Apollo 10 Up and Away
On May 18, 1969 at 12:49 p.m. the Apollo 10 space vehicle launched from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39, Pad B. The prime crew made up of astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, commander; John W. Young, command module pilot; and Eugene A. Cernan, lunar module pilot orbited the moon for eight days in the second manned flight for NASA. Astronauts Stafford and Cernan descended in the Lunar Module to within 8 miles of the lunar surface.
Well, Hello There
The third television transmission was made by the color television camera on the Apollo 10 spacecraft as the crew made their way to the moon. This image of astronaut John W. Young, Apollo 10 command module pilot, was made from that transmission.
A Gorgeous Evening to Land
On May 26, 1969, the Apollo 10 spacecraft reentered Earth's atmosphere bringing with it astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, John W. Young and Eugene A. Cernan. Splashdown happened in the South Pacific after a successful eight-day lunar orbit mission and the crew and vessel were recovered by the USS Princeton.
Depart the Tiny Vessel
After a successful splashdown, the Apollo 10 prime crew, assisted by Navy underwater demolition team swimmers, leave the Command Module. Astronauts Thomas P. Stafford (left), commander; and John W. Young, command module pilot, wait in the life raft as astronaut Eugene A. Cernan exits the module. There trio was carried to the USS Princeton by helicopter at the conclusion of a successful eight-day lunar orbit mission.
Back on Solid Footing
After an eight-day lunar orbital mission, the Apollo 10 crew members are welcomed onto the USS Princeton. The May 26, 1969 splashdown concluded another successful eight-day lunar orbital mission.
Apollo 16 Crew
The Apollo 16 crew: Thomas K. Mattingly II, command module pilot; John W. Young, commander; and Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot.
Capsule Practice
During water egress training in the Gulf of Mexico on February 5, 1972, the Apollo 16 prime crew — from left to right, astronauts Thomas K. Mattingly II, command module pilot; John W. Young, commander; and Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot — chill on the NASA Motor Vessel Retriever.
Moonwalk Practice
Over November 17-18, 1971, astronauts John W. Young, right, prime crew commander for Apollo 16, and Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot, took part in a geology field trip to the Coso Range outside Ridgecrest, California to complete exercises along a simulated lunar traverse route. The tasks were completed at the U.S. Naval Ordnance Test Station.
Picture Perfect Launch
On April 16, 1972, the Apollo 16 space vehicle, standing 363-feel tall, consisting of Spacecraft 113, Lunar Module 11 and Saturn 511, successfully launched from Launch Complex 39, Pad A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The Apollo 16 prime crew — astronauts Thomas K. Mattingly II, command module pilot; John W. Young, commander; and Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot — were part of NASA's fifth lunar landing mission.
Apollo 16 from the LC-39 Press Site
Apollo 16 as seen from the LC-39 Press Site, seconds after liftoff at 12:54 p.m. (EST) on April 16, 1972. Spectators sweltered in 88-degree-Fahrenheit temperatures, with 44 percent humidity— the hottest of any Apollo launch.
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