Thomas P. Stafford

Thomas Patten Stafford (September 17, 1930 – March 18, 2024) was an American former Air Force officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut.

Stafford was an officer in the United States Air Force. He flew F-86 Sabres before becoming a test pilot.  

He was became an astronaut in 1962, and flew aboard Gemini 6A and Gemini 9A. 

In 1969, Stafford was the Commander of Apollo 10, the second crewed mission to orbit the Moon. Apollo 10 was also the first to fly a Lunar Module in lunar orbit. It flew very close to the Moon, going down to an altitude of nine miles.

In 1975, Stafford was the commander of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project flight, the first joint U.S.-Soviet space mission.

Stafford died from liver cancer at a care home in Satellite Beach, Florida on March 18, 2024, at the age of 93.

References

Category:1930 births
Category:2024 deaths
Category:Deaths from liver cancer
Category:Apollo astronauts
Category:Scientists from Oklahoma