Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas Stafford, an iconic astronaut, has died at 93.

Stafford was instrumental in the US space program, performing the first crewed spacecraft rendezvous in 1966.

He commanded the landmark Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975, fostering US-Russia space cooperation.

Stafford was a key player in the Apollo lunar missions and contributed to stealth technology and Mars mission planning.

His death marks the loss of a pioneering force in aerospace and international space relations.