Thomas Stafford Commanded Apollo 10 and Flew Last Apollo Spacecraft

Summary: American astronaut Thomas Stafford commanded Apollo 10 and flew the last Apollo spacecraft during his 13-year career at NASA.

En route to the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39-B, Apollo 10 Commander Thomas “Tom” Stafford pats plush Snoopy, held by Jamye Flowers (Coplin), secretary of Astronaut Group 1 selectee Leroy Gordon “Gordo” Cooper Jr.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via NASA

American astronaut Thomas Stafford commanded Apollo 10 and flew the last Apollo spacecraft during his 13-year career at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

United States Air Force (USAF) test pilot Thomas Patten Stafford (born Wednesday, Sept. 17, 1930) publicly began his space career at NASA with the official announcement of his selection for Astronaut Group 2 on his 32nd birthday, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 1962. The New Nine, also known as Next Nine, were presented at a press conference, held at University of Houston’s Cullen Performance Hall. Three other USAF test pilots were selected for the Next Nine: Frank Frederick Borman II (born March 14, 1928), James Alton McDivitt (born June 10, 1929) and Edward “Ed” Higgins White II (Nov. 14, 1930-Jan. 27, 1967). Representing the United States Navy (USN) were aviator and test pilot John Watts Young (born Sept. 24, 1930) and naval pilots Neil Alden Armstrong (born Aug. 5, 1930), Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr. (June 2, 1930-July 8, 1999), James “Jim” Arthur Lovell Jr. (born March 25, 1928) and Elliot McKay See Jr. (July 23, 1927-Feb. 28, 1966).

Thomas Stafford made four spaceflights during his 13-year NASA career. He experienced his first spaceflight as pilot in the Gemini VI-A (Gemini 6A) mission. Project Gemini’s fifth crewed flight launched Wednesday, Dec. 15, 1965, and splashed down Thursday, Dec. 16. Astronaut Group 1 selectee Walter “Wally” Marty Schirra Jr. (March 12, 1923-May 3, 2007) was the mission’s command pilot.

Stafford’s second spaceflight occurred as command pilot for Gemini IX-A (Gemini 9A). Project Gemini’s seventh crewed flight launched Friday, June 3, 1966, and splashed down Monday, June 6. Astronaut Group 3 selectee Eugene “Gene” Andrew Cernan (born March 14, 1934) was the mission’s pilot.

The Apollo 10 mission reunited Stafford and Cernan for third and second career spaceflights, respectively. Apollo 10 launched Sunday, May 18, 1969, and splashed down Monday, May 26, as the “dress rehearsal” predecessor, minus a lunar landing, of lunar-landing mission Apollo 11. Stafford commanded the Apollo 10 mission. Cernan piloted Lunar Module Snoopy. Astronaut Group 2 selectee John Young served as Command Module Charlie Brown Pilot.

On Friday, May 23, at 3:11:02 Coordinated Universal Time (Thursday, May 22, at 10:11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, 11:11 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time), Lunar Module Snoopy’s ascent stage docked with Command Module Charlie Brown after making four lunar orbits. Stafford famously described the successful docking, occurring 106 hours 22 minutes 2 seconds (106:22:02 Ground Elapsed Time GET) after liftoff, to Mission Control Center (MCC) in Houston, Texas: “Snoopy and Charlie Brown are hugging each other.”

Stafford’s command of the Apollo spacecraft, call sign Apollo, for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) marked his fourth and final spaceflight. Apollo launched July 15, 1975, and landed July 24. Astronaut Group 5 selectee Vance DeVoe Brand (born May 9, 1931) and Astronaut Group 1 selectee Donald Kent “Deke” Slayton (March 1, 1924-June 13, 1993) crewed as command module pilot and docking module pilot, respectively.

Stafford marveled at the view, as the Apollo spacecraft headed into the homestretch, 22 hours from touchdown. Wednesday, July 23, at 23:18 UTC (6:18 p.m. Central Daylight Time; 7:18 p.m. EDT; 203:01 GET), Stafford commented: “We’re sitting here observing the whole world from a beautiful vantage point.”

Capsule Communicator (Cap Comm; CC) Richard “Dick” Harrison Truly asked: “Is the East Coast pretty tonight? It’s been kind of cloudy down here.”

“It’s been pretty cloudy in most of the area here, but it comes into a clear area right now,” Stafford replied. “We can see Long Island. In fact, Dick, we just passed over Manhattan” (Mission Commentary, Part 44 MC 666/1).

The takeaways for NASA astronaut Thomas Stafford’s commanding Apollo 10 LM Snoopy and flying the last Apollo spacecraft in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) are that, during his 13-year NASA career, the Astronaut Group 1 selectee made four spaceflights and that the Apollo 10 “dress rehearsal” lunar orbiting mission marked Stafford’s third spaceflight.

official portrait of Apollo 10 Commander Thomas Stafford in front of the Apollo 10 Saturn V on Launch Pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center (KSC); NASA ID AP10-KSC-69PC-147HR: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via NASA History-Apollo Flight Journal

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

En route to the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39-B, Apollo 10 Commander Thomas “Tom” Stafford pats plush Snoopy, held by Jamye Flowers (Coplin), secretary of Astronaut Group 1 selectee Leroy Gordon “Gordo” Cooper Jr.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via NASA @ https://www.nasa.gov/topics/history/features/snoopy.html

official portrait of Apollo 10 Commander Thomas Stafford in front of the Apollo 10 Saturn V on Launch Pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center (KSC); NASA ID AP10-KSC-69PC-147HR: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via NASA History-Apollo Flight Journal @ https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a410/ap10-KSC-69PC-147HR.jpg

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