NASA Mourns Loss of Astronaut John Young, Visited the Moon Twice

By  //  January 6, 2018

John Young Dead At 87

ABOVE VIDEO: John Young astronaut: “America’s National Hero” (Dan Beaumont Space Museum Video)

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Former NASA Astronaut John Young has died at 87.

Young, is known for flying to the Moon twice, walked on the Moon’s surface and flew the first Space Shuttle mission.

The astronaut legend flew to space six times in the Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle Programs during his time NASA.

Forty-three years ago, Young — then a Navy test pilot — tuned in on a small, black-and-white television at the Naval Air Test Center in Florida as President John Kennedy addressed the nation.

Young, left, with Robert Crippen, flew Columbia on STS-1, the Shuttle program’s maiden flight in 1981. (NASA Image)

After hearing the president’s bold proposal to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth, Young knew what he had to do.

“I thought returning safely to Earth sounded like a good idea,” quips Young, who has stood on the Moon, driven 16 miles in a lunar rover and spent three nights on the lunar surface. He is the only person to go into space as part of the Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs and was the first to fly into space six times — seven times counting his lunar liftoff.

Young’s impressive career at NASA began in 1962 when he was selected from among hundreds of young pilots to join NASA’s second astronaut class, known as the “New Nine.”

“John Young has no equal in his service to our country and to humanity’s quest for space,” said current JSC Director Jefferson D. Howell Jr.

“He is the astronaut’s astronaut, a hero among heroes who fly in space. His achievements have taken space from an unknown environment to the expanding frontier we explore today. His steady hand and unflinching eyes have served our cause of space exploration well, expanding our horizons with unshakable dedication and calm courage. He will be missed,” Howell said.

NASA contributed to this report

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