Former astronaut and Oklahoma native Gen. Tom Stafford has been named the 2011 recipient of the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy by the National Aeronautics Association in Washington, D.C.
“The Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy has been bestowed upon some of the most historic aviation leaders in the world, and General Stafford can be certainly included in that list,” said NAA President and CEO Jonathan Gaffney, who chaired the selection committee. “We are honored to be able to present the great trophy to him.”
Stafford will be presented with the award during the Wright Memorial Dinner on Dec. 16 at the Washington Hilton Hotel.
Established in 1948 to honor the memory of Orville and Wilbur Wright, the Wright Trophy is awarded annually to a living American for “significant public service of enduring value to aviation in the United States.”
“I couldn’t be more pleased for General Stafford,” said Victor Bird, director of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission, who was one of three aviation officials to nominate Stafford for the Wright Trophy.
“General Stafford is a true aviation pioneer in every sense of the word and definitely deserves this award. His contributions in aviation and space are unmatched,” Bird said.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin also praised Stafford for his pioneering achievements and service to his country.
“I join all Oklahomans in congratulating General Stafford on receiving this prestigious award,” Fallin said. “Our nation owes him a great deal of gratitude for the truly remarkable and far-reaching contributions he has made in aviation.”
Bird said Stafford has been very supportive of various aviation-related issues with which the Aeronautics Commission have been involved, most notably the Aerospace Industry Engineer Workforce Bill in 2008. The measure provides certain tax credits to new engineers in the aerospace industry and to the companies that hire them.
“Late in the legislative session, it appeared that support for the tax credits was waning somewhat; however, General Stafford come to the state Capitol and met with key lawmakers about the importance of the tax credits to Oklahoma’s aerospace industry,” Bird recalled. “It was really amazing seeing all of these legislators pouring out of their offices just to meet him when word got out that he was in the building.”
Bird said he was humbled by Stafford’s willingness to help “seal the deal” with respect to the engineer tax credits measure, and for his unwavering support for other Aeronautics Commission projects and initiatives such as the Aircraft Pilot and Passenger Protection Act. That measure was signed into law in 2010 and protects airports from encroaching development and aircraft from tall structures.
“The general has been one of our most ardent supporters, and we are grateful for his friendship, his candor, his honesty and his wisdom,” Bird said.
U.S. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) agreed with Bird that Stafford’s selection as the 2011 Wright Trophy recipient was well deserved.
“Tom Stafford has been my hero even before his trips to space. I have been truly blessed to be a close friend of his ever since,” Inhofe said, adding that he and Stafford share a love for aviation.
Inhofe said one of the best kept secrets in Oklahoma is the Stafford Air and Space Museum in Weatherford, birthplace and childhood home of Gen. Stafford.
“When I fly my plane around the state, a frequent stop is in Weatherford where, on many occasions, my brother Tom will walk through the museum with me,” Inhofe said.
Stafford, 81, first fell in love with aviation as small boy growing up in Weatherford. He served many years in the U.S. Air Force flying various types of aircraft; however, it was his time spent at NASA with the Gemini and Apollo missions as well as the Apollo-Soyuz Project that made him a household name.
In December 1965, Stafford took his first space flight when he piloted Gemini VI for the first historic rendezvous in space with Gemini VII. He later would command another Gemini mission that led to Stafford developing the rendezvous techniques essential to every one of the Apollo missions.
Nearly four years later as commander of Apollo 10, Stafford and crewmembers Gene Cernan, a previous Wright Trophy recipient, and John Young helped pave the way for Apollo 11’s historical moon landing two months later. Stafford and crew performed vital photo and radar mapping of the lunar surface that was used by the Apollo 11 crew. Apollo 10 was also the first flight of the lunar module in moon orbit and the first rendezvous between the command module and lunar module while orbiting the moon.
Following his mission to the moon, Stafford headed up the NASA Astronaut Corps where he was responsible for selecting and training crews for the remaining Apollo and Skylab missions.
But perhaps his most memorable mission was in July 1975 when his Apollo spacecraft docked with the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, a culmination of a partnership forged between the U.S. and Soviet Union just a few years earlier. The ensuing handshake between Stafford and Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov will forever be remembered as a major milestone in the evolving relationship between the two nations.
In November 1979, Stafford retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant general but not before making another contribution in aviation. His familiarity with stealth technology played a key role in the development of the B-2 stealth bomber. In fact, the story goes that Stafford sketched out specifications on a piece of hotel stationary that eventually led to the development of the B-2.
Stafford continues to make a lasting impact in aviation and aerospace today, serving on various boards, committees and task forces, and appearing before Congress as an advocate for the aerospace industry.
The mission of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission is to promote aviation, which includes ensuring that the needs of commerce and communities across the state are met by the state’s 113 public airports that comprise the Oklahoma Airport System, and fostering the growth of the state’s aerospace industry.
