Posted: Mon, Dec 6, 2004, 8:44 AM ET (1344 GMT)
Veteran astronaut John Young, who walked on the Moon and commanded the first space shuttle mission, will retire from NASA this month. Young joined NASA in 1962 as a member of the second group of astronauts, and flew with Gus Grissom on Gemini 3, the first manned Gemini flight, in 1965. Young also flew on Gemini 10 in 1966 and Apollo 10, the dress rehearsal for the Apollo 11 landing, in 1969. He commanded Apollo 16 in 1972, the next-to-last lunar landing mission. He remained with NASA after Apollo and commanded Columbia on STS-1, the first shuttle mission, in 1981, and later commanded the same orbiter on STS-9 in 1983. Young has remained an active astronaut since his last flight while serving in management positions at the Johnson Space Center. Young, 74, will be honored at a reception Tuesday at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
