John Young earned a Bachelor of Science degree in
Aeronautical Engineering in 1952 and was designated
a Naval Aviator in 1954. In 1959 he completed Navy
test pilot training and was assigned to the Naval Air
Test Center where he later set time to climb world
records to 3,000m. (10,000 ft.) and 25,000m (82,000 ft.)
and 25,000m (82,000 ft.) in the F-4 Phantom.
Young was selected to be an astronaut in 1962 and participated
in spaceflights of the Gemini and Apollo programs. He
commanded the Gemini 10 mission, was command module pilot of
Apollo 10, and commanded the Apollo 16 mission to the moon.
He was also commander of two space shuttle missions; STS-1,
the first orbital flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia; and
STS-9 the first spacelab mission which lasted ten days.
In 1973, John Young served NASA as Chief of the Space Shuttle
Branch of the Astronaut Office, then as Chief of the Astronaut
Office from 1974 to 1987, and now as Special Assistant for
Engineering, Operations and Safety to the Director of the
Johnson Space Center.
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