Richard H. Truly
Richard H. Truly piloted Space Shuttle Columbia in 1981 on its second flight, the first manned spacecraft to be reflown in space, and, in 1983, he commanded Challenger on the first night launch and landing in the shuttle program. He supervised the rebuilding of the shuttle program after Challenger exploded in 1986, and became NASA's eighth administrator in 1989.
Truly was born in Fayette, Miss., in 1937, and received a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1959. He attended Georgia Tech as a Naval ROTC midshipman and on graduation he was commissioned an ensign. He earned his flight wings a year later and served as a carrier pilot until 1963, when he was assigned to the Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. He was named in 1965 to the USAF Manned Orbiting Laboratory Program, which later was cancelled.
Truly was named a NASA astronaut in 1969. He was for one of the two-man crews that flew the Space Shuttle Enterprise on shuttle approach and landing tests in 1977 in which the Enterprise was deployed from the back of a Boeing 747 jet and glided to landings on the dry lake bed at Edwards AFB. His first flight assignment was pilot of Space Shuttle Columbia on its second launch in November 1981. He and commander Joe Engle were at the controls when Columbia became the first spaceship to return to orbit. Their job was to test orbiter systems for five days, but two hours after liftoff, alarm bells sounded, indicating one of Columbia's three power-producing fuel cells had failed, robbing the ship of one-third of its electrical power. Mission rules dictated that the astronauts then fly a minimum mission, packing their major assignments into a 54-hour flight. They completed their main tasks before landing successfully at Edwards AFB.
Truly returned to space August 30, 1983, as commander of the eighth shuttle mission. Viewers were treated to an awesome sight as Challenger lifted off at 2:32 a.m in the first shuttle after-dark launch. "It was like the inside of a fireball!" one of the crew members remarked. During six days in orbit, the five-man crew deployed an Indian communications satellite, thoroughly tested the 50-foot robot arm by moving an 8,500- pound package around the cargo bay and conducted science and medical tests. At flight's end, Truly skillfully guided Challenger to a perfect nighttime landing in the glare of xenon lights that illuminated the Edwards runway.
Following this flight, Truly left NASA to become the first commander of the Naval Space Command, Dahlgren, Va. After the explosion of the shuttle Challenger in 1986, Truly returned to NASA as associate administrator for space flight, overseeing the rebuilding of the shuttle program, which culminated September 29, 1988, with the successful "return to flight" launch of Discovery.
On June 30, 1989, Truly concluded his 30-year Navy career, retiring as a vice admiral. The next day he was named to head NASA as its eighth administrator, a position he held more than two years.
Richard Truly was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame on November 10, 2001.