NASA astronaut Tom Stafford, famed for U.S.-Soviet orbital handshake, has died at 93

NPR ^ | March 18, 2024 | Russell Lewis

[Ben Dover]

Tom Stafford, one of NASA's early astronauts, who flew in space four times including a trip to orbit the moon and then a historic rendezvous with Soviet cosmonauts, has died. He was 93 and passed away on Monday after battling a long illness. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, "Today General Tom Stafford went to the eternal heavens which he so courageously 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."

Stafford was born in Weatherford, Okla., in 1930 and later recalled, "As a little boy I wanted to fly airplanes and then later, be a fighter pilot. I wanted to go higher and faster. And [space] was just the next logical step."

[MikelTackNailer]

Holy crap, that's Deke Slayton! WWII badass (56 combat sorties), original Mercury guy disqualified for irregular heart-beat, worked his way through NASA and rebuilt himself to eventually become the oldest astronaut at that time (51).

He went to the stars in 1993 from a brain tumor.

[Weirdad]

Back in the day I got to work at NASA with Vance Brand’s daughter Susan, life sciences, she is so smart and nice.

I never got to meet her Dad, who is in the middle of the photo you posted.

That hookup was a great thing as part of a path to better times with the USSR. Great photo.

RIP Tom Stafford.

[Weirdad]

FYI, interesting, the Brands are still going strong:

https://www.reporterherald.com/2022/09/12/this-is-for-the-american-people-longmont-native-vance-brand-donates-40-acres-to-rocky-mountain-national-park/

[linMcHlp]

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