
"Remembering Richard Truly: Astronaut and NASA Leader"
Richard Truly, a former naval aviator and astronaut who flew on two early space shuttle missions and later led NASA's return to space after the Challenger disaster, passed away at the age of 86 due to atypical Parkinson's disease. He joined NASA in 1969 and piloted the shuttle program's second orbital flight, proving NASA's ability to safely relaunch the Columbia shuttle. Truly also commanded the Challenger during its third flight in 1983 and later became the first commander of the Naval Space Command.


