An astronaut who orbited the moon and helped rescue the crew of the Apollo 13 mission has died at the age of 87.
Thomas Ken Mattingly, who was known as TK, died on Tuesday, said NASA, which said the US had “lost one of our country’s heroes”.
Mattingly was due to fly on the Apollo 13 mission but was removed days before the launch in April 1970 due to exposure to German measles.
The spaceflight suffered an oxygen tank explosion as it approached the moon – prompting the famous line “Houston, we’ve had a problem”, often misquoted as “Houston, we have a problem”.
Teams back on Earth worked frantically to get the crew back home, with Mattingly playing a key role in the rescue by helping the crew conserve power during re-entry into the atmosphere.
“He stayed behind and provided key real-time decisions to successfully bring home the wounded spacecraft and the crew of Apollo 13”, a NASA statement said.
Mattingly was played by Gary Sinise in the 1995 double Oscar-winning movie Apollo 13.
Mattingly orbited the moon on Apollo 16 in April 1972.
He described his experience in orbit by saying: “I had this very palpable fear that if I saw too much, I couldn’t remember. It was just so impressive,” according to NASA.
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Mattingly was part of NASA Astronaut Group 5 – a class of 19 astronauts chosen by the space agency in 1966 as the US sharpened its ambition to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s.
Before taking to space, Mattingly was a member of the support crews for Apollo 8, the first to go to the moon, and Apollo 11, the first lunar landing.
He remained with the space agency after Apollo in the Space Shuttle development programme where he commanded the STS-4 and STS-51C missions.
NASA said: “His unparalleled skill as a pilot aided us when he took on the role of command module pilot for Apollo 16 and spacecraft commander for space shuttle missions STS-4 and STS 51-C.
“The commitment to innovation and resilience toward opposition made TK an excellent figure to embody our mission and our nation’s admiration.”
Mattingly left NASA in 1985 and received a number of awards, including the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.
NASA added: “TK’s contributions have allowed for advancements in our learning beyond that of space.
“He viewed the universe’s vastness as an unending forum of possibilities. As a leader in exploratory missions, TK will be remembered for braving the unknown for the sake of our country’s future.”
The style choices of politicians have long been scrutinised by voters and the media.
Women have historically been subject to more inspection for their looks than men.
But all politicians are communicating through their style, according to two experts.
“We receive most of our information, many of us, through screens and through the visuals,” says Hazel Clark, professor of design and fashion at the Parsons School of Design in New York.
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has been leaning into trouser suits.
“The well-fitted suit, the more masculine suit, is telling voters that she is not a politician’s wife, she is not the president’s wife, she is the president,” says Deirdre Clemente, professor of history at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.
She wore a dark suit to make her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.
The look “gives that sense of the legal profession, judges and authority. I think it was just saying ‘I’m here to be taken seriously, I can be your leader’,” says Ms Clark.
Many of the audience were wearing white, thought to be a reference to the suffragettes, who fought for women to have vote.
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“I think there’s a lot of weight in the choice of white in the audience of the DNC that night and her choice of a black suit was a power move,” Ms Clemente said.
Donald Trump has had a consistent style for many years – he’s known for his dark blue suit and silky red tie.
“He seems to have been wearing the same red tie since the 1970s. It seems to have gotten longer,” said Ms Clemente.
“It is his way of projecting power, confidence and stability.”
And his vice presidential pick JD Vance seems to have adapted his style to match.
“It’s putting on a uniform to say we are all one, we are all following this person. I think sameness, perhaps, with the party as well,” said Ms Clark.
“With Trump it’s almost become like a costume now.”
Harris often wears a pearl necklace, a reference to her college sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, which was founded by black women at Howard University.
“Her wearing of the necklace is absolutely a shout-out to all the women who have supported her and that sorority is central to that,” said Ms Clemente.
The vice president is also known for her love of Converse shoes.
The trainers, which are associated with American basketball culture, “are a powerful cultural tool because what she’s saying is these shoes are just like the ones you have in your closet”.
Mr Trump and his supporters often wear the instantly recognisable red Make America Great Again baseball cap.
“The MAGA hat has an incredible amount of power, especially here in battleground states,” said Ms Clemente. “You see MAGA hats all around.”
Baseball caps are “ubiquitous in being used to signify something, it’s like having a slogan on your t-shirt”, says Ms Clark.
One accessory all US politicians are rarely seen without is an American flag pin badge on their lapel, which can be used to show patriotism.
It may also project a message that “we are all fighting for the same team” despite political differences, said Ms Clemente.
With seven weeks to go until the US goes to the polls, Sky’s dedicated team of correspondents goes on the road to gauge what citizens in key swing states make of the choice for president.
This week they focus on the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
Mark Stone travels to Florida where the foiled attack took place, while James Matthews has been finding out more about the suspected would-be assassin in his hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina.
Plus, Martha Kelner attended a Trump town hall in Flint, Michigan, to hear him speak for the first time after the attempt on his life, and asked voters if it will impact the way they vote in November.
A previous Titan submersible dive to the Titanic was aborted due to an apparent mechanical failure, one of the mission’s passengers has said.
Fred Hagen had paid a fee to go on a dive in the Titan in 2021, two years before it imploded and killed all five passengers onboard.
He told a US Coast Guard panel investigating the tragedy on Friday that his trip was aborted underwater when the Titan began malfunctioning and it was clear they weren’t going to reach the Titanic wreck site.
“We realised that all it could do was spin around in circles, making right turns,” Mr Hagen said. “At this juncture, we obviously weren’t going to be able to navigate to the Titanic.”
He said the Titan resurfaced and the mission was scrapped.
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