Apollo 16 astronaut Ken Mattingly dies at 87

Apollo astronaut Ken “TK” Mattingly, known for orbiting the moon and helping the crew of Apollo 13 return to Earth in the 1970s, died Tuesday, NASA announced. He was 87.

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“We lost one of our country’s heroes on Oct. 31,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Thursday in a statement. “NASA astronaut TK Mattingly was key to the success of our Apollo Program, and his shining personality will ensure he is remembered throughout history.”

No cause of death was given.

Born in Chicago on March 17, 1936, Mattingly began his career with the U.S. Navy, earning his wings in 1960. Six years later, NASA selected him as an astronaut, and he went on to participate in some of the most consequential Apollo missions, NPR reported.

He was part of the astronaut support crews for the 1968 Apollo 8 mission, the first crewed spaceflight to reach the moon, and the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, the first spaceflight to land humans on the Moon.

“Perhaps his most dramatic role at NASA was after exposure to rubella just before the launch of Apollo 13,” Nelson said. “He stayed behind and provided key real-time decisions to successfully bring home the wounded spacecraft and the crew of Apollo 13 — NASA astronauts James Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise.”

He was portrayed by actor Gary Sinise in the 1995 film about the mission, “Apollo 13.” Earlier this year, Sinise said in a social media post that it was “an honor” to portray the astronaut on the silver screen.

In an interview with NPR, Mattingly downplayed his role in the mission, saying he “didn’t play any role.”

“I was the observer,” he said. “The people that played roles and in bringing that stuff together deserve a lot of credit.”

Mattingly got another chance to see space for himself in 1972, when he served as the command module pilot for Apollo 16. He took extensive photos of the moon and ran experiments while Navy Cmdr. John W. Young and Air Force Lt. Col. Charles M. Duke Jr. took rock and soil samples from the surface, according to The New York Times.

In a 2001 NASA oral history interview, Mattingly described his time in space, saying that he “had this terrible sensation that I was seeing so many things that were out of this world, unbelievable.”

“I’m afraid to look (out the window) again, because I feel like I have an erasable memory and if I see one more thing, it’s going to write over something I just saw and I’ll forget it. I know that’s preposterous, but I had this very palpable fear that if I saw too much, I couldn’t remember. It was just so impressive.”

He went on to serve as spacecraft commander for space shuttle missions STS-4, in 1982, and STS 51-C, in 1985. He logged 504 hours in space before resigning from his position at NASA in 1985.

“He viewed the universe’s vastness as an unending forum of possibilities,” Nelson said. “As a leader in exploratory missions, TK will be remembered for braving the unknown for the sake of our country’s future.”

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later In this photo provided by NASA, a view of the Apollo 13 Lunar Module (LM) was photographed from the Command Module (CM) just after the LM had been jettisoned, April 17, 1970. The jettisoning occurred a few minutes before 11 a.m. (CST), just over an hour prior to splashdown of the CM in the south Pacific Ocean. The apparent explosion of oxygen tank number two in the Apollo 13 Service Module (SM) caused the Apollo 13 crew members to rely on the LM as a "lifeboat". (AP Photo/NASA)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later This April 17, 1970 photo made available by NASA shows the severely damaged Apollo 13 service module, above, after separation from the lunar module/command module. An entire panel on the service module was blown away by the explosion of an oxygen tank. The damage forced the Apollo 13 crew members to use the lunar module as a "lifeboat." The lunar module was jettisoned just prior to Earth re-entry by the command module. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later In this photo provided by NASA, a water level view of the Apollo 13 recovery operations in the South Pacific Ocean, April 17, 1970. The three astronauts are seen leaving their spacecraft. John L. Swigert Jr. (back to camera), command module pilot, is already in the life raft. Fred W. Haise Jr., lunar module pilot, facing camera, is stepping into the life raft. James A. Lovell Jr., commander, is leaving the spacecraft in the background. A United States Navy underwater demolition team assists with the recovery operations. The three crew members were picked up by helicopter and flown to the prime recovery ship, USS Iwo Jima. The Apollo 13 Command Module (CM) splashed down at 12:07:44 p.m. (CST) to safely conclude a perilous space flight. Though the Apollo lunar landing mission was canceled, a disastrous loss of three astronauts was averted. (AP Photo/NASA)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later In this photo provided by NASA, a view of the damaged Apollo 13 Service Module (SM) was photographed from the Lunar Module/Command Module following SM jettisoning, April 17, 1970. As seen here, an entire panel on the SM was blown away by the apparent explosion of oxygen tank number two located in Sector 4 of the SM. Two of the three fuel cells are visible just forward (above) the heavily damaged area. Three fuel cells, two oxygen tanks, and two hydrogen tanks are locate in Sector 4. The damaged area is located above the S-band high gain antenna. Nearest the camera is the Service Propulsion System (SPS) engine and nozzle. The damage to the SM caused the Apollo 13 crewmen to use the Lunar Module (LM) as a "lifeboat". The LM was jettisoned just prior to Earth reentry by the Command Module. (AP Photo/NASA)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later This April 17, 1970 photo made available by NASA shows the severely damaged Apollo 13 service module after separation from the lunar module/command module. An entire panel on the service module was blown away by the explosion of an oxygen tank. The damage forced the Apollo 13 crew members to use the lunar module as a "lifeboat." The lunar module was jettisoned just prior to Earth re-entry by the command module. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later This April 17, 1970 photo provided by NASA shows the Apollo 13 lunar module photographed from the command module just after the lunar module was jettisoned, about an hour before splashdown of the command module in the Pacific Ocean. The explosion of an oxygen tank in the service module forced the Apollo 13 crew members to rely on the lunar module as a "lifeboat." (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later In this April 17, 1970 photo made available by NASA, the command module carrying the Apollo 13 crew parachutes to a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later In this April 17, 1970 photo made available by NASA, astronaut Jim Lovell, inside the Apollo 13 lunar module, prepares it for jettison before returning to the command module for splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later This April 17, 1970 photo made available by NASA shows the severely damaged Apollo 13 service module after separation from the lunar module/command module. An entire panel on the service module was blown away by the explosion of an oxygen tank. The damage to the service module caused the Apollo 13 crew members to use the lunar module as a "lifeboat." The lunar module was jettisoned just prior to Earth re-entry by the command module (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later This April 1970 photo made available by NASA shows the Earth as the Apollo 13 crew traveled towards the moon. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later FILE - In this April 19, 1970 file photo, Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell carries his son, Jeff, 4, on his shoulders as he arrived at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston. (AP Photo)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later FILE - In this April 21, 1970 file photo, Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell uses a scale model during a televised news conference at the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston to explain how the crew managed to survive after the explosion that damaged the service module during their mission to the moon. At center is John Swigert, command module pilot, and at right is Fred Haise, lunar module pilot. (AP Photo)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later In this April 16, 1970 photo made available by NASA, flight controllers gather in Mission Control in Houston during the last 24 hours of Apollo 13 mission. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later FILE - In this April 21, 1970 file photo, Apollo 13 commander James A. Lovell Jr., left, opens the astronauts televised news conference at the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, by saying "I'm not a superstitious man" alluding to the number 13 and the trouble that befell the flight. With Lovell are his fellow crew members, command module pilot John Swigert, center, and lunar module pilot Fred Haise. With their moon-bound spacecraft wrecked by an oxygen tank explosion on April 13, 1970, the astronauts urgently radioed, "Houston, we've had a problem here." Screenwriters for the 1995 film "Apollo 13" wanted to punch that up. Thus was born "Houston, we have a problem." (AP Photo)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later In this April 15, 1970 photo made available by NASA, a group of flight controllers gather around the console of Glenn S. Lunney, foreground seated, Shift 4 flight director, in the Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) of Mission Control Center (MCC) in Houston. Their attention is drawn to a weather map of the proposed landing site in the Pacific Ocean. At this point, the Apollo 13 lunar landing mission had been canceled, and the problem-plagued Apollo 13 crew members were in trans-Earth trajectory attempting to bring their crippled spacecraft back home. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later FILE - In this Monday, June 17, 2019 file photo, Gene Kranz, aerospace engineer, fighter pilot, an Apollo-era flight director and later director of NASA flight operations, sits at the console where he worked during the Gemini and Apollo missions at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. Kranz says the makers of the 1995 "Apollo 13" film came up with the line "Failure is not an option." Ask Kranz what he actually told flight controllers, he says, "I have never lost an American in space, sure as hell aren't going to lose one now. This crew is coming home. You got to believe it. Your team must believe it. And we must make it happen." (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later (14 April 1970) ---In this April 14, 1970 photo made available by NASA, a group of six astronauts and two flight controllers monitor the console activity in the Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) of the Mission Control Center (MCC) during the problem-plagued Apollo 13 mission to the moon. Seated, left to right, are MOCR Guidance Officer Raymond F. Teague; astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell, Apollo 14 prime crew lunar module pilot; and astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., Apollo 14 prime crew commander. Standing, left to right, are scientist-astronaut Anthony W. England; astronaut Joe H. Engle, Apollo 14 backup crew lunar module pilot; astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, Apollo 14 backup crew commander; astronaut Ronald E. Evans, Apollo 14 backup crew command module pilot; and M.P. Frank, a flight controller. When this picture was made, the Apollo 13 moon landing had already been canceled, and the Apollo 13 crew men were in trans-Earth trajectory attempting to bring their damaged spacecraft back home. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later This April 1970 photo made available by NASA shows the Earth as the Apollo 13 mission heads towards the moon. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later FILE - In this April 14, 1970 file photo, people in Rome look at newspapers headlining the trouble that developed aboard the U.S.'s Apollo 13 mission which led to the cancellation of the attempt to land on the moon. (AP Photo)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later In this April 1970 photo made available by NASA, the Earth is seen though a window on the lunar module as the Apollo 13 crew heads towards home. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later FILE - In this April 17, 1970 file photo, crowds watch a television screen in New York's Grand Central Station waiting for the safe arrival of the Apollo 13 astronauts in the Pacific Ocean. (AP Photo/J. Spencer Jones) (J. Spencer Jones)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later In this April 11, 1970 photo made available by NASA, the Saturn V rocket carrying the crew of the Apollo 13 mission to the moon launches from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later In this April 17, 1970 photo made available by NASA, astronaut Jim Lovell, commander, is hoisted aboard a helicopter from the USS Iwo Jima, after splashdown of the Apollo 13 command module in the Pacific Ocean. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later In this April 10, 1970 photo made available by NASA, Apollo 13 astronauts, from left, Fred Haise, Jack Swigert and Jim Lovell gather for a photo on the day before launch. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later This April 1970 photo made available by NASA shows the moon through a window on the lunar module as the Apollo 13 crew heads back towards the Earth. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later This March 24, 1970 photo made available by NASA shows the Apollo 13 Saturn V rocket on Pad A, Launch Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a countdown demonstration test. The launch was scheduled for April 11, 1970. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later This April 1970 photo shows the surface of the moon as the Apollo 13 crew approached. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later FILE - In this May 1, 1970 file photo, confetti falls from the skyscrapers in Chicago's financial district as Apollo 13 astronauts John Swigert and Jim Lovell ride in a motorcade during a parade in their honor. (AP Photo)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later This April 1970 photo made available by NASA shows the interior of the Apollo 13 lunar module with the "mail box," an ad hoc device which the crew assembled while in space to remove carbon dioxide from the air. It was designed and tested on the ground in Houston. Because of the explosion of one of the oxygen tanks in the service module, the three men had to use the lunar module as a "lifeboat" on their way back to Earth. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later This April 1970 photo made available by NASA shows astronaut Jim Lovell during the Apollo 13 mission. (NASA via AP)

Photos: Remembering Apollo 13 50 years later In this April 1970 photo provided by NASA, Apollo 13 command module pilot John Swigert helps to hook up a lithium hydroxide canister in the lunar module, in an effort to get rid of carbon dioxide in the cabin as the spacecraft attempts to return to Earth. The explosion of an oxygen tank in the service module forced the three-man crew to rely on the lunar module as a "lifeboat." (NASA via AP)