Thomas P. Stafford is an American former astronaut and Air Force pilot. He was born on September 17, 1930, in Weatherford, Oklahoma.
Stafford is best known for his role as commander of the Apollo 10 mission, which was the fourth manned mission in the Apollo program and the second to orbit the Moon. The mission’s primary objective was to test the lunar module’s descent and ascent engines in preparation for the first manned Moon landing on the Apollo 11 mission.
In addition to his work as an astronaut, Stafford also served as a test pilot and instructor in the United States Air Force. He was selected to be an astronaut in 1962 and flew on four spaceflights during his career, including two Gemini missions and two Apollo missions.
After retiring from the Air Force in 1975, Stafford served as the chairman of the NASA Advisory Council and as a member of the President’s Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident. He also served as the chairman of the Stafford-Covey Return to Flight Task Group, which was responsible for reviewing the Space Shuttle program’s return to flight following the 2003 Columbia disaster.
Stafford received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to the space program, including the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He is a member of the International Aerospace Hall of Fame and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.