Moonwalker John Young Flies West

Astronaut and moonwalker John Young passed away on January 5th from complications of pneumonia

Plane & Pilot

Wednesday, January 10, 2018 at 06:57 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

John Young was an exceptionally accomplished, yet under-recognized, astronaut who commanded Apollo 16 and walked on the moon three times.
His extensive 42-year NASA career involved flying six different missions across the Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle programs, accumulating seven liftoffs.
Beyond his flight experience, Young was also an engineer, test pilot, and served as Chief of both the Space Shuttle and Astronaut programs.

See a mistake? Contact us.

While John Young wasn’t as well known as several of his fellow lunar strollers, it’s impossible to understand why he wasn’t. Young was one of the most accomplished of a dizzying assortment of high achievers in the astronaut ranks. He was the commander of Apollo 16. On that mission in 1972, Young commanded the lunar module and took three walks on the moon.

*Astronaut John Young, the pilot of the Gemini-Titan 3 prime crew suited up for GT-3 pre-launch test exercises. March 8, 1965*

Before Apollo, Young was a Gemini astronaut, and afterward, he was two-time Space Shuttle Commander. In his 42 years at NASA Young flew six different missions and experienced seven liftoffs (the Lunar Module liftoff added one to the already unbelievable tally). Young was an engineer, a test pilot and a fighter pilot, getting his Naval Wings in 1954 and eventually serving as Chief of both the Space Shuttle and Astronaut programs. Hepassed away on January 5th from complications of pneumonia. He was 87.

Learn more at NASA.