Portrait of NASA astronaut Thomas 'Ken' Mattingly II wearing his space suit, Apollo 16 Command Module pilot following his replacement on the Apollo 13 mission, December 20th 1971.
Ken Mattingly, an astronaut who is best remembered for his efforts on the ground that helped bring the damaged Apollo 13 spacecraft safely back to Earth, has died, NASA announced. He was 87.NASA has announced that astronaut Ken Mattingly, shown in a photo taken on Dec. 20, 1971, has died at the age of 87. He missed the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission after being exposed to the measles but worked on the ground to bring the crew to safety.
Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II "was key to the success of our Apollo program, and his shining personality will ensure he is remembered throughout history," Nelson said. A former U.S. navy pilot, Mattingly joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1966. He helped with development of the spacesuit and backpack for the Apollo moon missions, NASA said.
In later years, Mattingly commanded two space shuttle missions and retired from the agency and the navy as a rear admiral.In 1970, Mattingly was supposed to have joined the crew of Apollo 13, piloting the command module. But he was removed from the mission a few days before launch after being exposed to German measles.Several days into the mission, an oxygen tank on the spacecraft's service module exploded, knocking out most of the power and oxygen to the command module.
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