page_title: John Young (astronaut)
section_title: Awards and honors
hierarchical_section_title: John Young (astronaut) / Awards and honors
caption_attribution_description: English: Captain John W. Young exhibit at the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame; located at the Museum of Aviation, Robins Air Force Base
context_page_description: John Watts Young was an American astronaut, naval officer and aviator, test pilot, and aeronautical engineer. He became the ninth person to walk on the Moon as Commander of the Apollo 16 mission in 1972. Young enjoyed the longest career of any astronaut, becoming the first person to fly six space missions over the course of 42 years of active NASA service. He is the only person to have piloted and commanded four different classes of spacecraft: Gemini, the Apollo Command and Service Module, the Apollo Lunar Module, and the Space Shuttle.
  Before becoming an astronaut, Young received his Bachelor of Science degree with highest honors in Aeronautical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and joined the U.S. Navy. After serving at sea during the Korean War he became a naval aviator, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, setting several world time-to-climb records as a test pilot. Young left the Navy in 1976 with the rank of captain.
  In 1965 Young flew on the first crewed Gemini mission, and then commanded the 1966 Gemini 10 mission. In 1969 during Apollo 10, he became the first person to fly solo around the Moon.
context_section_description: Inducted into six Aviation and Astronaut Halls of Fame
  General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award from the Space Foundation (2010)
  Exceptional Engineering Achievement Award (1985)
  Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement (1993)
  American Astronautical Society Space Flight Award (1993)
  In 1995, Young was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.
  In 2001, Young was inducted into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.
  NASA Ambassador of Exploration (2005)
  He was the first John Young History Maker Honoree in 2005
  Six honorary doctorate degrees
  John Young Parkway, a major highway in Orlando and Kissimmee, Florida, is named for him. When he heard the highway was named for him, he said "Them boys shouldn't a'done that. I ain't dead yet". An elementary school (OCPS) on the parkway also bears his name.
  The planetarium at the Orlando Science Center was originally named in his honor.
  Ranked as the No. 3 most-popular space hero in a 2010 Space Foundation survey
  Recipient of Aviation Week's 1998 Philip J. Klass Award for Lifetime Achievement
  Asteroid 5362 Johnyoung was named in his memory in 2018
  Along with nine other Gemini astronauts, Young was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1982. Young, along with the other 12 Gemini astronauts, was inducted into the second U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame class in 1993.
caption: Plaque of Young at the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame
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