Space Rocket History Logo
Space Rocket History Podcast Welcome to the Space Rocket History podcast

Episodes Tagged with "John Young"

Posted on January 17, 2018

John Young enjoyed the longest career of any astronaut thus far. Over the course of 42 years of active NASA service he made six space flights and is the only person to have piloted, and been commander of four different classes of spacecraft: Gemini, ...

Posted on July 30, 2015

Selection of Group Two virtually depleted the pool of qualified candidates from the small corps of test pilots in the country, and it was the last group for which test-pilot certification would be a requirement. The new trainees reported to Houston i...

2-NASA_Group_1_and_2_Astronauts_Photo_With_Autopens

2-Back row- See, McDivitt, Lovell, White, & Stafford. Front row- Conrad, Borman, Armstrong, & Young

1- Project_Mercury_AstronautsBack row- Shepard, Grissom, Cooper; front row- Schirra, Slayton, Glenn, Carpenter.

Posted on August 5, 2015

With Group 4, for the first time, the selection criteria did not include a requirement for test pilot proficiency. Selectees who were not qualified pilots would be assigned to the Air Force for a year of flight training. The primary scientific requir...

Group4Astronaut

4-Group 4 L-R- Garriott, Gibson. Front row, L-R- Michel, Schmitt, Kerwin.

3-Astronaut_Group_Three_-_GPN-2000-001476

Posted on August 13, 2015

“Some of those guys came in figuring, “I’ll write my textbooks and my thesis and teach [university courses] and I’ll come by twice a week and be an astronaut.” Well, that didn’t work …. We were devoting our lives to this whole thing, and you couldn’t...

5-Back row, from L-R- Swigert, Pogue, Evans, Weitz, Irwin, Carr, Roosa, Worden, Mattingly, Lousma. Front row, from L-R- Givens, Mitchell, Duke, Lind, Haise, Engle, Brand, Bull, McCandless

Posted on March 30, 2016

Command Service Module-101 started through the manufacturing cycle early in 1966. By July, it had been formed, wired, fitted with subsystems, and made ready for testing. After the Apollo 1 fire in January 1967, changes had to be made, mainly in the w...

3-Apollo 7 Launch

2-Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham (left to right) practice climbing out of the spacecraft into a life raft, to perfect recovery procedures

1-Saturn 205’s first stage rests on the pedestal at Launch Complex 34 before mating with other stages for launch

Posted on April 6, 2016

SCHIRRA: You’ve added two burns to this flight schedule, and you’ve added a urine water dump; and we have a new vehicle up here, and I can tell you at this point TV will be delayed without any further discussion until after the rendezvous. CAPCOM (J...

Untitled

2u-Distant view of the S-IVB stage

1u-Apollo 7 S-IVB rocket stage in orbit

Posted on April 13, 2016

CAPCOM Number 1 (Deke Slayton): Okay. I think you ought to clearly understand there is absolutely no experience at all with landing without the helmet on. SCHIRRA: And there no experience with the helmet either on that one. CAPCOM: That one we’ve g...

10-The Apollo 7 Command Module as exhibited at The Frontiers of Flight Museum

9-Barbara Eden, Bob Hope, the Apollo 7 astronauts, and Paul Haney (voice of Mission Control) on The Bob Hope Show (November 6, 1968)

8-Crew after recovery aboard USS Essex

6-The crew is welcomed aboard the USS Essex

5-A crewmember being hoisted into the recovery helicopter

3U-At the end of the nearly 11-day mission, flight controllers Gene Kranz, Glynn Lunney, and Gerald Griffin left to right with cigars celebrate splashdown

2U-View of Florida from Apollo 7

1u-Mission Control watches the first live television beamed by an American spacecraft, as Eisele and Schirra signal, %22Keep Those Cards and Letters Coming in, Folks

Posted on November 16, 2016

Although the contractors had shipped excellent spacecrafts, preparations at Kennedy did not go quickly from the assembly building to the launch pad. Testing was delayed several days in order to stay out of the way of Apollo 9 pre-flight activities. A...

1-apollo-10-logo

3b

2

Posted on November 23, 2016

Thomas P. Stafford was the first member of his Naval Academy Class of 1952 to pin on the first, second, and third stars of a General Officer. He flew six rendezvous in space; logged 507 hours and 43 minutes in space flight and wore the Air Force comm...

a10-crew

3-ap10-crew-inspect-emergency-slide

1-cernanstafford-training-lm

Posted on December 7, 2016

John Young enjoyed the longest career of any astronaut thus far. Over the course of 42 years of active NASA service he made six space flights and is the only person to have piloted, and been commander of, four different classes of spacecraft: Gemini,...

3-john-young-suit-up

2-ap10-john-young-looking-at-flight-plan

1-youngtrainingcm

Posted on December 21, 2016

On May 18th 1969, a king, some congressmen, other distinguished guests, and a hundred thousand other watchers waited at scattered vantage points around the Cape area. At 49 minutes past noon, Rocco Petrone’s launch team sent Apollo 10 on its way to t...

3-launch-a10

2-launch-of-apollo-10

1-crew-of-apollo-10-spaceflight-insider

Posted on November 18, 2020

“cogito, ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am). Rene Descartes. Descartes Landing SiteApollo 16 Crew: Mattingly, Young, Duke

P3-Apollo_16_crew

P2-Apollo_16_landingsite

P1-Apollo-16-LOGO

Posted on December 2, 2020

“Roger, Twank…Tranquility, we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We’re breathing again. Thanks a lot!,” Capcom Charlie Duke, Apollo 11 landing. Midshipman DukeDuke Salutes the FlagDuke’s Family Portrait Left on the M...

P2-Lunar_Module_Pilot_Charles_Duke_salutes_the_flag

P3-Charlie_Dukes_family_portrait_left_on_the_surface_of_the_moon

P1-Charles_Duke_USNA_1957

Posted on December 16, 2020

John Watts Young was an astronaut, naval officer and 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 flew on four different classes of spacecraft: Gemini...

P2-John_W._Young_on_the_Moon

P3-John_Young_STS-9_eating

P1-Astronaut_John_Young_gemini_3

Posted on January 6, 2021

T-90 seconds and all Charlie Duke could think about was let’s go! There was no fear, no reluctance, no second thoughts. He was consumed with the desire to hear the words Lift-off.  He felt this was his one and only chance. Suiting UpLeaving for the ...

P3-A16-from-press-site

P2-apollo-16-1972-03

P1-crew-suit-up

Posted on January 20, 2021

Duke was startled. Why was it shaking so hard? What in the world was happening? There had to be something wrong with this rocket. He didn’t recall any briefing to expect this violent vibration as they sat on the launch pad. LaunchCleared the TowerRo...

P2-clear-tower

P3-RoGerRoll

P1-apollo-16-launch

Posted on February 3, 2021

It looked like they had a leak from one of the propellant tanks on the Lunar Module.  If so, that meant abort!  Apollo TLI ProfileParticles around the LMSIV-B Separation

P2-particles

P3-s4b-seperation

P1-Apollo_Translunar_Profile

Posted on February 17, 2021

“Unlike the roller-coaster ride of Earth orbit, we are entering a slow-motion domain where time and distance seem to have more meaning than speed.” Mike Collins  Departing EarthTrans-LunarNearing the Moon

P1-departing-earth

P3-VicenityofMoon

P2-To-the-moon

Posted on March 3, 2021

In the event of a secondary control system failure in the engine, the mission rules stated the entire landing phase of the mission would have to be terminated.   EarthriseJohn YoungLunar Orbit

P3-Lunar-Orbit

P2-John-Young

P1-Earth

Posted on March 16, 2021

Due to the change in their flight plan caused by the six-hour delay, the crew had to reprogram a great deal of their onboard data, and this had to be done before they had LOS.   Omega SpeedmasterApollo Landing SitesApollo 16 Landing Site

P2-landing-sites-1

P3-Apollo-16-ls-1

P1-omegaSpeedMaster

Posted on March 31, 2021

“There you are, our mysterious and unknown Descartes Highlands Plains. Apollo 16 is gonna change your image.” John Young Charlie Duke’s GloveOrion on the Moon

P3-apollo-16-images-2-1

P3-apollo-16-images-2

P2-DukesGlove

P1-AstRestPosition

Posted on April 14, 2021

Charlie and John were startled by their landing spot. Much of the landing area was covered with rocks or had a steep slope.  Fortunately, they had managed to land on the only level and smooth spot around. Young-Flying SaluteTraverse 1 MapALSEP Setup

P1-JY-Jumping-Salute

P3-Alsep

P2-traverse-1-map

Posted on April 28, 2021

Flag Crater was so steep that if either one of them fell in, it would have been fatal! There was no rescue from the bottom of a big crater. Contour Map EVA 1&2Moon Dust BrushLunar Grand Prix

P3-Grand-Prix

P2-Dust-Brush

P1-Contour-Map-EVA-12

Posted on May 12, 2021

John and Charlie also collected several rusty-looking rocks with brown stains on their surfaces. These were exciting finds because the rusty appearance suggested the presence of hydrated oxides of iron. “Hydrated” meant water and the scientists had a...

P3-view-from-Station-4-of-the-LM-at-the-lower-left-and-of-House-Rock-on-the-rim-of-North-Ray-Crater-1

P2-trip-to-Stone

P1-survey

Posted on May 26, 2021

The crew nicknamed this operation “The Big Sneak.” They figured the only way to do this was to approach from behind a big rock, then reach over and collect the sample. Jettison BagEVA 3 Traverse MapHouse Rock

P3-A16_House_Rock

P2-EFA-3-traverse

P1-Jettison-Bag

Posted on June 9, 2021

It was the only time in their whole lunar stay that Charlie had a real moment of panic and thought he had killed himself. Shadow RockDuke Family PhotoLift-off

P3-Lunar-Liftoff-1

P2-DukeFamily-1

P1-ShadowRock2-1

P3-Lunar Liftoff

P2-DukeFamily

P1-ShadowRock2

Posted on June 23, 2021

The LM eventually crashed due to lunar gravity anomalies. Since Houston didn’t know exactly where it landed, it was not useful to calibrate seismic experiments on the surface.  EarthriseDamaged Ascent StageCasper

P2-damagedLM

P3-AS16-18294_Casper_crop

P1-Earthrise

Posted on July 21, 2021

On re-entry Casper hit the atmosphere at an altitude of about 400,000 feet above the earth and at a velocity of nearly 25,000 miles per hour.  Parachute DeploymentSplashdownTiconderoga Ceremony

P2-S72-36293h

P3-Carrier-Ceromony

P1-16_deployment

Posted on May 23, 2025

Celebrations erupted in Mission Control, with broad smiles and cigar smoke marking the successful conclusion. But, while Mission control was celebrating, it was not yet known that the crew had been exposed to toxic fumes during descent. The crew was ...

P2-Cosmonauts Leonov and Kubasov (speaking) are interviewed by Soviet newsmen shortly after their safe landing in Kazakhstan.

P1-Kubasov autographs the side of the Soyuz descent vehicle

Posted on April 3, 2014

The precise scope of the Gemini 3 mission remained uncertain until very nearly the eve of flight. In April of 1963, the GT-3 mission directive was “to demonstrate and evaluate the capabilities of the spacecraft and launch vehicle system, and the proc...

gemin3 panel

Gemini3youngandgriss

Gemini3

Gemini3_water_training

Astronaut_John_Young_gemini_3

Astronaut Roger B. Chaffee is shown at console in the Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas during the Gemini-Titan 3 flight.

800px-S65-18058

799px-Gemini3_crew

Posted on April 10, 2014

Grissom – What is it? Young: Corned beef sandwich. Grissom: Where did it come from? Young: I brought it with me. Let’s see how it tastes. Smells, doesn’t it. Grissom: Yes, its breaking up. I’m going to stick it in my pocket. Young: Is it? It was...

Gemini3 Carrier

Gemini 3 View

569462main_eagle_has_landed

Unsinkable

Launching of the first manned Gemini flight.

Posted on April 24, 2014

Posted on May 1, 2014

For the first time Television coverage of the launch had an international audience, as the scene was broadcast to 12 European nations via Intelsat 1 aka the Early Bird satellite of episode 59. Heightened by the prospect of an EVA and the first use of...

Spacewalk

Manned Maneuvering Unit

Gt4Patch

gemini-4

gemini-4_landing

Gemini_4_Outside_National_Air_and_Space_Museum

Gemini 4 recovery

Gemini 4 launch

Gemini 4 inside national air and space

Gemini -24 scale model

Ed white

G4 button

Posted on May 29, 2014

Posted on June 5, 2014

From the previous episode, it was decided that the name of Gemini VI would be changed to Gemini VI-a to distinguish it from the originally planned mission whose objective was to rendezvous with the Agena target vehicle. Gemini VII would be launched f...

GT7 Launch

gemini7patch

Lovell before the launch, in the special G5C space suit, which had a zippered hood with a visor instead of a solid helmet

Gemini_7_Crew_(Lovell_und_Borman)

Moon and clouds over the Western Pacific as seen from Gemini 7

Borman and lovell boarding

Posted on June 12, 2014

From the previous episode, we have Gemini VII waiting in orbit for Gemini VI-A to launch and rendezvous.  Remember, Gemini VII could only remain in orbit for 14 days, the maximum duration of its flight.  The goal was to launch Gemini VI-A on or befor...

Gemini_VI_Launch_-_GPN-2000-000612

Gemini_7_in_orbit_-_GPN-2006-000035

Gemini_6_Views_Gemini_7

Gemini 6 harmonica

1200px-Gemini_6_launch_abort

Hint for G6

Gemini_VI_Stafford_capsule

Gemini 7 as seen by Gemini 6

Posted on June 18, 2014

The Gemini Program was conceived after it became evident to NASA officials that an intermediate step was required between Project Mercury and the Apollo Program. The major objectives assigned to Gemini were: 1-To subject two men and supporting equip...

G7 crew

GT on Wasp

Gemini 7 spacecraft on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

Recovery of G7

Hellicopter over G6

GT7 on Wasp

G6&7 on Wasp

G7 Before Splashdown

G7 Arrive on Wasp

Posted on September 18, 2014

Deputy Administrator Seamans wanted a mission review board created to study: (1) Corrective measures for the Atlas-Agena failure (2) The guidance update problem that delayed the launch two days (3) The shroud incident (4) The suit environmental c...

KSC-66P-0323

KSC-66P-0317

gemini-10-astronaunt-michael-collins-pilot-for-nasa

Gemini 9 astronauts Gene Cernan and Tom Stafford brief Gemini 10 astronauts John Young and Mike Collins. And….how about that nice ATDA model in full gator

640px-Gemini10crew

Posted on September 25, 2014

“At first, the sensation I got was that there was a pop, then there was a big explosion and a clang. We were thrown forward in the seats. We had our shoulder harnesses fastened. Fire and sparks started coming out of the back end of that rascal. The l...

John Young in Gemini 10

Gemini_10_launch_time_exposure_-_GPN-2006-000036

Gemini 10 Agena

Ge10Patch_orig

Collins shortly after launch

Agena_Firing_-_GPN-2000-001355

Posted on October 2, 2014

Collins emerged from the spacecraft at dawn. Like Gene Cernan on Gemini IX-A, he found that all tasks took longer than he expected. But he was able to retrieve the package from the exterior of his spacecraft…

gemini-10_recovery

gemini_11_splashdown_recovery_print-r5a59c8d7c6244f54af0dc3eba26b9a72_wa3_8byvr_512

G10RecoveryCertificate

DaveG10

Posted on October 9, 2014

Some significant goals had been set for the last two Gemini flights. For example, the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office wanted a rendezvous in the first spacecraft orbit, which would simulate lunar orbit rendezvous. There was also interest in linking ...

scan0704

RichardFGordon

320px-Gemini_11_patch

agena 11

Gemini_11_prime_crew_(Gordon_and_Conrad)

Gemini_11_Gordon_suits_up for G11

Posted on October 16, 2014

Conrad shouted to Gordon “Ride ’em, cowboy!”  Gordon was Riding bareback, with his feet and legs wedged between the docked vehicles. In practice sessions in zero-g aircraft flights, Gordon had been able to push himself forward, straddle the reentry a...

Gordon Astride Agena

agena 11

1024px-Gemini_Profiles

Posted on October 23, 2014

The rotation rate checked out at 55 degrees per minute, and the crew could now test for a minute amount of artificial gravity. When they put a camera against the instrument panel and then let it go, it moved in a straight line to the rear of the cock...

Recovery of G11

mySuperLamePic_4b6522ec730b0c0a85b7ed20f7c4f00f

G11 parachute

Agena Tether Experiment

Posted on October 30, 2014

When the  Gemini IX-A Agena fell into the Atlantic Ocean, Gemini XII was threatened with a major hardware shortage of an Agena and an Atlas to launch it. Replacing the Agena was no real problem. Lockheed’s first production model, 5001, used for devel...

p3-AldrinLovell

p2-Aldrin Lovell Cernan Cooper

p-1G12Patch

gemini-12_2

Agena12

Posted on November 6, 2014

In space, Jim and Buzz began to wonder if everything had been shut down too soon. For 25 minutes, with one brief exception, they heard nothing from the ground. The Ascension Island tracking station had the wrong acquisition time, so its communicators...

Agena12tether

buzzViewHatchOpen

Gemini_XII_Mission_Image_-_Solar_Eclipse

G12 tether

buzzadrinview

Posted on November 13, 2014