IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1122 

Honoring the life and legacy of General Thomas P. Stafford. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 9, 2024 

Mr. LUCAS (for himself, Mr. HERN, Mr. BRECHEEN, Mr. COLE, and Mrs. 

BICE) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the life and legacy of General Thomas P. Stafford. 

Whereas General Thomas Patten Stafford was born in 

Weatherford, Oklahoma, on September 17, 1930, to 

Thomas and Mary Ellen Stafford; 

Whereas General Stafford graduated with honors from the 

United States Naval Academy in 1952, after which he 

joined the newly formed United States Air Force; 

Whereas General Stafford entered the United States Air 

Force Experimental Test Pilot School at Edwards Air 

Force Base in 1958 and graduated in 1959, receiving the 

A.B. Honts Award as the outstanding graduate, and 

thereafter becoming an instructor and writing flight performance and aerodynamics textbooks for the school; 


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Whereas, in 1962, General Stafford was chosen among the 

second group of astronauts by the National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration (referred to in this preamble 

as ‘‘NASA’’) to serve in projects Gemini and Apollo; 

Whereas General Stafford developed techniques for and piloted Gemini VI in 1965, completing the first rendezvous 

in space, and commanded Gemini IX in 1966, demonstrating 3 different types of rendezvous, including the 

rendezvous that would be used in future Apollo lunar 

missions; 

Whereas, in 1969, General Stafford commanded Apollo 10, 

piloted the first lunar module to descend within 9 miles 

of the Moon, designated the first lunar landing site, performed reconnaissance of future Apollo landing sites, and 

completed each of the essential steps in the final preparation for the upcoming Moon landing, including the first 

rendezvous around the Moon; 

Whereas General Stafford and his crew won the National 

Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Special Trustees (commonly known as an ‘‘Emmy’’) Award for initiating development of and taking the first colored images 

from space; 

Whereas General Stafford set the record for the fastest speed 

traveled by a human during the return of the Apollo 10 

mission, a record standing today and documented in the 

Guinness World Book of Records, at 24,791 miles per 

hour, or Mach 36; 

Whereas General Stafford’s final space mission took place in 

1975 as commander of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, 

during which General Stafford and Cosmonaut Alexei 

Leonov shook hands upon docking, completing the first 


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international space flight and helping set into motion the 

end of the cold war; 

Whereas General Stafford received the Nobel Peace Prize 

nomination for his role in the final space mission in 

1975; 

Whereas General Stafford left NASA in 1975 to serve as 

Commander of the Air Force Test Center at Edwards Air 

Force Base; 

Whereas General Stafford, as Air Force Deputy Chief of 

Staff for Research, Development, and Acquisition, established requirements for, and initiated development of, the 

first stealth aircraft, the F–117A, which was the only 

stealth attack aircraft in the world for 25 years, and initiated the Air Force roadmap for the air superiority 

fighter still in use today; 

Whereas, just before his retirement in 1979, General Stafford 

wrote the specifications for, and initiated the development 

of, the Advanced Technology Bomber, now known as the 

B–2 Stealth Bomber, the only stealth bomber force in the 

world today, and initiated the development of the AGM– 

129 Advanced Cruise Missile; 

Whereas, from 1991 to 1993, General Stafford led NASA’s 

efforts to repair and service the Hubble Space Telescope 

and was presented with the NASA Public Service Award; 

Whereas, in 2011, General Stafford was awarded the Wright 

Brothers Memorial Trophy for pioneering achievements 

that have led the way to the Moon, to greater international cooperation in space, and to a safer United 

States; 

Whereas General Stafford completed more than 507 hours in 

space flight time and flew more than 127 types of airVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Apr 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1122.IH HR1122

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craft and helicopters during his career, along with 4 

kinds of spacecraft and 3 types of boosters; 

Whereas General Stafford has advised several Presidents on 

space policy; 

Whereas General Stafford has given a lifetime of service to 

the United States as a member of the Armed Forces, at 

NASA, and in other positions within the executive 

branch; 

Whereas General Stafford contributed immensely to the space 

race and the advancement of the United States in space 

policy and exploration; and 

Whereas General Stafford demonstrated extraordinary dedication and service to the United States throughout his 

distinguished career: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives honors 

2 the life and legacy of General Thomas P. Stafford. 

Æ 


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