Thomas P . Stafford Thomas Patten Stafford ( born September 17 , 1930 ) is a retired American Air Force Lieutenant general and former NASA astronaut . He flew aboard two Gemini space flights ; and in 1969 was the commander of Apollo 10 , the second manned mission to orbit the Moon and the first to fly a lunar module there . In 1975 , Stafford was commander of the Apollo - Soyuz flight , the first joint US - Soviet space mission . A brigadier general at the time , he became the first general officer to fly in space . He was the first member of his Naval Academy class to pin on the first , second and third stars of a general officer . He made six rendezvous in space and logged 507 hours of space flight . He has flown over 120 different types of fixed wing and rotary aircraft and three different types of spacecraft . Biography . Early years . Stafford was born September 17 , 1930 , in Weatherford , Oklahoma , where he graduated from Weatherford High School in 1948 . He graduated with honors in 1952 from the U . S . Naval Academy , Annapolis , Maryland , and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force . He received his pilot wings at Connally AFB , Waco , Texas , in September 1953 . He completed advanced interceptor training and was assigned to the 54th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron , Ellsworth AFB , Rapid City , South Dakota . In December 1955 he was assigned to the 496th Fighter Interceptor Squadron , Hahn Air Base , Germany , where he performed the duties of pilot , flight leader , and flight test maintenance office , flying F - 86Ds . He was an instructor in flight test training and specialized academic subjects - establishing basic textbooks and directing the writing of flight test manuals for use by the staff and students . He is co - author of the " Pilot ' s Handbook for Performance Flight Testing " and the " Aerodynamics Handbook for Performance Flight Testing " . NASA career . Stafford was selected among the second group of NASA astronauts in September 1962 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ) to participate in Projects Gemini and Apollo . Project Gemini . Stafford was originally scheduled to fly with veteran astronaut Alan Shepard on the first manned Gemini mission , Gemini 3 . But when Shepard was removed from the flight rotation due to an inner ear problem , Stafford was reassigned to back up pilot for that mission . In December 1965 , he piloted Gemini VI during the first rendezvous in space , and helped develop techniques to prove the basic theory and practicality of a space rendezvous . In June 1966 he commanded Gemini IX with Eugene Cernan due to the deaths of prime crew members Charlie Bassett and Elliot See . He performed a demonstration of an early rendezvous that would be used in Apollo 10 : the first optical rendezvous ; and a lunar orbit abort rendezvous . Until the launch of STS - 94 in 1997 he held the record for the briefest duration between spaceflights , at 5 months 19 days . Project Apollo . From August 1966 to October 1968 , Stafford headed the mission planning analysis and software development responsibilities for the astronaut group for Project Apollo . Stafford was the lead member of the group which helped formulate the sequence of missions leading to the first lunar landing mission . He demonstrated and implemented the theory of a pilot manually flying the Saturn booster into orbit and the translunar injection maneuver . Stafford also was largely responsible for NASA adopting color television for its spaceflights . Apollo 10 had planned to be slow - scan black - and - white , but Stafford was determined to let the American public share in the beauty of the missions they were funding . The development of a sequential color television system by Westinghouse caught his attention and in the early days of 1969 , the demonstration made for him was the catalyst for his pushing NASA to adopt the color format . Once NASA saw how much publicity the color TV pictures generated , the format became standard on all subsequent missions ( bar Apollo 11 ' s lunar surface TV camera - which was not flight - approved for color ) . Stafford was commander of Apollo 10 in May 1969 , which included the first flight of the lunar module during a Moon orbit , the first rendezvous while in the Moon environment , and the entire lunar landing mission except for the actual landing . He also did reconnaissance and evaluation of future landing sites for Apollo 11 . Stafford and his crewmates , John Young and Gene Cernan , were cited in the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest speed ever attained by man — during Apollo 10 ' s return from the Moon , the spacecraft reached 24 , 791 statute miles per hour . He was assigned as head of the NASA Astronaut Corps in June 1969 , responsible for the selection of flight crews for projects Apollo and Skylab . He reviewed and monitored flight crew training status reports , and was responsible for coordination , scheduling , and control of all activities involving NASA astronauts . In June 1971 , Stafford was assigned as Deputy Director of Flight Crew Operations at the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center . He was responsible for assisting the director in planning and implementation of programs for the astronaut group , the Aircraft Operations , Flight Crew Integration , Flight Crew Procedures , and Crew Simulation and Training Divisions . Also in 1971 , Stafford served as a pallbearer for the crew of the ill - fated Soyuz 11 . Apollo - Soyuz Test Project . Stafford logged his fourth space flight as Apollo commander of the Apollo - Soyuz Test Project ( ASTP ) mission , July 15 – 24 , 1975 — a joint space flight culminating in the historic first meeting in space between American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts . He earned the Air Force Command Pilot Astronaut Wings . Post - NASA career . Stafford assumed command of the Air Force Flight Test Center November 4 , 1975 . He was promoted to the rank of major general August 9 , 1975 , with date of rank of June 1 , 1973 . Promoted to rank of lieutenant general on March 15 , 1978 , he assumed duties as Deputy Chief of Staff , Research Development and Acquisition , Headquarters USAF , Washington , DC , on May 1 , 1978 . He retired from the Air Force in November 1979 . In June 1990 , Vice President Quayle and Admiral Richard Truly , then the NASA administrator , asked Stafford to chair a committee to independently advise NASA how to carry out President George H . W . Bush ' s vision of returning to the Moon , this time to stay , and then go on to explore Mars . Stafford assembled teams of 40 full - time and 150 part - time members from the DOD , DOE and NASA , and completed the study called " America at the Threshold " , a road map for the next 30 years of U . S . manned spaceflight . Stafford and Quayle held a news conference at the White House in June 1991 to announce the recommendations to the public . He co - founded the technical consulting firm of Stafford , Burke , and Hecker , Inc . in Alexandria , Virginia . He sits on the board of directors of six corporations listed on the New York Stock Exchange , one listed on the American Exchange , and two others , including Seagate Technology , Inc . , the largest independent hard disk drive maker in the world . He has served as an advisor to a number of governmental agencies including NASA and the Air Force Systems Command . He was a defense advisor to Ronald Reagan during the 1980 presidential campaign and a member of the Reagan transition team . He has also served as spokesman for Omega watches . He served on the National Research Council ' s Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board ; the Committee on NASA Scientific and Technological Program Reviews , and Vice President Quayle ' s Space Policy Advisory Council . He was chairman of the NASA Advisory Council Task Force on Shuttle - Mir Rendezvous and Docking Missions , and is currently the chairman of the NASA International Space Station Advisory Committee . He is an honorary board member of the humanitarian organization , Wings of Hope . Stafford wrote the epilogue of the book " Falling to Earth : An Apollo 15 Astronaut ' s Journey to the Moon " by fellow Apollo astronaut Al Worden . Personal . Stafford ' s first wife was the former Faye L . Shoemaker . They had two daughters , Dionne Kay , and Karin Elaine . They also have two grandsons , Thomas P . Stafford II and Andrew Alexi Harrison . He later married the former Linda Ann Dishman of Chelsea , Oklahoma . They have two sons , Michael Thomas , and Stanslav " Stas " Patten . Linda has two children from a previous marriage , Kassie Neering and Mark Hill , and four grandchildren : Sloane , Lee , Marcus , and Tara . Stafford enjoys hunting , scuba diving , fishing , and swimming . He recently moved from Oklahoma City , Oklahoma , to Florida . Honors and awards . In 2011 , Stafford was awarded the National Aeronautic Association Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy , the most prestigious honor in aviation , which is presented annually to a living American for " significant public service of enduring value to aviation in the United States . " He also received the Air Force Association ' s Lifetime Achievement Award on September 21 , 2011 . Stafford ' s many military decorations and awards include the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters , Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster , Air Force Commendation Medal and Air Force Outstanding Unit Award ribbon with three oak leaf clusters . Other awards presented to Stafford include the Presidential Medal of Freedom , NASA Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster , NASA Exceptional Service Medal with oak leaf cluster , the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Chanute Flight Award ( 1976 ) , the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Space Award , National Geographic Society ' s General Thomas D . White USAF Space Trophy ( 1975 ) , and the Federal Aeronautique Internationale Gold Space Medal . In 1966 , he was co - recipient of the AIAA Award , and in 1969 he received the National Academy of Television Arts and Science Special Trustees Award . On 12 April 2011 , Stafford received the Russian Medal " For Merit in Space Exploration " " for outstanding contribution to the development of international cooperation in manned space flight " . Stafford received the Harmon International Aviation Trophy twice — in 1966 for piloting Gemini 6 , and in 1976 trophy was presented jointly to Stafford and cosmonaut Alexei Leonov for their work on ASTP . In 1979 , Stafford was awarded the Society of Experimental Test Pilots James H . Doolittle Award . On January 19 , 1993 , he received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor . He is the recipient of several honorary degrees . These include a doctorate of science from Oklahoma City University ; a doctorate of laws , Western State University ; a doctorate of communications , Emerson College , Boston , Massachusetts ; and a doctorate of aeronautical engineering , Embry - Riddle Aeronautical University , Daytona Beach , Florida . Legacy . Stafford is heavily honored in his hometown of Weatherford , including his name being on the local airport , Thomas P . Stafford Airport , and The Stafford Air & Space Museum . In media . Stafford played himself in the 1974 TV movie " Houston , We ' ve Got a Problem " . In the 1996 TV movie " Apollo 11 " he was played by Tony Carlin . In the 1998 miniseries " From the Earth to the Moon " he was played by Steve Hofvendahl . Stafford was briefly portrayed by an extra in the pilot episode of the FX show " The Americans " . British rock band New Model Army has quoted Stafford in the lyrics to their song " Space " included on their fifth studio album " Impurity " in 1990 .