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VETERANIn MemoriamNASA
VETERANIn MemoriamNASANASA·🇺🇸 United States·Born 1930
John Young
Flew six missions across three programs over two decades — the only person to command Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle flights.
35d
Days in Space
6
Missions
3
EVAs
20h
EVA Time
Biography
Flew six missions across three programs over two decades — the only person to command Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle flights. Ninth person to walk on the Moon. He died in 2018.
Before NASAU.S. Navy aviator and test pilot who earned a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from Georgia Tech, set multiple world time-to-climb records in the F-4 Phantom II, and served 24 years in the Navy before NASA selected him in 1962.
Mission Timeline
- Pilot
Gemini spacecraft Molly Brown
Gemini 3
Launch: Mar 23, 1965Landing: Mar 23, 1965Duration: 1 day- First crewed Gemini flight — and smuggled a corned beef sandwich aboard
- Commander
Gemini spacecraft
Gemini 10
Launch: Jul 18, 1966Landing: Jul 21, 1966Duration: 3 days- Dual rendezvous using the Agena's engine to raise orbit
- Command Module Pilot
Apollo CSM Charlie Brown
Apollo 10
Launch: May 18, 1969Landing: May 26, 1969Duration: 8 days- Orbited the Moon solo during the landing dress rehearsal
- Commander
Apollo CSM Casper / LM Orion
Apollo 16
Launch: Apr 16, 1972Landing: Apr 27, 1972Duration: 11 days- Walked on the Moon in the Descartes Highlands
- Commander
Space Shuttle Columbia
STS-1
Launch: Apr 12, 1981Landing: Apr 14, 1981Duration: 2 days- Commanded the first Space Shuttle flight
- Commander
Space Shuttle Columbia
STS-9
Launch: Nov 28, 1983Landing: Dec 8, 1983Duration: 10 days- First Spacelab mission
Beyond the Mission
Hobbies & Interests
readingphysical fitness
Languages
English
Fun fact
Young is the only person in history to fly four different classes of spacecraft — Gemini, the Apollo Command Module, the Lunar Module, and the Space Shuttle — and he once smuggled a corned beef sandwich onto Gemini 3, triggering a congressional hearing about contraband food in space.
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