2023day.year
Ken Mattingly
(1936 - 2023)
American astronaut
American astronaut
American astronaut who served as command module pilot for Apollo 16 and flew on Skylab and the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project.
Thomas Kenneth Mattingly Jr. was born in 1936 in Chicago, Illinois, and earned his commission as a naval aviator before joining NASA in 1966. He was initially assigned as backup command module pilot for Apollo missions and later flew as command module pilot on Apollo 16 in 1972, supporting lunar exploration. Mattingly also participated in the Skylab 2 mission and the historic Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, logging over 1,400 hours in space. After retiring from NASA, he held executive positions in aerospace and continued to advocate for space exploration. Mattingly passed away in 2023, leaving a legacy of pioneering work in human spaceflight.
2023
Ken Mattingly