Astronaut who orbited the moon on Apollo 16 and was instrumental in saving the stricken Apollo 13
The astronaut Ken Mattingly, who has died aged 87, was probably more famous for his role in the saga of Apollo 13 – the ill-fated 1970 lunar mission, from which he was removed three days before launch – than he was for Apollo 16, on which he made a successful trip to the moon two years later.
Mattingly lost his place as command module pilot on Apollo 13 because he had been exposed to rubella. As a consequence he had to settle for a role within the Houston ground control team, where he helped to power up the stricken Apollo 13 spacecraft after it had broken down.
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