Thomas Patten Stafford (September 17, 1930 – March 18, 2024) was an American Air Force officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, and one of 24 Apollo astronauts who flew to the Moon. He also served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1969 to 1971. After graduating from the United States Naval Academy, Stafford was commissioned in the United States Air Force, flying the F-86 Sabre before becoming a test pilot. He was selected to become an astronaut in 1962, and flew aboard Gemini 6A in 1965 and Gemini 9A in 1966. In 1969, he commanded Apollo 10, the second crewed mission to orbit the Moon. Here, he and Gene Cernan became the first to fly an Apollo Lunar Module in lunar orbit, descending to an altitude of nine miles (fourteen kilometres). In 1975, Stafford was the commander of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) flight, the first joint U.S.-Soviet space mission. A brigadier general at the time, he became the first general officer to fly in space. He was the first member of his Naval Academy class to pin on the first, second, and third stars of a general officer. He made six rendezvous in space and logged 507 hours of space flight. Stafford flew more than 120 types of fixed-wing and rotary aircraft and three types of spacecraft. After the deaths of Wally Schirra, Eugene Cernan, and John Young, he was the last surviving crew member of Gemini 6A, Gemini 9A, and Apollo 10. In 1993, the Stafford Air & Space Museum was founded in his hometown of Weatherford, Oklahoma. Originally just two rooms, it has grown to over 63,000 square feet (5,850 m2) of artifact space. It is a Smithsonian affiliate and is the only museum in the world to house test-fired engines that would have been used in the Space Race: a U.S. F-1 engine and a Soviet NK-33 engine. It holds the Gemini 6 spacecraft that he and Schirra flew in a rendezvous with Gemini 7.
Early life and education Thomas Patten Stafford was born on September 17, 1930, in Weatherford, Oklahoma, to Dr. Thomas Sabert Stafford, a dentist, and Mary Ellen Stafford (née Patten), a former teacher. Thomas Sabert Stafford was diagnosed with skin cancer in 1944, and died on June 22, 1948. Mary Stafford remained in Weatherford until her death in August 1987. Stafford became interested in aviation following the start of World War II, as the nearby city El Reno has an Army Air Corps training base. Stafford began making model airplanes, and made his first flight at the age of 14 in a Piper Cub. He attended Weatherford High School and graduated in 1948. In his senior year of high school, Stafford was recruited to play football at the University of Oklahoma, where he had received a Navy ROTC scholarship. Stafford applied to the United States Naval Academy, and was accepted to the Class of 1952. Stafford intended to play football for the Navy Midshipmen, but sustained a career-ending knee injury during a preseason practice session. After his freshman year, he sailed aboard the battleship USS Missouri, where his roommate was John Young, his future Apollo 10 command module pilot. After his second year, Stafford spent a summer at NAS Pensacola, where he was exposed to naval aviation and flew in the SNJ Trainer. On a trip home to Weatherford, Stafford began dating his future wife, Faye Shoemaker. After his third year, he served aboard USS Burdo, a destroyer escorting USS Missouri. While visiting home during his fourth year, Stafford became engaged to Faye in December 1951. In the spring of 1952, he was selected in a lottery to join the United States Air Force upon graduation. Stafford graduated from the Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering with honors in 1952, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force.
Military service In high school, Stafford served in the 45th Infantry Division in the Oklahoma National Guard. Soon after, he transferred to the division's 158th Field Artillery Battalion, where he plotted targets for artillery fires. Stafford attended the first phase of pilot training at Greenville AFB, Mississippi, San Marcos AFB, Texas and Connally AFB, Texas, where he flew the T-6 Texan and the T-33 Shooting Star. While on a training mission at San Marcos AFB, he was involved in a mid-air collision with another student pilot. Stafford and his instructor were able to land, but the other student pilot was killed. He graduated from pilot training on September 1, 1953, and moved to Tyndall AFB, Florida, for F-86 Sabre training. In 1954, Stafford was assigned to the 54th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, where he flew the F-86 mission for Arctic defense. In 1955, Stafford transferred to the 496th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Hahn Air Base (now Frankfurt-Hahn Airport), West Germany, again flying interceptor mission in the F-86 Sabre. In addition, he served as an assistant maintenance officer, developing his interest in applying for the USAF Experimental Flight Test Pilot School. In 1958, Stafford attended the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, California, where he finished first in his class, and received the A. B. Honts Award. After graduation, he remained at Edwards AFB as a flight instructor. While working as an instructor, Stafford created the first civilian instructor position at Test Pilot School to ensure continuity, and co-wrote the Pilot's Handbook for Performance Flight Testing and the Aerodynamics Handbook for Performance Flight Testing. At the end of his assignment, Stafford was accepted at Harvard Business School, and moved to Boston, Massachusetts, in September 1962. Three days after arriving, he was accepted to NASA Group Two.
NASA career In April 1962, while working as a flight instructor, Stafford applied for the next round of astronaut selection. The required interviews and medical screenings occurred over the summer of 1962 at Brooks Air Force Base and in Houston. On September 14, 1962, Stafford was selected for Astronaut Group 2, alongside eight other future astronauts.
Project Gemini
Gemini 6A
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