Ken Mattingly

Vocation

Notable

Family

American astronaut, one of 19 selected by NASA in April 1966. A veteran of three space flights, Mattingly served as command module pilot on Apollo 16, which orbited the moon in 1972, and commanded two Space Shuttle missions during the 1980s. He was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame on 10/04/1997. Born in Chicago, Mattingly grew up in Florida and graduated from Miami Edison High School in Miami. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Engineering at Auburn University in 1958 after which he began his Naval career. He received his wings in 1960 and served aboard two aircraft carriers from 1960-1965. Originally scheduled to pilot Apollo 13, Mattingly had to be removed from flight status 72 hours before launch due to exposure to German measles. During his career with NASA, he served as the astronaut representative in development and testing of the Apollo spacesuit and backpack. He resigned in 1985, concurrently retiring from the Navy as a Captain, and took a position at Grumman’s Space Station. He later joined Lockheed Martin. Mattingly married and has one grown son. Link to Wikipedia biography