Rear Admiral Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II, USN Retired 1936-2023
Ken Mattingly’s legacy
Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II’s father worked for Eastern Airlines, so aviation was part of his life from a young age. In 1958, he graduated from Auburn University with a degree in aeronautical engineering. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy that same year, and two years later earned his aviation wings. While a student at the U.S. Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards AFB, in 1966 he was selected by NASA to be an astronaut.
Mattingly served on the ground as support crew for Apollo 8. He was originally assigned to be in the command module for Apollo 13, but due to exposure to measles, he was pulled from the mission. He still played a vital role on the ground, however, helping the crew troubleshoot mechanical problems during the ill-fated mission. His actions were depicted by Gary Sinise in the film “Apollo 13.”
Mattingly finally got his chance to go to space on the Apollo 16 mission, serving in the command module while his fellow astronauts, John Young and Charlie Duke, landed on the Moon. Mattingly conducted geochemical mapping around the Moon’s equator, then performed an extravehicular activity (EVA) to retrieve data from outside the spacecraft. He had additional time in space aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia and Space Shuttle Discovery.
He retired from the Navy as a rear admiral (upper half) and continued to work in aerospace as part of the private sector. Over the course of his career, Mattingly earned a NASA Distinguished Service Medal, Navy Distinguished Service and Expeditionary medals, a NASA Space Flight Medal, and many other accolades. In addition to being portrayed by Sinise, he was portrayed by Željko Ivanek on the HBO miniseries, “From the Earth to the Moon.” He is a member of the International Space Hall of Fame and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.
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