Astronaut Thomas Patten Stafford, who commanded a dress rehearsal flight for the 1969 moon landing and the first US-Soviet space linkup, died on Monday at the age of 93.
Stafford, a retired three-star general in the Air Force, took part in four space missions and was on two Gemini flights before Apollo 10, according to Politico.
He was one of 24 NASA astronauts who traveled to the moon but did not land there. Only seven of them remain alive.
He died at a Florida hospital near his home on the Space Coast, according to Max Ary, director of the Stafford Air and Space Museum in Weatherford, Oklahoma.
Following Stafford’s death, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson commented on X (previously known as Twitter):
“Today, General Tom Stafford traveled to the eternal heavens, which he bravely explored as a Gemini and Apollo astronaut, as well as a peacemaker in Apollo Soyuz.”
“Those of us privileged to know him are very sad but grateful we knew a giant.”
Following his retirement, Stafford became NASA’s “go-to” expert for independent counsel on everything from human Mars missions to safety concerns.
