Richard F. Gordon Jr. was an American astronaut and naval aviator. He was born in 1929 in Seattle, Washington. He served in the United States Navy and received his pilot’s wings in 1952.
Gordon became an astronaut in 1963, and flew on two space missions: Gemini 11 in 1966 and Apollo 12 in 1969. During his time on Gemini 11, he performed two spacewalks and set a record for the highest altitude reached by a human. On Apollo 12, he served as the Command Module Pilot, orbiting the Moon while his crewmates landed on the surface.
After retiring from NASA in 1972, Gordon served as the Deputy Associate Administrator for Energy Programs at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He also served on the board of directors for several aerospace companies.
Gordon passed away in 2017 at the age of 88.