Ken Mattingly

• 1. Chicago To The Skies

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  Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II was born on the 17th of March 1936, in Chicago, Illinois. His father worked for Eastern Airlines and moved the family to Hialeah, Florida shortly after his birth. Aviation became part of Mattingly's life from a very young age. He later recalled that his earliest memories all had to do with airplanes. This early exposure shaped his future path toward flight. He joined the Boy Scouts of America and achieved its second highest rank, Life Scout. Graduating from Miami Edison High School in 1954 marked another step forward. He then received a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Auburn University in 1958.

• 2. Navy Wings And Test Flights

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  Mattingly was commissioned in the U.S. Navy as an ensign in 1958. He received his aviator wings in 1960. He flew Douglas A-1H Skyraider propeller aircraft aboard an aircraft carrier from 1960 to 1963. Later he transferred to Heavy Attack Squadron Eleven at Naval Air Station Sanford, Florida. There he flew Douglas A-3B Skywarrior jet aircraft for two years. During this time a fellow officer invited him along on a mission to take aerial photos of the Cape Canaveral launch of Gemini 3. The plane carried his future Apollo 16 Commander John W. Young. He attempted to join the United States Naval Test Pilot School but missed the class start. Instead he attended the U.S. Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Future astronauts Edgar Mitchell and Karol J. Bobko were his classmates there.

• 3. The Selection Interview

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  On the 10th of September 1965, NASA began the selection process for the fifth astronaut group. From a pool of 351 applicants, NASA picked 159 candidates who met basic qualifications. They had to be United States citizens born on or after the 1st of December 1929. They also needed at least 1,000 hours of flight time in jet aircraft. Mattingly had previously shown little interest in applying for the program. His views changed at the Air Force Test Pilot School where he and his classmates could apply for either NASA or the USAF Manned Orbiting Laboratory program. Mattingly and Mitchell chose the latter and were rejected. An instructor managed to get NASA to accept their applications despite the deadline passing. On the interview panel sat John W. Young and Michael Collins. Collins asked Mattingly how he felt about the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. Mattingly replied that he thought it was a fun aircraft but without worth in combat. Collins appeared to dislike the answer. Mattingly felt he had blown his chance. Yet Deke Slayton called him with an offer to become an astronaut. At the time of his selection, Mattingly had 2,582 hours of flight experience.

• 4. The Measles Swap

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  The swapout from Apollo 13 placed Mattingly on the crew that flew Apollo 16 between April 16 and 27, 1972. The crew included John Young as Commander, Mattingly as Command Module Pilot, and Charlie Duke as Lunar Module Pilot. While in lunar orbit scientific instruments aboard the Command/Service Module Casper extended photographic mapping of a belt around the lunar equator. A combined total of 26 separate scientific experiments were conducted in lunar orbit. During the return leg of the mission, Mattingly carried out an extravehicular activity to retrieve film and data packages from the science bay. It was the second deep space EVA in history at great distance from any planetary body. Although the mission terminated one day early due to spacecraft malfunctions,

• 5. Lunar Orbits And Deep Space EVA

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  all major objectives were accomplished. Mattingly made 64 lunar orbits during this flight.

  Mattingly commanded STS-4, the fourth and final orbital test flight of the Space Shuttle. The launch occurred from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on the 27th of June 1982. Henry W. Hartsfield Jr. served as pilot. This seven-day mission verified ascent and entry phases of shuttle missions. The crew operated several scientific experiments located in the orbiter's cabin. These included the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System experiment designed to investigate separation of biological materials. The crew is also credited with effecting an in-flight repair that enabled them to activate the first operational Getaway Special. STS-4 completed 112 orbits before landing at Edwards Air Force Base on the 4th of July 1982. President Ronald Reagan greeted the pair after landing. He recognized both men as sons

• 6. Shuttle Command And Defense Missions

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  of Auburn University. Later he commanded STS-51-C, the first Space Shuttle Department of Defense mission, which launched on the 24th of January 1985.

  In 1985, Mattingly retired from NASA then retired from the Navy the following year with the two-star rank of Rear admiral. He entered the private sector working as a Director in Grumman's Space Station Support Division. He later headed the Atlas booster program for General Dynamics in San Diego, California. At Lockheed Martin he was vice president in charge of the X-33 development program. Mattingly logged 7,200 hours of flight time including 5,000 hours in jet aircraft. He died in Arlington, Virginia, on the 31st of October 2023, at age 87. NASA announced his death two days later on November 2. He received numerous awards including the NASA Distinguished Service Medal twice and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. He was inducted into the

• 7. Retirement And Final Honors

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  U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1997 alongside other Apollo astronauts. His name appears on The Astronaut Monument in Húsavík, Iceland.