7-man crew.  He was scheduled to command STS-62-A but that mission was cancelled after the Challenger explosion.

He has been inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, but more importantly, he was voted one of 1981's sexiest men by Playgirl magazine!

First Space Shuttle Launched 1981!

The launch of the first space shuttle, Columbia (STS-1), took place April 12, 1981, with Commander John Young and Pilot Bob Crippen on board.  They orbited the earth 37 times in just over 2 days.  By coincidence, Columbia was launched on the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic spaceflight in Vostok 1.