NASA remembers agency’s most experienced astronaut
John Young, the only agency astronaut to go into space as part of the Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle Programs and the first to fly into space six times, died Jan. 5 following complications from pneumonia at the age of 87.
“Today, NASA and the world have lost a pioneer,” said acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot in a 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.
“John was one of that group of early space pioneers whose bravery and commitment sparked our nation's first great achievements in space. But, not content with that, his hands-on contributions continued long after the last of his six spaceflights—a world record at the time of his retirement from the cockpit.
“Between his service in the U.S. Navy, where he retired at the rank of captain, and his later work as a civilian at NASA, John spent his entire life in service to our country. His career included the test pilot’s dream of two ‘first flights’ in a new spacecraft—with Gus Grissom on Gemini 3, and as commander of STS-1, the first space shuttle mission, which some have called ‘the boldest test flight in history.’ He flew as commander on Gemini 10, the first mission to rendezvous with two separate spacecraft the course of a single flight. He orbited the Moon in Apollo 10, and landed there as commander of the Apollo 16 mission. On STS-9, his final spaceflight, and in an iconic display of test pilot ‘cool,’ he landed the space shuttle with a fire in the back end.
“I participated in many Space Shuttle Flight Readiness Reviews with John, and will always remember him as the classic ‘hell of an engineer’ from Georgia Tech, who had an uncanny ability to cut to the heart of a technical issue by posing the perfect question—followed by his iconic phrase, ‘Just asking ...’
“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.”
Johnson Director Ellen Ochoa also relayed her thoughts about Young’s passing to the Johnson team.
“It would be hard to overstate the impact that he had on human spaceflight, Johnson Space Center and the Astronaut Office,” Ochoa said. “Beyond his well-known and groundbreaking six missions through three programs, he worked tirelessly for decades to understand and mitigate the risks that astronauts face, in particular focusing on abort strategies to respond to emergency situations. His intellect and insight were critical to innumerable technical and operational discussions that he engaged in as a crew member, as chief of the Astronaut Office, and as special assistant and then associate director (technical) to the JSC center director. His passing is a tremendous loss for all of us.”
For more information about Young’s NASA career, visit:
