Last month we lost another astronaut who almost flew on the Apollo 13 mission and later flew on the Apollo 16 mission. Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II died on late last month at the age of 87 in Arlington, Virginia.
In addition to his work on the Apollo missions, he also flew on two space shuttle missions.
Mr. Mattingly is best remembered for his efforts to bring the Apollo 13 mission safely back to Earth after his lost his seat in that very mission when he was exposed to rubella. All of this was well documented in the 1995 Ron Howard film Apollo 13.
You can read Mr. Mattingly’s own story about his past at this NASA oral history site.
You can also read more on Mr. Mattingly’s life and career at these sites:
Rest in peace.
Our Awesome Universe 