Ken Mattingly
Ken Mattingly | |
---|---|
Arlington, Virginia, U.S. | |
Education | Auburn University (BS) |
Spouse |
Elizabeth Dailey (m. 1970) |
Children | 1 |
Awards | Rear Admiral, USN |
Time in space | 21d 4h 34m |
Selection | NASA Group 5 (1966) |
Total EVAs | 1 |
Total EVA time | 1h 23m |
Missions | |
Mission insignia | |
Retirement | June 1985 |
Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II (March 17, 1936 – October 31, 2023) was an American
Mattingly was scheduled to fly on the
During Apollo 16's return flight to Earth, Mattingly performed an
Early life and education
Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II was born on March 17, 1936, in Chicago, Illinois, to Thomas Kenneth Mattingly (1903–1995) and Constance Mason Mattingly (
Mattingly was active in the
Military career
Mattingly was commissioned in the U.S. Navy as an
While Mattingly was based at Sanford, a fellow officer invited him along on a mission to take aerial photos of the Cape Canaveral launch of Gemini 3 (carrying Mattingly's future Apollo 16 Commander John W. Young) from the air.[8]
During his second cruise, Mattingly attempted to join the
NASA career
Selection and training
On September 10, 1965, NASA began the selection process for the fifth astronaut group. From a pool of 351 applicants, NASA picked 159 candidates who met the basic qualifications, including being United States citizens born on or after December 1, 1929, who were no more than six feet tall. They were also required to have at least 1,000 hours of flight time in jet aircraft. Mattingly had previously shown little interest and inclination to apply for the astronaut program, but his views changed at the Air Force Test Pilot School where he and his classmates were offered the chance to apply for either NASA or the United States Air Force (USAF) Manned Orbiting Laboratory program. Mattingly and Mitchell chose the latter and were rejected. The deadline for applying for the NASA group had passed, but one of their instructors was able to get NASA to accept their applications.[8] On the interview panel the astronaut office representatives were John W. Young and Michael Collins, who were at that time in training as prime crew for Gemini 10. Mattingly later recollected that he was "perplexed" by Young. Collins asked Mattingly how he felt about the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, to which Mattingly replied that he thought it was a "fun aircraft" but without worth in combat. Collins appeared to dislike the answer and Mattingly felt he had blown his chance. However, after the conclusion of the selection process, Mattingly was called by NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations Deke Slayton with an offer to become an astronaut.[8]
At the time of his selection, Mattingly had 2,582 hours of flight experience, including 1,036 hours in jet aircraft. He also had a bachelor's degree in engineering or in the physical or biological sciences as required by the initial qualifications. From the 100 military personnel and 59 civilian candidates, NASA selected 19 to join the group for training as astronauts.[9]
Mattingly, a lieutenant in the Navy,[9] was a student at the U.S. Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards AFB, California, when NASA selected him as an astronaut in April 1966.[2][10]
Apollo 8 and Apollo 11
At first, Mattingly was part of the support crew for
Mattingly then trained in parallel with Bill Anders for Apollo 11 as backup command module pilot, because Anders was going to retire from NASA in August 1969 and, in case of mission delay, would be unavailable.[8]
Apollo 13
Mattingly was to be the Command Module Pilot on the
Apollo 16
The swapout from Apollo 13 placed Mattingly on the crew that flew
During the return leg of the mission, Mattingly carried out an extravehicular activity (EVA) to retrieve film and data packages from the science bay on the side of the service module. Although the mission of Apollo 16 was terminated one day early out of concern over several spacecraft malfunctions, all major objectives were accomplished.[2]
Space Shuttle flights
Following his return to Earth, Mattingly served in astronaut managerial positions in the Space Shuttle development program.[2]
Mattingly was named to command
-
Mattingly (foreground) with Henry Hartsfield salutes President Ronald Reagan, next to First Lady Nancy Reagan, after the STS-4 landing on July 4, 1982
-
"President Ronald Reagan chats with NASA astronauts Henry Hartsfield and Thomas Mattingly on the runway as first lady Nancy Reagan scans the nose of Space Shuttle Columbia following its Independence Day landing at Edwards Air Force Base on July 4, 1982."[18]
-
Mattingly in his Navy uniform in 1985
Post-NASA career
In 1985, Mattingly retired from NASA, then retired from the Navy the following year with the two-star rank of
Mattingly logged 7,200 hours of flight time, including 5,000 hours in jet aircraft.[2]
Mattingly was a member of many organizations. He was an associate fellow,
Personal life and death
In 1970, he married Elizabeth Dailey.[13] They had one child.[21]
Mattingly died in
Awards and honors
Mattingly was a recipient of numerous awards. He was awarded the
Mattingly was inducted with a group of Apollo astronauts into the
In media
Mattingly was portrayed by Gary Sinise in the 1995 movie Apollo 13 and by Željko Ivanek in the 1998 HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.[28] Interviews with Mattingly were also used as part of the narrative track on the 1989 documentary film For All Mankind.[29]
References
- ^ NASA Apollo 16 summary page
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Astronaut Bio: Thomas K. Mattingly II" (PDF). NASA. January 1987. Retrieved April 14, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ LePage, Andrew (December 17, 2017). "A History of Deep Space EVAs". drewexmachina.
- ^ "Mattingly, Thomas Kenneth, II". Naval History and Heritage Command. May 5, 1972. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- ^ "Thomas Kenneth Mattingly: Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871–1940". FamilySearch. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-3-319-51014-9.
- ^ "Famous Delts". Delta Tau Delta. Archived from the original on May 15, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2012
- ^ a b c d e Wright, Rebecca (November 6, 2001). "Thomas K. Mattingly II". NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. NASA. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
- ^ a b "Newly-Selected Group of 19 Astronauts Reports Next Month for Duty" (PDF). NASA. April 15, 1966. pp. 4–5. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 13, 2009. Retrieved December 9, 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Thompson, Ronald (April 5, 1966). "19 New Spacemen Are Named". The High Point Enterprise. High Point, North Carolina. p. 2A – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Howell, Elizabeth (April 16, 2013). "Ken Mattingly: Apollo 16 Astronaut". Space.com. Future plc. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
- ^ Lovell & Kluger 1994, p. 54.
- ^ a b c Rensberger, Boyce (April 17, 1972). "Thomas Kenneth Mattingly 2d". The New York Times. p. 24. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ "Biographical Data: John L. Swigert, Jr., NASA astronaut (deceased)" (PDF). Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. NASA. January 1983. Retrieved December 9, 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ISBN 978-0-618-61958-0.
- ^ Snyder, Robert S.; Rhodes, Percy H.; Miller, Teresa Y. (October 1987). "Continuous flow electrophoresis system experiments on shuttle flights STS-6 and STS-7" (PDF). NTRS – NASA Technical Reports Server. NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
- ^ "Remarks at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on Completion of the Fourth Mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia". Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ "Independence Day at NASA Dryden - 30 Years Ago". NASA. July 3, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
- ^ "International Space Hall of Fame: Thomas K. Mattingly II". New Mexico Museum of Space History. 2005. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
- ^ "Ken Mattingly, who launched to the moon on Apollo 16, dies at 87". Collect Space. November 2, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
- ISBN 978-1-5387-4850-3.
- ^ a b Donaldson, Abbey (November 2, 2023). "NASA Administrator Remembers Apollo Astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II" (Press release). NASA.
- ^ Goldstein, Richard (November 2, 2023). "Ken Mattingly, Astronaut Scrubbed From Apollo 13, Is Dead at 87". The New York Times.
- ^ "National Aeronautics and Space Administration Honor Awards". Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ^ Sheppard, David (October 2, 1983). "Space Hall Inducts 14 Apollo Program Astronauts". El Paso Times. El Paso, Texas. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Meyer, Marilyn (October 2, 1997). "Ceremony to Honor Astronauts". Florida Today. Cocoa, Florida. p. 2B – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Apollo astronauts revisit training area in Iceland and explore a new lava flow – The Exploration Museum". www.explorationmuseum.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
- ^ "Ken Mattingly (Character)". IMDb. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
- ^ "For All Mankind – Criterion UHD Blu-ray Review". Home Theater Forum. May 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
Further reading
- "T. K. Mattingly Oral History Interviews". Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. NASA.