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[b]Space Cover #729: Astronaut Ken Mattingly: A Tribute[/b] Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II, Rear Admiral, USN (Ret.), passed away at age 87 on Oct. 31, 2023. Mattingly was a prime crew member on four NASA space flights, and flew on three of them, but is especially known for the one he didn't fly on: Apollo 13. Because of his exposure to German measles, he was removed from Apollo 13 just three days before launch and replaced by Jack Swigert. Reassigned, he flew as command module pilot on Apollo 16. In addition to being a NASA Astronaut, he was a naval aviator, test pilot and aeronautical engineer. He also served as a Support Crew member on Apollo 8 and Apollo 11. Mattingly spent 11 days in space on Apollo 16, including 64 orbits around the moon. He is one of 24 Apollo lunar astronauts and only he and John Young flew to the moon and also in space on the Space Shuttle. Mattingly also flew as commander on two Space Shuttle missions: STS-4 and STS-51C and totaled over 21 days in space. The top cover above is an Apollo 13 Heritage Craft cover picturing the original Apollo 13 crew, including Mattingly. It's canceled for launch along with a Titusville, FL/Astronaut Trail Sta. hand cancel on the date of the oxygen tank explosion. Below it is a "look-alike" Apollo 13 insurance cover signed by Mattingly and the other Apollo 13 crew members. In every way it is identical to an actual Apollo 13 insurance cover, but is known to be autographed for a NASA official at KSC while the original crew was there for pre-flight training and then later signed by Jack Swigert. The top cover is an Apollo 16 Heritage Craft cover picturing the crew. Below it is an undocumented Apollo 16 insurance cover signed by the crew (Such undocumented covers are sometimes called "Insurance-type covers"). While very possibly an actual insurance cover, it lacks any documentation - it was obtained many years ago from a fellow collector without any provenance - so it will remain a wonderful Apollo 16 crew signed cover, but only "possibly" an actual insurance cover. On STS-4, the final Space Shuttle Orbital Flight Test, Mattingly and Hank Hartsfield flew Columbia on a seven-day, 112 orbit flight with landing at Edwards AFB on the Fourth of July, with President Reagan there to welcome them back. Then in 1985, Mattingly was spacecraft commander of STS-51C, the 15th Shuttle flight and the first of eleven Space Shuttle military DOD missions. Of note, 51C experienced very severe Solid Rocket Booster O-ring charring. The top cover is an STS-4 landing cover, canceled with an EAFB, CA hand cancel and with well-applied and -placed autographs by Mattingly and Hartsfield. Below is an STS-51C crew signed cover signed by commander Mattingly and the other 51C crew members. The cover at the top is an "Orbit" cover picturing the original Apollo 13 crew, with an inset picturing replacement crew member Jack Swigert. The other cover is an Apollo 16 Colorado "Silk" cover with a well-done cachet picturing Mattingly and the other two Apollo 16 crew members.
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