NASA's Only Astronaut Who Flew 6 Times Into Space, Dies at 87

John Young, an amazing US space traveler, passed away due to complications from pneumonia on Friday, NASA reported Saturday. He was 87. He lived in a Houston suburb minutes from the NASA Space Center.

Tweet received from NASA is that “We’re saddened by the loss of astronaut John Young, who was 87. Young flew twice to the Moon, walked on its surface & flew the first Space Shuttle mission. He went to space six times in the Gemini, Apollo & Space Shuttle programs”.

NASA confirmed that, He once held the world record for total time spent in space.

@NASA
We mourn the passing of astronaut John Young, who began his career with us in 1962, when he was selected from hundreds of young pilots for our second astronaut class. Spanning three generations of spaceflight, he went on to fly in space six times. More: http://go.nasa.gov/2m1aLmB

1:34 AM - Jan 7, 2018

John Young was the only space traveler to have flown into space six times. He also orbited the moon and even walked on its jagged surface.

"NASA and the world have lost a pioneer," organization head Robert Lightfoot said in an announcement. “We will stand on his shoulders as we look toward the next human frontier.”

@NASA
We're saddened by the loss of astronaut John Young, who was 87. Young flew twice to the Moon, walked on its surface & flew the first Space Shuttle mission. He went to space six times in the Gemini, Apollo & Space Shuttle programs.

10:19 PM - Jan 6, 2018

Lightfoot included his in his statement.
“Between his service in the U.S. Navy, where he retired at the rank of captain, and his later work as a civilian at NASA, John spent his entire life in service to our country. His career included the test pilot’s dream of two ‘first flights’ in a new spacecraft — with Gus Grissom on Gemini 3, and as Commander of STS-1, the first space shuttle mission, which some have called ‘the boldest test flight in history”.

@NASA
We remember our most experienced astronaut, John Young.

“Today, NASA and the world have lost a pioneer." Full statement from our Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot on the passing of Young: http://go.nasa.gov/2m1vk2r

11:47 PM - Jan 6, 2018

Recollecting memory of Young, Lightfood further stated:
“I participated in many Space Shuttle Flight Readiness Reviews with John, and will always remember him as the classic ‘hell of an engineer’ from Georgia Tech, who had an uncanny ability to cut to the heart of a technical issue by posing the perfect question — followed by his iconic phrase, ‘Just asking…’

@NASA
Astronaut John Young, who passed away at age 87, led a storied career that spanned three generations of spaceflight. He flew to space six times in the Gemini, Apollo & Space Shuttle programs. See images from his career: http://go.nasa.gov/2m4fuUz

6:13 AM - Jan 7, 2018

John Young was at the front line of human space investigation with his balance, ability, and persistence.

“He was in every way the ‘astronaut’s astronaut.’ We will miss him,” NASA added.

As per Young's site, while in the naval force, he had set world records for the quickest climb from a standing start in a F-4 Phantom II fly.

Space explorer Charles Bolden recollect memory of Young and Robert "Hoot" Gibson as the two best pilots he had ever known. "Every other person gets into a plane; John and Hoot wear their plane. They're simply wonderful," an AFP report quote him as saying.

post_credit: www.just2inform.info