Pioneering astronaut John Young, the first to fly into space six times, has died. He was 87. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration…
Pioneering astronaut John Young, the first to fly into space six times, has died. He was 87.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced that the Houston resident, the only agency astronaut to go into space as part of the Gemini, Apollo and space shuttle programs, died Friday after suffering complications from pneumonia.
«Today, NASA and the world have lost a pioneer,» agency administrator Robert Lightfoot said in a written statement. «Astronaut John Young’s storied career spanned three generations of spaceflight; we will stand on his shoulders as we look toward the next human frontier.»
The San Francisco-born Young, a Georgia Tech grad and U. S. Navy captain, was one of nine young pilots chosen to join NASA’s second astronaut class, known as the «New Nine,» in 1962.
He would eventually participate in two pioneering flights, aboard Gemini 3 with Gus Grissom and as commander of STS-1, the first space shuttle mission. He also served as commander on Gemini 10, the first mission to rendezvous with two separate spacecraft in one flight, and landed on the moon as commander of the Apollo 16 mission, where he drove 16 miles on the lunar surface.
On his final flight, aboard STS-9, he landed Space Shuttle Columbia as a fire raged on the craft sparked by several auxiliary power units — what Lightfoot called «an iconic display of test pilot ‘cool.'»
«John Young was at the forefront of human space exploration with his poise, talent, and tenacity,» Lightfoot said. «He was in every way the ‘astronaut’s astronaut.’ We will miss him.»
Former President George H. W. Bush said in a statement: «John was more than a good friend; he was a fearless patriot whose courage and commitment to duty helped our nation push back the horizon of discovery at a critical time. To us, he represented the best in the American spirit — always looking forward, always reaching higher.»
