The American astronaut Thomas P. Stafford, Dedicated and signed photograph.
Thomas Patten “Tom” Stafford [1930-2024], Lieutenant General in the United States Air Force. Stafford joined NASA in September 1962 as part of the Gemini and Apollo programs. In December 1965, he was the pilot of Gemini 6A during the first-ever rendezvous between two spacecraft in space, advancing the practice of space docking. In June 1966, he commanded Gemini 9A, where rendezvous techniques were developed that were later used in the Apollo program. From August 1966 to October 1968, he was responsible for the analysis and planning of the Apollo Project. Stafford led the team that designed the sequence of missions leading to the Apollo lunar landing. In May 1969, he commanded Apollo 10, the first flight of the lunar module, performing the first lunar orbit rendezvous and carrying out all the tasks of a lunar landing mission except for the landing itself. During this mission, he set a Guinness World Record for the fastest speed ever achieved by a human, re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere at 24,791 miles per hour.
In June 1990, he was appointed to head a committee that would recommend how to realize President George H. W. Bush’s vision of returning to the Moon and sending a man to Mars. Stafford assembled a team of about 200 employees from the Department of Energy and NASA, and in June 1991, he presented the report at a press conference with Vice President Dan Quayle. This plan was never implemented, likely due to budget considerations and different priorities of the subsequent Clinton administration. It was only after the Columbia disaster, in which seven astronauts perished, that Bush’s son, President George W. Bush, proposed a similar plan, this time with a much more constrained budget, largely based on reallocating funds within NASA. Over the years, Stafford received numerous medals and honors from NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and other governmental and non-governmental organizations. Among other accolades, he received a special Emmy Award from the Board of Trustees in 1969 and the Allan D. Emil Memorial Award in 1980.
25.5×21 cm. Light stains. Good condition.
