John Young (astronaut)
Ninth moonwalker and only astronaut to fly four spacecraft classes.
John Watts Young (September 24, 1930 – January 5, 2018) was an American astronaut, naval officer, aviator, test pilot, and aeronautical engineer. He was the ninth human to walk on the Moon, serving as commander of Apollo 16 in 1972. Young is the only person to have flown four distinct types of NASA spacecraft: the Gemini capsule, the Apollo command module, the Apollo Lunar Module, and the Space Shuttle.
Young was born in San Francisco, California. His father, a civil engineer, lost his job during the Great Depression, leading the family to move to Cartersville, Georgia, in 1932, and then to Orlando, Florida, in 1936. When Young was five, his mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and hospitalized. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, his father joined the Navy as a Seabee, leaving Young and his younger brother in a housekeeper’s care. His father returned after the war and became a plant superintendent for a citrus company. Young attended Orlando High School, playing football, baseball, and track, graduating in 1948.
He studied at the Georgia Institute of Technology on a Naval ROTC scholarship. During midshipman cruises aboard USS Missouri and USS Newport News, he worked alongside future Apollo 10 crewmate Thomas P. Stafford. As a senior, he served as regiment commander of his ROTC detachment and was a member of honor societies including Scabbard and Blade, Tau Beta Pi, Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, the ANAK Society, and Sigma Chi fraternity. He graduated second in his class in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering and was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy on June 6, 1952.
Young initially applied to become a naval aviator but was assigned as a gunnery officer aboard USS Laws, based in San Diego. He completed a Pacific deployment as a fire control and division officer in the Sea of Japan during the Korean War. In May 1953, he reported to flight school at Naval Air Station Pensacola, first flying the SNJ-5 Texan, then training on HTL-5 and HUP-2 helicopters, completing helicopter training in January 1954. He returned to fixed-wing aircraft, flying the SNJ-5, T-28 Trojan, F6F Hellcat, and F9F Panther, earning his aviator wings in December 1954.
After flight school, he joined Fighter Squadron 103 (VF-103) at NAS Cecil Field, flying the F9F Cougar.
Quick Facts
- Birth Name
- John Watts Young
- Birth Date
- 1930-09-24
- Birth Place
- San Francisco, California, U.S.
- Death Date
- 2018-01-05
- Death Place
- Houston, Texas, U.S.
- Resting Place
- Arlington National Cemetery
- Education
- Georgia Institute of Technology (BS)
- Spouse
- Barbara White · December 1, 1955 (1971–1971)
- Children
- 2
- Awards
- Distinguished Flying Cross · Congressional Space Medal of Honor · NASA Distinguished Service Medal
- Rank
- Captain, USN
- Time
- 34d 19h 39m
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
John Young was born at St. Luke's Hospital in San Francisco on September 24, 1930, to William Hugh Young, a civil engineer, and Wanda Young. After his father lost his job during the Great Depression, the family moved to Cartersville, Georgia, in 1932, and then to Orlando, Florida, in 1936. Young attended Princeton Elementary School and Orlando High School, where he competed in football, baseball, and track and field, graduating in 1948. He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology on a Naval ROTC scholarship, graduating second in his class in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering, and was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy.
Young served as a gunnery officer aboard USS Laws during the Korean War before attending flight school at Naval Air Station Pensacola. He graduated from flight school in December 1954 and later became a test pilot, setting two world time-to-climb records in the F-4 Phantom II in 1962. He retired from the Navy as a captain in September 1976 after 24 years of service. Selected for NASA Astronaut Group 2 in September 1962, Young flew on Gemini 3 in 1965, commanded Gemini 10 in 1966, served as command module pilot on Apollo 10 in 1969, and commanded Apollo 16 in 1972, spending three days on the lunar surface. He also commanded STS-1 in 1981 and STS-9 in 1983.
Reader's Guide
John Young's career spanned the formative decades of human spaceflight, from the early Gemini missions through the Space Shuttle program. As the only astronaut to fly in four different classes of NASA spacecraft—Gemini, the Apollo command module, the Apollo Lunar Module, and the Space Shuttle—he demonstrated exceptional versatility and technical skill. His command of Apollo 16 made him the ninth person to walk on the Moon, and he was the only astronaut to both walk on the Moon and fly on the Space Shuttle. Young also served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1974 to 1987, shaping the astronaut corps during a critical transition period. His 42 years of NASA service, from 1962 to 2004, made him a central figure in American space exploration, bridging the Mercury-Gemini era, the Apollo lunar program, and the Space Shuttle's early flights. His legacy is one of pioneering achievement across multiple spacecraft generations.
Did You Know?
- Young smuggled a corned beef sandwich aboard Gemini 3, which he shared with Gus Grissom, leading to a hearing by the House Committee on Appropriations.
- He set two world time-to-climb records in the F-4 Phantom II in 1962, reaching 3,000 meters in 34.52 seconds and 25,000 meters in 227.6 seconds.
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