Legend, pioneer was ‘true believer’
San Fran. native the first to make six trips to space
Astronaut John Young — the first man to make six trips to space and among the elite to walk on the moon — died Friday night from complications from pneumonia. He was 87.
Friends and academics remembered Young on Saturday as a legend, pioneer and role model for those who followed in his foot- steps.
“He was a true believer,” said Andrew Chaikin, a space historian and science journalist. “He was not just a fighter jock who wanted to go higher and faster. He really believed that space exploration in general was vital to our survival as a species.”
Young was one of the nation’s longest-serving astronauts, spending 47 years leading missions in the Gemini, Apollo and space shuttle programs.
“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,” NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot said. “John was one of that group of early space pioneers whose bravery and commitment sparked our nation’s first great achievements in space.”
Young developed his interest in aeronautics growing up in San Francisco, where he built model airplanes and learned how to read from his grandfather, according to a statement from NASA.
The boy also looked up to his father, a civil en-
gineer. Young would continue down his father’s path, graduating from Georgia Tech in 1952 with a degree in aeronautical engineering.
His strong engineering skills were one of his qualities most admired by colleagues, said Chaikin, who interviewed Young for two books he authored including “A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts.”
“John Young was always on the lookout for where we needed to be smarter to do this job and where we needed to fix something that didn’t measure up,” said Chaikin. Brain ‘always working’
Charles Justiz, a retired research pilot with the Johnson Space Center, spent 30 years alongside Young.
“His brain was always working in places that none of us were thinking,” said Justiz “He was the guy with the ‘what if’ that none of us thought of.”
Young served in the U.S. Navy for 25 years, retiring as a captain in 1976. The pilot joined NASA in 1962 in the second astronaut class, known as the “New Nine.” His decision to join NASA was inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 call to land a man on the moon.
“I thought returning safely to Earth sounded like a good idea,” said Young, according to a NASA statement.
Lightfoot noted that Young commanded the Gemini 10; orbited the moon in Apollo 10; landed on the moon as commander of the Apollo 16 mission; and, on his final mission, landed the STS-9 with a fire in the space shuttle’s back end. One of his most notable career achievements came in April 1981 when he commanded Space Shuttle Columbia, the first shuttle to reach space.
Young would eventually become chief in 1973 of the Space Shuttle Branch of the Astronaut Office at Johnson Space Center. He was appointed chief of the Astronaut Office the next year and kept the position until May 1987.
Astronaut Mark Kelly was saddened Saturday by the loss of his friend. “As the commander of the first flight of the space shuttle, John Young, along with his pilot Robert Crippen, boldly launched into space on the previously untested space spacecraft. Something that had never been done before and hasn’t been done since,” wrote Kelly in a statement. “His bravery broadened our horizons, his decades of dedication transformed our space program, and his legacy as one of America’s first space pioneers will forever inspire future generations of explorers, as he inspired me.
During his decades, Young received a Congressional Space Medal of Honor, three NASA Distinguished Service Medals, the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, two Navy Distinguished Service Medal and dozens of other awards, including four honorary doctorate degrees. He was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1988.
Young, who lived in El Lago near Clear Lake, retired in 2004 after logging 835 hours in space.
Around his retirement, Young recounted his first trip to the moon on Apollo 10 with the Houston Chronicle. “The impressive thing about the back side of the moon is how many darn craters it has,” he said. “If the back side of the moon was facing us, I think human beings would be far more adaptive, far more educated, about (asteroid or comet) impacts on planet Earth.” ‘One of my heroes’
Many others joined in on Saturday sharing grief and condolences about their beloved friend and colleague.
Former President George H. W. Bush said in a statement that Young was a good friend and also “a fearless patriot whose courage and commitment to duty helped our Nation push back the horizon of discovery at a critical time.”
Former NASA astronaut Terry Virts shared his sadness about Young’s death, tweeting on Saturday: “You were one of my heroes as an astronaut and explorer and your passion for space will be missed.”
Despite his running list of achievements, Young remained humble and didn’t brag about his accomplishments. “It was always about the mission and always about the people,” Justiz said.