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John W. Young
(24 Sep 1930 - 5 Jan 2018)
American astronaut whose 42 years working for NASA were the busiest of any NASA astronaut. He was the first person to fly into space six times. Young piloted four different classes of spacecraft: Gemini, Apollo Command and Service Module, Apollo Lunar Module and the Space Shuttle.
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Science Quotes by John W. Young (11 quotes)
~~[Misattributed]~~ The greatest enemy of progress is the illusion of knowledge.
— John W. Young
This quote is a variant of one often used by author Daniel Boorstin. Seen misattributed to John Young, for example, in article 'International Space Hall of Fame: John W. Young', New Mexico Museum of Space History, nmspacemuseum.org website. See the Daniel Boorstin Quotes page on this website.
Anyone who sits on top of the largest hydrogen-oxygen fueled system in the world; knowing they’re going to light the bottom, and doesn’t get a little worried, does not fully understand the situation.
— John W. Young
Response to question whether he was worried about embarking on the first space shuttle flight. As quoted on the nmspacemuseum.org website of the New Mexico Museum of Space History.
If you want to see an endangered species, get up and look in the mirror.
— John W. Young
As quoted on the nmspacemuseum.org website of the New Mexico Museum of Space History.
My grandpa taught me how to read. I read the encyclopedia when I was five.
— John W. Young
As quoted in 'NASA Mourns the Passing of Astronaut John Young' (6 Jan 2018) on nasa.gov website.
My heart rate wasn’t as high as his [Robert Crippen], because I’m so dang old and it just wouldn’t go any faster.
— John W. Young
As quoted on the nmspacemuseum.org website of the New Mexico Museum of Space History.
One-sixth gravity on the surface of the moon is just delightful. It’s not like being in zero gravity, you know. You can drop a pencil in zero gravity and look for it for three days. In one-sixth gravity, you just look down and there it is.
— John W. Young
In Houston Chronicle (2004) as cited in Will Dunham, 'John Young, “most experienced” U.S. astronaut, dies at 87', on Reuters website (6 Jan 2018).
Our ability to live and work on other places in the solar system will end up giving us the science and technology that we need to save the species. I’m talking about human beings. I’d hate to miss all that fun.
— John W. Young
Told to Associated Press. As reported in Richard Goldstein, 'John Young, Who Led First Space Shuttle Mission, Dies at 87', New York Times (6 Jan 2018).
The moon is a very nice place. When we landed, we were 20 minutes behind. Because time on the Moon was so precious, what I remember most is trying to catch up.
— John W. Young
As quoted in 'NASA Mourns the Passing of Astronaut John Young' (6 Jan 2018) on nasa.gov website.
There’s always something to do in the space program. It’s so varied. You don’t do the same thing twice in any given moment of any day.
— John W. Young
As quoted in 'John W. Young', New York Times (13 Apr 1981), A10.
There’s no question in my mind that the capability of [the space shuttle] to put 65,000 pounds in low earth orbit—to put payloads up there cheaper than we’ve been able to do it before, not having to throw away the booster—will absolutely revolutionize the way we do business here on earth in ways that we just can’t imagine. It will help develop science and technology. With the space shuttle—when we get it operational—we’ll be able to do in 5 or 10 years what it would take us 20 to 30 years to do otherwise in science and technology development.
— John W. Young
Interview for U.S. News & World Report (13 Apr 1981), 56.
When the president said, “We’re going to send a man to the moon and return him safely,” the safe part sounded pretty good. But they were using hydrogen, and the only thing I knew about hydrogen was that they used it with the Hindenburg, and that didn’t work out too good.
— John W. Young
Interview (30 Sep 2004) with Morley Safer at luncheon after official reopening of Rocket Park. As quoted in Corey Kilgannon, 'The Rocket Park Reopens, And Cronkite Reminisces', New York Times (1 Oct 2004), B6.
See also:
- 24 Sep - short biography, births, deaths and events on date of Young's birth.
In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion.
(1987) -- 
