NASA Pays Tribute To The Former Astronaut

Astronaut Richard Gordon, who was the Command Module pilot on the Apollo 12 mission to the Moon, has Gone West at the age of 88. Gordon passed away Monday at his home in California, according to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.

In a tribute posted to the NASA website, acting administrator Robert Lightfoot paid tribute to the member of the third astronaut class.

"NASA and the nation have lost one of our early space pioneers. We send our condolences to the family and loved ones of Gemini and Apollo astronaut Richard Gordon, a hero from NASA's third class of astronauts.  

"Naval officer, aviator, chemist, test pilot, and astronaut were among the many hats of this talented and daring explorer. Dick was pilot of Gemini XI in 1966, on which he performed a spacewalk where he tethered the Gemini and Agena together for the very first attempt at creating artificial gravity by rotating spacecraft. He also was command module pilot of Apollo 12, the second manned mission to land on the Moon. While his crewmates Pete Conrad and Alan Bean landed in the Ocean of Storms, he remained in lunar orbit aboard the Yankee Clipper, taking photos for potential future landing sites and later performing final re-docking maneuvers.

"An accomplished naval aviator, Dick tested many new aircraft that later entered service and also won the Bendix Trophy Race from New York to Los Angeles in 1961, setting a new speed record for the time.

"Dick will be fondly remembered as one of our nation's boldest flyers, a man who added to our own nation's capabilities by challenging his own. He will be missed."

(Source: NASA news release and as cited. Image from file)

FMI: www.nasa.gov