Oklahoma astronaut Tom Stafford known for Apollo 10 mission dies at 93

Thomas P. Stafford, an Oklahoma-born astronaut who made history with the Gemini and Apollo space projects, died Monday. He was 93.

While Stafford never stepped foot on the lunar surface, his role as commander of Apollo 10 paved the way for the next team of astronauts to land on the moon with Apollo 11. His final space mission was in 1975 on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, which was the first international space mission and demonstrated the first ever docking of American and Soviet spacecraft.

"Few people have ever matched Tom Stafford’s endearing impact on this nation, and we are a safer and better nation for it," astronaut and the late Sen. John Glenn once said about Stafford.

Stafford retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1979 as a lieutenant general after commanding several test flight and research operations, including a stint as the commanding officer for the secret Air Force base in Nevada popularly known as Area 51. Despite his retirement, Stafford remained an influential and trusted adviser to NASA, the defense sector and several presidents.

The Stafford Air and Space Museum in Weatherford, Oklahoma, announced Monday that he died in Indian Harbor, Florida.

A life in space

Stafford was born in Weatherford, Oklahoma, in 1930. After he graduated from high school, he attended the U.S. Naval Academy and later transferred to the newly created branch known as the U.S. Air Force.

Despite achieving so much so early in his career, the only place to go was up. On his 31st birthday, NASA announced the selection of Astronaut Group 2, which included Stafford and several future moon-walkers, including Neil Armstrong. Stafford visited space four times in his astronaut career.

During his first space mission in 1965, Stafford piloted Gemini 6 with fellow astronaut Wally Schirra. During the mission, they achieved one of the greatest milestones in spaceflight history when they performed the first orbital rendezvous with another spacecraft, Gemini 7. Stafford piloted Gemini 6 within a foot of its sister spacecraft, which was piloted by future Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell.

Less than a year later, he returned to space with Eugene Cernan on board Gemini 9. Stafford was originally scheduled to be the backup crew for that flight, but the primary crew died in an airplane crash a few months earlier.

NASA next had its sights on the moon, and Stafford was picked to command Apollo 10, the final mission before the legendary Apollo 11 moon landing. During that mission, Stafford piloted the lunar module into the moon's orbit before turning around and heading back to Earth.

During Apollo 10, Stafford and his crew of Cernan and John Young set the all-time human speed record of 24,791 mph, or nearly seven miles per second as they returned home, a record that will likely stand until future space missions head to Mars.

Stafford capped off his spaceflight career in 1975 with the Apollo-Soyuz mission. Amid continuing Cold War tensions, the in-flight rendezvous and docking with a Soviet spacecraft launched decades of cooperation and friendship between the two space agencies. For his participation, Stafford received a nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Stafford's top secret leadership

Already a general in the Air Force, Stafford retired from NASA and became commanding officer at Edwards Air Force Base in California. According to his obituary released by the Stafford Air and Space Museum, he led the Experimental Flight Test Center where new aircraft models were tested and test pilots were trained.

While there, he oversaw and participated in the final testing of some of the most important aircraft ever flown – many still on America’s front lines today, including the F-15, F-16, A-10, B-1B, and prototypes for the C-17.

A little-known fact is that during this time in his life, he also was commanding general of the military installation commonly known as Area 51, according to the Stafford Museum. While there, he caught an early glimpse at stealth technology and created programs that led to the development of stealth aircraft and weapons systems that are still in use today.

Respected military, space adviser

Stafford officially retired from the Air Force in 1979. Looking back on his life, though, he still had a lot of work to do.

After leaving the military, Stafford founded his own aerospace consulting firm and was picked by incoming President Ronald Reagan to as a defense adviser on Reagan's transition team. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush asked Stafford to lead the development of guidelines for future missions to the moon and Mars, which are still important to mission planners to this day.

While in retirement, NASA continued seeking out Stafford's leadership and advice. He chaired the team that analyzed and came up with a fix for the newly deployed but flawed Hubble Space Telescope. He was instrumental in developing a relationship with the Russian space program that eventually led to the International Space Station.

After the Space Shuttle Columbia and its crew were lost on reentry in 2003, Stafford co-chaired the oversight committee that ensured all necessary safety changes were made before the shuttle was allowed to fly again.

Even at age 93, Stafford continued to chair NASA's Space Station Oversight Committee for ISS safety, preparedness, and operation.

Oklahoma state Sen. Darcy Jech, who represents Weatherford, said Stafford's knowledge and skillset were invaluable to both the state and the nation he served.

"Stafford was a true hometown hero, and the Weatherford community was fortunate to witness his numerous accomplishments over the years," said Jech. "His legacy will live on through the Stafford Air and Space Museum, offering future generations a glimpse into the significant contributions he made during his extensive tenure in air and space exploration."

Stafford is survived by his wife, Linda, of the home. They have two sons, Michael Thomas, and Stanislav “Stas” Patten. His first marriage was to the late Faye L. Shoemaker. From that marriage came two daughters, Dionne Kay and Karin Elaine, and two grandsons, Thomas P. Stafford II, and Andrew Alexei Harrison. Linda has two children from a previous marriage, Kassie Neering and Mark Hill, and four grandchildren, Sloane, Lee, Marcus, and Tara.

Services and interment will be in Weatherford.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Legendary Oklahoma astronaut Tom Stafford dies