Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II, known for helping the crew of Apollo 13 safely return to Earth after an explosion doomed their lunar mission, has died at the age of 87, NASA announced.
"Mattingly was key to the success of our Apollo Program, and his shining personality will ensure he is remembered throughout history," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement, calling Mattingly "one of our country's heroes."Born in Chicago on March 17, 1936, Mattingly would go on to graduate high school in Miami and earn a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Auburn University in 1958, according to his NASA biography.
"Perhaps his most dramatic role at NASA was after exposure to rubella just before the launch of Apollo 13," Nelson said. "He stayed behind and provided key real-time decisions to successfully bring home the wounded spacecraft and the crew of Apollo 13 - NASA astronauts James Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise."Sinise called it an "honor" to play Mattingly in a post on X earlier this year to mark the 53rd anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Apollo astronaut Ken Mattingly, who helped save the crew of Apollo 13, has diedApollo astronaut Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II, known for helping the crew of Apollo 13 safely return to Earth after an explosion doomed their lunar mission, has died at the age of 87, NASA announced.
Read more »
Astronaut Ken Mattingly, who flew to the moon on Apollo 16, has died at 87He piloted Apollo 16 and commanded the shuttle. But he may be best known for the mission he didn't fly: the ill-fated Apollo 13. And he worried late in life about the high cost of human space flight.
Read more »
Astronaut Ken Mattingly, who flew to the moon on Apollo 16, has died at 87He piloted Apollo 16 and commanded the shuttle. But he may be best known for the mission he didn't fly: the ill-fated Apollo 13. And he worried late in life about the high cost of human space flight.
Read more »
Astronaut Ken Mattingly, who launched to the moon on Apollo 16, dies at 87Robert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com, an online publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.
Read more »
Ken Mattingly, Apollo 16 astronaut who orbited the moon, dies at 87Mattingly was also known for being removed from the ill-fated Apollo 13 crew 72 hours before its scheduled launch.
Read more »
NASA astronaut Ken Mattingly, scrubbed from Apollo 13, dies at 87Here are some of the leaders, newsmakers, sports legends and entertainment greats who have died so far this year.
Read more »