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A photo of John Young by NASA –

Top 10 Facts about John Young 

John Watts Young was born on 24 September 1930 and died on 5 January 2018. He was an American astronaut, naval officer, aviator, test pilot, and aeronautical engineer. He became the ninth person to walk on the Moon as commander of the Apollo 16 mission in 1972.

He is the only astronaut to fly on four different classes of spacecraft: Gemini, the Apollo command and service module, the Apollo Lunar Module, and the Space Shuttle. In the article are the top ten facts about John Young.

1. Studied at Georgia Institute of Technology

Before becoming an astronaut, Young received his Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the estate of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute. It is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia.

It was established in 1885, it is part of the University System of Georgia and has satellite campuses in Savannah, Georgia; Metz, France; Shenzhen, China; and Singapore.

John later joined the U.S. Navy and after serving at sea during the Korean War he became a naval aviator and graduated from the U.S Naval Test pilot School. As a test pilot, he set several world time-to-climb records. Young retired from the Navy in 1976 with the rank of captain.

2. Married to Barbara White and later Susy Feldman

On December 1st, 1955, Young married Barbara White of Savannah, Georgia, At St.Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palatka, Florida. Together they had two children, Sandra and John, and also two grandchildren. They were divorced in the summer of 1971.

Later that year Young married Sussy Feldman and they lived in Houston. Young was friends with George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush and he vacationed at the Bush compound in Kennebunkport Maine.

3. Joined NASA Astronaut Group 2 in 1962

In September 1962, Young was selected to join Nasa Astronaut Group 2. Young and his family moved to Houston, Texas, and he began his astronaut flying, physical and academic training. After he completed his initial training, Young was assigned to work on the environmental control system and survivor gear.

Young’s team selected the David Clark Company G3C pressure Suit, which is a suit worn by American astronauts for launch, in-flight activities, and landing. It was designed by NASA based on the X-15 high-attitude pressure suit.

All Gemini spacesuits were developed and manufactured by the David Clark Company in Worcester, Massachusetts. Young also helped in the development of waste disposal and airlock development systems.

4. He was selected as the pilot of Gemini 3

In April 1964, Young was selected as the pilot of Gemini 3, commanded by Gus Grissom. The latter was an American engineer, pilot in the United States Air Force, and member of the Mercury Seven selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as Project Mercury to be the first Americas in outer space.

The crew had originally been Alan Shepard and Thomas p.Stafford, but they were replaced after Shepard was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease.

The Gemini 3 backup commander was Wally Schirra, an American naval aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. Stafford was the backup pilot. The primary mission of Gemini 3 was to test the ability of the spacecraft to perform orbital manoeuvres throughout the flight.

Biological experiments were assigned to test the effects of radiation on human blood and microgravity on cell division and an experiment o test reentry communications was created.

5. He was made chief of the Space Shuttle Branch

In January 1973, Young was made chief of the Space Shuttle Branch of the Astronaut Office. At the time the overall Space Shuttle specifications and manufacturers had been determined, and Young’s role was to serve as a liaison for the astronauts to provide design input.

Young’s office recommended changes to the orbiter’s RCS thrusters which are spacecraft propulsion devices used for orbital station-keeping, attitude control, or long-duration, low-thrust acceleration, often as part of a reaction control system, star tracker, and thermal radiators.

6. Made chief of the Astronaut Office

In January 1974, he became Chief of the Astronaut Office after the departure of Alan b. Shepard Jr. One of his roles after taking over the office was overseeing the Skylab program and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission.

The remainder of the spaceflights during his tenure were Space Shuttle missions. Young flew in the T-38 Talon chase planes for several of the Approach and Landing Tests, a series of sixteen 1977 taxi and flight trials of the prototype Space Shuttle Enterprise. 

7. He was selected as commander of STS-1

In March 1978, Young was selected by George W.s. Abbey, then deputy director of the Johnson Space Center, to be the commander of STS-1, with Robert L. Crippen flying as the pilot. Their backup crew Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly was the primary crew for STS-2.

The development of Columbia was delayed because of the longer-than-predicted installation time of the Space Shuttle thermal protection system. Young and Crippen trained to be able to repair thermal tiles in orbit but determined that they would be unable to repair the tiles during a spacewalk.

The first launch attempt for STS-1 was on April 10, 1981, but the launch was postponed at T­-18 minutes due to a computer error.STS-1 launched at 7:00 a.m. on April 12 from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Centre.

The first stage of the launch flew higher than anticipated, and the solid rocket boosters separated approximately 3,000m higher than the original plan. The rest of the launch went as expected, and STS-1 successfully entered Earth orbit.

8. Young was reassigned as Special assistant to Johnson Space Center Director

In May 1987 Young was replaced as the chief of the Astronaut office by Daniel C. Brandenstein, now the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of United Space Alliance. Young was reassigned as Special Assistant to Johnson Space Center Director Aaron Cohen for Engineering, Operations, and Safety.

Young oversaw the redesign of the solid rocket boosters to prevent a repeat of the challenger disaster and advocated for strengthening the thermal protection tiles at the chin section of the orbiters.

He continued to work on safety improvements in the Space Shuttle program, including improving the landing surfaces, installation of emergency drag parachutes, the inclusion of the Global Positioning System into the space shuttle’s navigation system, and improving the landing simulations.

9. Worked as a public speaker

Following his retirement on December 31st, 2004, Young worked as a public speaker and advocated for the importance of asteroid impact avoidance, colonization of the moon, and climate engineering.

In April 2006, Young and Crippen appeared at the 25th anniversary of the STS-1 launch at the Kennedy Space Centre and spoke of their experiences during the flight. In November 2011, Young and Crippen met the crew of STS-135, the last Space Shuttle mission. 

10. Young attended the Georgia Institute of Technology on a Naval ROTC scholarship

He completed a midshipman cruise aboard USS Missouri, where he worked alongside his future Apollo 10 crewmate Thomas P. Stafford,  and another aboard USS Newport News. In his senior year, Young served as regiment commander of his ROTC detachment.

Young graduated second in his class with a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering and was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy on June 6, 1952.