Thomas P. Stafford

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In April 1962, while working as a flight instructor, Stafford applied for the next round of astronaut selection. The required interviews and medical screenings occurred over the summer of 1962 at Brooks Air Force Base and in Houston. On September 14, 1962, Stafford was selected for Astronaut Group 2, alongside eight other future astronauts.: 35–40

Stafford was originally scheduled to fly with Alan Shepard on the first crewed Gemini mission, Gemini 3, but was replaced when Shepard was removed from the flight rotation after being diagnosed with Ménière's disease. Stafford was paired with Wally Schirra as pilot and commander, respectively, and the pair was reassigned as the backup crew for Gemini 3, and primary crew for Gemini 6.: 50

The original Gemini 6 mission profile involved docking with an Agena target vehicle. On October 25, 1965, Schirra and Stafford were inside Gemini 6 before liftoff when the Agena vehicle exploded on ascent. After the original mission was canceled, it was redesignated Gemini 6A and was planned to rendezvous with the long-duration Gemini 7 mission. Gemini 7 lifted off on December 4, 1965. On December 12, 1965, Gemini 6A's ignition was followed by an immediate engine shutdown. Schirra and Stafford did not eject, and the cause of the shutdown was found to be an electrical issue and a cap inadvertently left on a fuel line.: 64–72

On December 15, 1965, Gemini 6A lifted off and rendezvoused with Gemini 7. The two spacecraft kept station for about five hours, coming within feet of each other. Gemini 6A splashed down on December 16, and was recovered by USS Wasp.: 70–76

Before Gemini 6A, Stafford was assigned as the backup commander for Gemini 9 with Eugene Cernan as the backup pilot. Charlie Bassett and Elliot See were the primary crew. On February 28, 1966, both crews flew in T-38 Talons to Lambert Field to visit the McDonnell Douglas Gemini assembly facility. Bassett and See crashed on landing, and were killed. Stafford and Cernan became the Gemini 9 primary crew, with Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin as their backup crew.: 75–82

On May 17, 1966, the Agena target vehicle went off course and was shut down before entering orbit. As there was no replacement Agena rocket, the new target for the mission was the Augmented Target Docking Adapter (ATDA), which achieved orbit on June 1, 1966. The Gemini 9A launch, scheduled for later the same day, was canceled due to a computer error. Gemini 9A launched on June 3, and rendezvoused with the ATDA on the second orbit. However, the shroud on the ATDA had only partially opened, and Gemini 9A was unable to dock with it. Nonetheless, Stafford and Cernan conducted orbital rendezvous maneuvers with the ATDA, including a simulated rescue of a lunar module in a lower orbit.: 85–92

The following day, Cernan attempted an extravehicular activity (EVA), with the primary mission of testing the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit (AMU). After exiting the spacecraft, Cernan quickly experienced mobility issues, followed by environmental regulation and communication issues. The EVA was aborted, and Cernan returned to the capsule after two hours. On June 6, Gemini 9A landed, and was recovered by USS Wasp.: 92–95

After Gemini 9A, Stafford was assigned as the backup command module pilot on Apollo 2, with Frank Borman as the commander and Mike Collins as the lunar module pilot. For his technical assignment, Stafford was tasked as an astronaut liaison for the development of Apollo guidance and navigation systems, as well as the command and service module. In late 1966, he was reassigned to Apollo 2 backup commander, with Apollo 10 crewmates John Young as the command module pilot and Gene Cernan as the lunar module pilot. While testing the command module, they received word of the Apollo 1 fire and subsequent suspension of the Apollo program.: 95–105 : 1–6

In the spring of 1968, Deke Slayton announced that the previous backup crew for Apollo 2 would become the primary crew for Apollo 10. In preparation for the mission, Stafford helped design a color camera to replace the grainy black-and-white video broadcast before from space; he felt that public outreach was a vital aspect of the mission. The command module (CM) was nicknamed "Charlie Brown"; the lunar module (LM) was nicknamed "Snoopy".: 120–122

Apollo 10 lifted off on May 18, 1969. Despite heavy oscillation during ascent, Apollo 10 achieved orbit without incident, docked the LM and CM, and achieved its translunar injection burn. Upon arriving in lunar orbit, Stafford and Cernan undocked in the LM and entered an elliptical orbit with a periapsis (the closest distance) of nine miles over the lunar surface. To provide reconnaissance, the periapsis coincided with the Sea of Tranquility, the intended landing site for Apollo 11. Upon ascent, the LM began turning rapidly from a misaligned switch on the Abort Guidance System; Stafford was able to regain control and conduct the burn to rendezvous with the CM. The LM docked with the CM to return the astronauts and was jettisoned. After two days in lunar orbit, the Apollo 10 began its return trajectory. Along the return, the capsule traveled 24,791 mph (39,897 km/h), setting the record for the fastest speed by a human being. Apollo 10 splashed down east of Samoa and was recovered by USS Princeton.: 120–135

In July 1969, Stafford replaced Alan Shepard (who had returned to flight status) as Chief of the Astronaut Office. Along with Director of Flight Crew Operations Deke Slayton, Stafford oversaw assignments to the upcoming Apollo and Skylab missions until Shepard resumed the position after Apollo 14 in July 1971. During this period, U.S. President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin agreed to the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). Stafford was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in late 1972, and was soon named the commander of ASTP, along with Slayton (who had also returned to flight status) and Vance Brand.: 135–156

Beginning in 1973, the ASTP team trained extensively in Russia and the United States. Soyuz 19, carrying Alexei Leonov and Valery Kubasov, launched on July 15, 1975, at 12:20 UTC, followed by Apollo at 19:50 UTC. After two days in space, Soyuz and Apollo docked on July 17, where the crews met and conducted joint experiments and held press conferences. After remaining docked for 44 hours, the two spacecraft undocked on July 19. Soyuz returned to Earth on July 21; Apollo remained in orbit until July 24. While descending, the Apollo command module began filling with nitrogen tetroxide from the reaction control thrusters. The crew donned oxygen masks, but Brand lost consciousness and had to be assisted by Stafford. All crew were safely recovered aboard USS New Orleans, and were hospitalized in Hawaii for edema (swelling) from fuel inhalation.: 156–197

Post-NASA career

In June 1975, before ASTP, Stafford was offered command of the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB. He accepted and assumed the assignment on November 15, 1975. Stafford oversaw both the Air Force and NASA test facilities at Edwards AFB, as well as test ranges in Utah and Nevada. He continued to fly (including foreign aircraft such as the MiG-17 and Panavia Tornado) and was involved in the interview of Viktor Belenko after his defection. Stafford also managed the development of the XST, which would later evolve into the F-117 Nighthawk. In March 1978, he was promoted to lieutenant general and became Deputy Chief of Staff, Research Development and Acquisition in Washington, D.C. While working in Washington, Stafford advocated for the creation of the mobile MX missile, and began developing the Advanced Technology Bomber, the predecessor to the B-2 stealth bomber.

With no statement of need or requirements, he pushed for and started a larger attack stealth aircraft named Senior Trend which was later designated the Stealth Attack F-117A. The F-117A flew in just two years and eight months after the contract with Lockheed was signed. This is a modern record from the start of the contract to flight. The aircraft became operational in less than five years. During Desert Storm, it was the only plane that secured airspace above Baghdad on the opening night of combat in 1991. The F-117A flew less than two percent of the air-to-ground combat missions, but it was responsible for attacking 38 percent of the Iraqi strategic targets.

In early 1979, before giving a speech at the Chicago chapter of the Air Force Association, General Stafford met with the Chairman of Northrop whose company had started a low-speed experimental stealth reconnaissance program for DARPA and the U.S. Army using smooth surfaces. On a piece of hotel stationery, General Stafford wrote specs for range, payload, radar cross-section, and gross take-off weight for an advanced stealth technology bomber, which later became designated as the B-2. To further enhance his emphasis on stealth, he started a competition between the firms of Boeing, General Dynamics, and also included Lockheed because of their stealth technology, to develop a stealth supercruise missile. Out of that came the AGM-129 Stealth Cruise missile developed by General Dynamics. It was a 2,000 nautical mile super stealth nuclear-armed cruise missile with a W-80-1 warhead and 130 Kilotons yield. He then started the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program to replace the F-15 (now the F-22) as an air superiority fighter. Stafford retired to Norman, Oklahoma, on November 1, 1979.: 198–210

Following his retirement, Stafford served on several corporate boards, including Omega SA, Gibraltar Exploration, and Gulfstream Aerospace. He originally intended to reunite with his ASTP crewmates in Russia, but the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the subsequent 1980 Olympics boycott, left them unable to travel to Russia. Stafford created a consulting firm, Stafford, Burke, and Hecker, with two recently-retired United States Air Force general officers, Lieutenant General Kelly H. Burke, and Major General Guy L. Hecker Jr.. In July 1990, Vice President Quayle and Admiral Richard Truly, then the NASA administrator, asked Stafford to chair a committee that advised NASA on long-term lunar and Mars missions. Stafford and his team of 42 full-time members and 150 part-time members created a long-term plan with lunar missions in 2004 and a Mars mission in 2012.: 211–232  In 1992, Stafford began work as an advisor for Space Station Freedom, the precursor to the International Space Station (ISS). While coordinating Russian involvement, Stafford became a technical advisor for the Shuttle–Mir Program, particularly STS-63 and STS-71. He also served on a review committee for the Progress-Mir Collision.: 230–269

In 2002, Stafford published an autobiography written with Michael Cassutt, titled We Have Capture: Tom Stafford and the Space Race. He also wrote the epilogue of the 2011 book Falling to Earth: An Apollo 15 Astronaut's Journey to the Moon by fellow Apollo astronaut Al Worden.

Stafford and Soviet commander Alexey Leonov, became lasting friends, with Leonov being the godfather of Stafford's younger children. Stafford gave a eulogy in Russian at Leonov's funeral in October 2019.

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