Astronaut John Young, a NASA legend who went into space six times and was on the first Gemini mission, died at age 87 late Friday after a bout with pneumonia.
Young, who was one of only 12 men to walk on the moon, was the first to fly into space six times, and he also led the first shuttle flight. In a statement, NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot declared that the U.S. had lost a true “pioneer” of space exploration.
“Today, NASA and the world have lost a pioneer,” Lightfoot said Saturday. “Astronaut John Young’s storied career spanned three generations of spaceflight; we will stand on his shoulders as we look toward the next human frontier.”
Throughout his 42-year career at NASA, Young was the only astronaut to fly aboard the Gemini and Apollo capsules and aboard a space shuttle, doing so two times on each. His sixth and final time in space was in 1983 aboard the Columbia space shuttle – the ninth shuttle mission overall. It carried a European Spacelab module into orbit that served as a proving ground for the type of research carried out today on the International Space Station.
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Legendary astronaut John Young dies at 87 https://t.co/iH9RoBGJUC pic.twitter.com/UDMzSYuTmV
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) January 6, 2018
We're saddened by the loss of astronaut John Young, who was 87. Young flew twice to the Moon, walked on its surface & flew the first Space Shuttle mission. He went to space six times in the Gemini, Apollo & Space Shuttle programs. pic.twitter.com/l4nSwUCMIq
— NASA (@NASA) January 6, 2018
A real hero. Rest in peace, sir!
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