Astronaut Thomas Kenneth Mattingly, who helped bring the crew of Apollo 13 back to earth after an explosion threatened their lunar mission, has died at 87.

<div class="block">Astronaut Thomas Kenneth Mattingly, who helped bring the crew of Apollo 13 back to earth after an explosion threatened their lunar mission, has died at 87.</div>

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Astronaut Thomas Kenneth Mattingly, Who Helped Apollo 13 Crew Return, Dies at 87

Astronaut Thomas Mattingly has died at age 87. Mattingly was a key commander during the Apollo 16 mission to the moon in 1972. He also helped bring the crew of the Apollo 13 back to earth after an explosion threatened their lunar mission. He was initially set to be on that mission but stayed behind after he was exposed to rubella just before the launch. NASA administrator, Bill Nelson called him quote, one of our country's heroes. He said, Mattingly quote provided key real time decisions to successfully bring home the wounded spacecraft and the crew of Apollo 13.