Portrait of John Young Courtesy of NASA

John Young is an American astronaut who was born on September 24, 1930, in California. Before he became an astronaut, Young was a Navy fighter pilot.

Young became an astronaut in 1962. He is the first person to make six spaceflights. He has spent over 835 hours in space.

Young made his first spaceflight in 1965 aboard Gemini 3. This was the first manned Gemini mission. Young operated the first computer in space during this mission. In 1966, he commanded Gemini 10.

Young made his third spaceflight aboard Apollo 10. The crew orbited the Moon several times and tested the lunar module. In 1972, Young actually landed on the moon and walked its surface during the Apollo 16 mission.

Young made his fifth spaceflight aboard STS-1 in 1981. This was the first flight of the Space Shuttle. It proved that the shuttle was a reusable spacecraft.

Young's last spaceflight was aboard STS-9 in 1983. This was the first Spacelab mission.