Astronaut John Young, 9th man on the Moon and first Space Shuttle commander, dead at 87

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— John Young, NASA's longest-serving astronaut, who walked on the moon and flew on the first Gemini and space shuttle missions, has died.

The first person to fly six times into space — seven, if you count his launch off of the moon in 1972 — and the only astronaut to command four different types of spacecraft, Young died on Friday (Jan. 5) following complications from pneumonia. He was 87.

"NASA and the world have lost a pioneer," said NASA acting administrator Robert Lightfoot in a statement on Saturday. "John Young's storied career spanned three generations of spaceflight; we will stand on his shoulders as we look toward the next human frontier."

"Young was at the forefront of human space exploration with his poise, talent, and tenacity. He was in every way the 'astronaut's astronaut,'" Lightfoot said.

Selected alongside Neil Armstrong and Jim Lovell with NASA's second group of astronauts in 1962, Young flew two Gemini missions, two Apollo missions and two space shuttle missions. He was one of only three astronauts to launch to the moon twice and was the ninth person to set foot on the lunar surface.

In total, Young logged 34 days, 19 hours and 39 minutes flying in space, including 20 hours and 14 minutes walking on the moon.

"I've been very lucky, I think," said Young in a NASA interview in 2004, when he retired from the space agency after 42 years.

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