John Young, 1965. He was approximately my age (34) in this Life magazine photo. 
Happy birthday to Floridian badass and originator of the Blue Steel, John Young! John and his tousled hair are both 81 years old today.
Here’s a short list of things John Watts Young has accomplished in his time on the planet:
  • Flew on Gemini 3 with Gus “I Am A Total Badass” Grissom (1965);
  • Flew on Gemini 10 with Mike Collins, the original space hipster (1966);
  • Flew on Apollo 10 with his bros Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan (1969);
  • Flew on Apollo 16 with Ken Mattingly and Charlie Duke, and walked on the FREAKIN’ MOON (1972); and
  • Flew the space shuttle twice like a boss (STS-1 in 1981 and STS-9/Spacelab 1 in 1983).

He also probably made that particle or whatever go faster than the speed of light, but he’s too humble to take any credit for it. At any rate…the day belongs to John Young.


Emily Carney is a writer, space enthusiast, and creator of the This Space Available space blog, published since 2010. In January 2019, Emily’s This Space Available blog was incorporated into the National Space Society’s blog. The content of Emily’s blog can be accessed via the This Space Available blog category.

Note: The views expressed in This Space Available are those of the author and should not be considered as representing the positions or views of the National Space Society.

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Picture of Emily Carney

Emily Carney

Leave a Comment

Search
Categories
future 1

Don't Miss a Beat!

Be the first to know when new articles are posted!

Follow Us On Social Media

JOIN THE
GREATEST ADVENTURE

Give The Gift Of Space: Membership For Friends and Family

Book Review

Archives

ISDC 2025:
Together Beyond!

In Orlando at the Rosen Centre Hotel.
June 19 - 22, 2025

FEATURED BLOG

Image of Kalpana One space settlement courtesy Bryan Versteeg, spacehabs.com $32,000 in Cash Awards Given for Best Space-Related Business Plans — Deadline March 1, 2024

Category: Nonfiction Reviewed by: John J. Vester Title: Nuclear Rockets: To the Moon and Mars Author: Manfred “Dutch” von Ehrenfried Format: Paperback/Kindle Pages: 270 Publisher:

Partially Successful Flight Reached Space and Demonstrated New “Hot Staging” System The National Space Society congratulates SpaceX on the second test of its Starship/Super Heavy

Ad Astra, the NSS quarterly print, digital, and audio magazine, has won a 2023 MARCOM Gold Award. The awards are given yearly for “Excellence in

By Jennifer Muntz, NSS Member Coordinator On October 10th, an inspiring breakfast event took flight at the Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space

By Grant Henriksen NSS Policy Committee Benefit sharing is a concept that refers to the distribution of benefits derived from the exploration and use of

People residing and working in space, space settlements, or on long-duration space flights will need to produce infrastructures and food to maintain healthy lifestyles. The

Image: Artist’s concept of the Blue Moon lander. Credit: Blue Origin. Second Human Landing System Contract Encourages Competition and Innovation The National Space Society congratulates

Your Doorway to New Worlds