NASA said on Monday night that James McDivitt, a former US astronaut who oversaw some of the agency’s first and most ambitious space missions, passed away peacefully last week at the age of 93.Having been chosen for NASA’s second astronaut class in 1962, McDivitt served as the agency’s commanding pilot for the Gemini 4 mission in 1965 and the Apollo 9 mission in 1969, which helped prepare the way for the first lunar landing.
The US Air Force test pilot and astronaut passed away “peacefully in his sleep in Tucson, Arizona, surrounded by his family and friends,” according to a statement from NASA.The Cold War-era space race between the US and the USSR was greatly aided by McDivitt’s two trips.
