Thomas P. Stafford

Thomas Patten Stafford (September 17, 1930 – March 18, 2024) was an American former Air Force officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut.

Thomas P. Stafford
Thomas Stafford (1969)
Born	Thomas Patten Stafford (1930-09-17)September 17, 1930 Weatherford, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	March 18, 2024(2024-03-18) (aged 93) Satellite Beach, Florida, U.S.
Resting place	Weatherford, Oklahoma, U.S.
Nationality	American
Other names	Thomas Patten Stafford
Alma mater	United States Naval Academy, B.S. 1952
Occupation(s)	Test pilot, consultant
Awards
Space career
NASA Astronaut
Rank	Lieutenant General, United States Air Force
Time in space	21d 03h 42m
Selection	1962 NASA Group 2
Missions	Gemini 6A, Gemini 9A, Apollo 10, Apollo–Soyuz Test Project
Mission insignia
Retirement	November 1, 1979

Stafford was an officer in the United States Air Force. He flew F-86 Sabres before becoming a test pilot.

He was became an astronaut in 1962, and flew aboard Gemini 6A and Gemini 9A.

In 1969, Stafford was the Commander of Apollo 10, the second crewed mission to orbit the Moon. Apollo 10 was also the first to fly a Lunar Module in lunar orbit. It flew very close to the Moon, going down to an altitude of nine miles.

In 1975, Stafford was the commander of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project flight, the first joint U.S.-Soviet space mission.^[1]

Stafford died from liver cancer at a care home in Satellite Beach, Florida on March 18, 2024, at the age of 93.^[2][3]