Astronaut Profile
Tom Stafford
Pilot
Tom Stafford flew on Gemini 6A's historic first space rendezvous, commanded Gemini 9A, and later commanded Apollo 10's dress rehearsal for the Moon landing.
OrbitingTruths Archive
Pilot • Deceased
Biography
The person behind the mission
Thomas P. Stafford was a U.S. Air Force test pilot selected in NASA's second group of astronauts. He served as pilot on Gemini 6A in December 1965, which achieved the first rendezvous of two crewed spacecraft in orbit alongside Gemini 7, and commanded Gemini 9A in 1966. Stafford commanded Apollo 10 in May 1969, flying the Lunar Module to within 8.4 miles of the lunar surface in a full dress rehearsal for the Apollo 11 landing. He later commanded the American crew of the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the first joint space mission between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Astronaut Details
Born
September 17, 1930
Died
March 18, 2024
Birthplace
Weatherford, Oklahoma, USA
Role
Pilot
Program
Gemini
Time in Space
21 days, 3 hours, 42 minutes
Missions
Gemini 6A, Gemini 9A, Apollo 10, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
Recognition
Awards & Honors
- Congressional Space Medal of Honor
- NASA Distinguished Service Medal
- Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross