Astronaut Tom Stafford dies at 93; air and space museum in Weatherford is named after him

Thomas P. Stafford, an Oklahoma-born astronaut who was on several space missions, including to the moon, died Monday in Florida at age 93.

Stafford also has an excellent air and space museum named after him along Route 66 in his hometown of Weatherford.

Stafford, who began his career as a test pilot, was aboard Gemini 6A in 1965 and Gemini 9A in 1966. In 1969, he commanded Apollo 10, the mission to orbit the moon. In 1975, Stafford led the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project flight, the first joint U.S.-Soviet space mission. In all, he spent more than 500 hours in space.

The Stafford Air & Space Museum was founded in 1993. Here are some interesting factoids about it:

Originally just two rooms, it has grown to over 63,000 square feet of artifact space. It is a Smithsonian affiliate and is the only museum in the world to house test-fired engines that would have been used in the Space Race: a U.S. F-1 engine and a Soviet NK-33 engine. It holds the Gemini 6 spacecraft that he and Schirra flew in a rendezvous with Gemini 7. […]

The museum’s displays include Stafford’s Apollo 10 spacesuit, the Gemini 6A spacecraft, artifacts from the Space Shuttle program, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Mir Space Station, a Moon rock, a Titan II missile, a Mark 6 re-entry vehicle, and a collection of over 20 historic aircraft.

The Oklahoman newspaper got some reaction to Stafford’s death:

Oklahoma state Sen. Darcy Jech, who represents Weatherford, said Stafford’s knowledge and skillset were invaluable to both the state and the nation he served.

“Stafford was a true hometown hero, and the Weatherford community was fortunate to witness his numerous accomplishments over the years,” said Jech.

“His legacy will live on through the Stafford Air and Space Museum, offering future generations a glimpse into the significant contributions he made during his extensive tenure in air and space exploration.”

Stafford is survived by his wife Linda and two sons.

(Image of Thomas Stafford in 1972 by NASA)