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VETERANIn MemoriamNASA
VETERANIn MemoriamNASANASA·🇺🇸 United States·Born 1936
Ken Mattingly
Pulled from Apollo 13 days before launch over a measles scare, he helped rescue the crew from Mission Control, then flew to the Moon on Apollo 16 and commanded two Shuttle missions.
504h
Hours in Space
3
Missions
1
EVAs
1h
EVA Time
Biography
Pulled from Apollo 13 days before launch over a measles scare, he helped rescue the crew from Mission Control, then flew to the Moon on Apollo 16 and commanded two Shuttle missions. He died in 2023.
Before NASAU.S. Navy carrier aviator who flew A-1H Skyraiders and A-3B Skywarriors before attending the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards AFB and accumulating over 7,200 flight hours prior to NASA selection in 1966.
Mission Timeline
- Command Module Pilot
Apollo CSM Casper
Apollo 16
Launch: Apr 16, 1972Landing: Apr 27, 1972Duration: 11 days- Deep-space EVA on the return from the Moon
- Commander
Space Shuttle Columbia
STS-4
Launch: Jun 27, 1982Landing: Jul 4, 1982Duration: 7 days- Final orbital test flight of the Space Shuttle
- Commander
Space Shuttle Discovery
STS-51-C
Launch: Jan 24, 1985Landing: Jan 27, 1985Duration: 3 days- First dedicated Department of Defense Shuttle mission
Beyond the Mission
Hobbies & Interests
aviation
Languages
English
Fun fact
Mattingly was pulled from the Apollo 13 crew three days before launch after exposure to German measles — he never actually got sick — and then famously worked around the clock in the simulator helping devise the power-up procedures that brought the stricken Apollo 13 crew home safely.
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