Robert L. Crippen
Robert L. Crippen piloted the first Space Shuttle flight in 1981 and commanded three other shuttle missions in the next 3 1/2 years. In the early 1990s he served as director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Crippen was born in Beaumont, Tex., and received a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas in 1960. After graduation he attended the Navy's Aviation Officer Program at Pensacola, FL, and received his wings at Chase Field in Texas. He later graduated from the Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and in 1966 he was named to the USAF Manned Orbiting Laboratory Program, which later was cancelled.
Crippen became a NASA astronaut in 1969. His first flight assignment was aboard Columbia as pilot of the maiden Space Shuttle mission, a 54 1/2-hour, 36-orbit engineering test. He and commander John Young evaluated shuttle hardware and software systems, thermal protection, attitude, maneuvering and guidance, and launch and landing operations of the first true reuseable manned spaceship. Crippen and Young also achieved the first winged reentry of a vehicle to a conventional runway landing.
On his second flight, June 18-24, 1983, Crippen commanded Challenger, with four additional crew members. They deployed communications satellites for Canada and Indonesia; used a 50-foot remotely-controlled "arm" to release and later retrieve a research satellite; flew in formation with that satellite, and conducted numerous medical and scientific experiments.
The five astronauts, including commander Crippen, wore T-shirts in space sporting the words, "Ace Satellite Repair Co.," for the 11th shuttle mission, which began April 6, 1984. Their job was to catch the disabled Solar Max sun-study satellite and conduct the first space repair mission. Crippen skillfully maneuvered Challenger for two days and pulled alongside Solar Max. A first attempt by two space walkers failed to retrieve the satellite. But the next day, with Crippen holding Challenger steady 30 feet away, one of the astronauts reached out with the 50-foot robot arm, snared Solar Max and berthed it in the cargo bay, enabling the space walkers to perform successful electronic surgery on the package before returning it to its own orbit.
Crippen's final space mission, aboard Challenger, began October 5, 1984, with the largest shuttle crew yet, seven. During eight days in orbit, the astronauts deployed the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite and conducted scientific observations of the earth with sensing devices and a Large Format Camera. With this trip, Crippen completed 565 hours of space flight.
Crippen, a retired Navy captain, later served as director, NSTS Operations, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, and as KSC director from 1992 to January 1995. He then served as president of Thiokol Aerospace Group in Utah and now resides in Florida. Crippen serves as Vice Chairman for the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.
Robert Crippen was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame on November 10, 2001.