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posted 03-19-2024 02:22 PM               

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Thank you for your service as an Air Force Pilot, NASA Astronaut and Return to Flight committees.

You were the first astronaut to be selected on your birthday.

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posted 03-20-2024 12:37 AM               

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Does anyone recall the story of the General's harrowing T-38 landing at Edwards?

Rest in Peace, Sir, and we thank you.

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posted 03-22-2024 09:09 AM               

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RIP for a life well lived and immeasurable accomplishments.

As for a T-38 incident at Edwards involving Gen. Stafford; the only obvious one I can think of is the tragic crash of Elliot See and Charles Bassett, prime crew of Gemini 9, in their T-38 at McDonnell's St. Louis plant. Flying with them in another Talon was Stafford (with Gene Cernan in the back seat), who went around for another approach, landed, and did not know of See and Bassett's fate until told by someone on the ground.

Stafford was involved in another training jet incident while a young student pilot at San Marcos AFB Texas, in which his T-33 (with an instructor aboard) collided with another plane, killing the pilot.

Ironically, it was Stafford who recommended to NASA it adopt the T-38 as its main training, transport and proficiency aircraft, and which is still in use after more than 60 years.

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posted 03-25-2024 05:21 PM            

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Tom Stafford's astronaut career and his wider work for NASA speak for themselves, but I want to mention how friendly and engaging I found him when I met him on several occasions in the States and in England. He seemed to love visiting England ("...because they speak English!") and at one of the last Autographica events, I think 2013, he made a short but memorably witty after-dinner speech. When his microphone developed a loud feedback screech, he was handed another microphone by one of the organizers, and brought the house down by telling us: "Always have a back-up procedure."

The crew of Apollo 10 travelled faster than any human beings have ever travelled before, or since; and following the deaths of John Young and Gene Cernan, Tom Stafford was, for six years, "the fastest man alive." Ad astra, General Tom.

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