By SETH BORENSTEIN (AP Science Writer)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford, who was in charge of a practice flight for the 1969 moon landing and the first U.S.-Soviet space connection, died on Monday. He was 93.
Stafford, a retired Air Force three-star general, participated in a total of four space missions. Before Apollo 10, he was on two Gemini flights, including the initial meeting of two U.S. capsules in orbit. According to Max Ary, director of the Stafford Air & Space Museum in Weatherford, Oklahoma, Stafford passed away in a hospital near his home in Space Coast Florida.
Stafford was among the 24 NASA astronauts who journeyed to the moon, but did not land on it. Only seven of them are still alive.
“Today General Tom Stafford went to the eternal heavens which he so courageously explored as a Gemini and Apollo astronaut as well as a peacemaker in Apollo Soyuz,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson via X, previously known as Twitter. “Those of us privileged to know him are very sad but grateful we knew a giant.”
After retiring from space missions, Stafford became NASA's go-to person for independent advice on various matters, including human Mars missions, safety concerns, and resuming flights after the 2003 space shuttle Columbia accident. He led an oversight group that investigated how to repair the previously problematic Hubble Space Telescope, and received a NASA public service award for his efforts.
“Tom was involved in so many things that most people were not aware of, such as being known as the ‘Father of Stealth’,” Ary said in an email. Stafford was in charge of the famous “Area 51” desert base that was the site of many UFO theories, but the home of testing of Air Force stealth technologies.
The Apollo 10 mission in May 1969 prepared the way for the historic Apollo 11 mission two months later. Stafford and Gene Cernan piloted the lunar lander nicknamed Snoopy to within 9 miles (14 kilometers) of the moon’s surface. Astronaut John Young remained in the main spaceship named Charlie Brown.
“The most impressive sight, I think, that really changed your view of things is when you first see Earth,” Stafford recalled in a 1997 oral history, talking about the view from lunar orbit.
Then came the moon’s far side: “The Earth disappears. There’s this big black void.”
Apollo 10’s return to Earth set the world’s record for fastest speed by a crewed vehicle at 24,791 mph (39,897 kph).
After the moon landings ended, NASA and the Soviet Union decided on a joint docking mission and Stafford, a one-star general at the time, was chosen to command the American side. It meant intensive language training, being followed by the KGB while in the Soviet Union, and lifelong friendships with cosmonauts. The two teams of space travelers even went to Disney World and rode Space Mountain together before going into orbit and joining ships.
“We have capture,” Stafford radioed in Russian as the Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft hooked up. His Russian counterpart, Alexei Leonov, responded in English: “Well done, Tom, it was a good show. I vote for you.”
The 1975 mission included two days during which the five men worked together on experiments. After, the two teams toured the world together, meeting President Gerald Ford and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.
He remembered at a 30th anniversary gathering in 2005 that it helped demonstrate to the rest of the world that two entirely different political systems could collaborate.
The two crews became so close that years later Leonov arranged for Stafford to be able to adopt two Russian boys when Stafford was in his 70s.
In 2004, Stafford told The Oklahoman that they were too old to adopt, but the boys were also too old to be adopted. He expressed that the boys brought a lot of meaning to their life, and retirement doesn't mean you have nothing left to offer.
In the 1990s, Stafford played a central role in discussions that led to Russia joining the partnership to build and operate the International Space Station.
Stafford recalled that while growing up in Weatherford, Oklahoma, he would see large DC-3 airplanes flying overhead on early transcontinental routes.
He told NASA historians that he had wanted to fly since he was 5 or 6 years old after seeing those airplanes.
Stafford attended the U.S. Naval Academy and graduated in the top 1% of his class. He flew in the backseat of some airplanes and enjoyed it. He had hoped to participate in combat flying in the Korean War, but it ended by the time he received his wings. He then attended the Air Force's experimental test pilot school, graduated first in his class, and remained as an instructor.
NASA selected Stafford in 1962 as part of its second group of astronauts, which included Neil Armstrong, Frank Borman, and Pete Conrad.
Stafford was assigned to Gemini 6, along with Wally Schirra. Their initial mission was to meet with an empty spaceship. However, their 1965 launch was canceled when the spaceship exploded shortly after liftoff. Nonetheless, Gemini 6 managed to rendezvous with but not dock with two astronauts aboard Gemini 7 in December.
Stafford’s next flight in 1966 was with Cernan on Gemini 9. Cernan's spacewalk, connected to a jet-pack like device, didn’t go well. Cernan complained that the sun and machine made him extra hot and hurt his back. Then his visor fogged up and he couldn’t see.
As the commander, Stafford told Cernan to “Call it quits, Gene. Get out of there.” He guided Cernan back, instructing him to “move your hand over, start to float up … stick your hand up … just walk hand over hand.”
In total, Stafford spent 507 hours in space and piloted four different types of spacecraft and 127 types of aircraft and helicopters.
After the Apollo-Soyuz mission, Stafford returned to the Air Force, conducted research, and led the Air Force Flight Test Center before retiring in 1979 as a three-star general.
Stafford’s Air Force responsibilities not only included overseeing the military’s top flight school and experimental plane testing base, but also serving as the commanding general of Area 51. According to a biography from his museum, his role at Area 51 and later as the development and acquisition chief at the Pentagon led to the creation of the F-117 Stealth Fighter and the B-2 Stealth Bomber.
Stafford became an executive for a transportation company based in Oklahoma and later relocated to Florida, near Cape Canaveral.
His wife, Linda, two sons, two daughters, and two stepchildren will continue living after him, as stated by the museum.
