Alan Goodwin Poindexter
Alan Poindexter | |
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Country: | United States |
Organization: | NASA |
selected on | June 4, 1998 ( 17th NASA Group ) |
Calls: | 2 space flights |
Start of the first space flight: |
February 7, 2008 |
Landing of the last space flight: |
April 20, 2010 |
Time in space: | 27d 21h 09min |
retired on | December 10, 2010 |
Space flights | |
Alan Goodwin Poindexter (born November 5, 1961 in Pasadena , California , † July 1, 2012 in Pensacola , Florida ) was an American astronaut .
Life
education
Poindexter acquired in 1986 a Bachelor in aerospace engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and in 1995 a master as an aviation technician from the Naval Postgraduate School in California.
After receiving his bachelor's degree, Poindexter entered the US Navy and trained as a pilot in Florida. This was followed by training on F-14 Tomcat fighter jets . With the Fighter Squadron 211 he was sent twice to the Persian Gulf and flew missions during the Second Gulf War . He was then trained as a test pilot and worked on a digital control system for the F-14 at Patuxent River base in Maryland.
Astronaut activity
In June 1998, Poindexter was selected by NASA as a candidate for astronauts. After completing two years of basic training, he was head of the astronaut support team at the Kennedy Space Center .
STS-122
From summer 2006 Poindexter trained for his first space flight as a pilot of the shuttle mission STS-122 , which was carried out in February 2008. The main payload was the European Columbus space laboratory , which was docked with the International Space Station .
STS-131
On December 5, 2008 Poindexter was named as the commander for the STS-131 mission . It took off on April 5, 2010 and landed on April 20, 2010.
Completion of the astronaut career
On December 10, 2010, Poindexter left the NASA Astronaut Corps to serve as an instructor at his previous school, the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
Private
Poindexter, who was married with two children, was one of five sons of former US President Ronald Reagan's security advisor , USN Admiral John Poindexter . Alan Poindexter died on July 1, 2012 in a jet ski accident in Pensacola.
Awards
Selection of decorations, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of Military Awards :
- Legion of Merit
- Distinguished Flying Cross
- Defense Meritorious Service Medal
- Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medal
- Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal
- National Defense Service Medal
- Southwest Asia Service Medal
See also
Web links
- Short biography of Alan Goodwin Poindexter at spacefacts.de
- NASA biography of Alan Goodwin Poindexter (English; PDF)
- Biography of Alan G. Poindexter in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Retired Astronaut Dies In Pensacola Beach Jet Ski Accident
- ↑ NASA Assigns Astronaut Crews for Future Space Shuttle Missions. NASA, December 5, 2008, accessed December 7, 2008 .
- ^ STS-131 Mission Information. NASA, April 20, 2010, accessed April 2, 2010 .
- ↑ Astronaut Alan Poindexter Leaves NASA. NASA, December 13, 2010, accessed December 13, 2010 .
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Poindexter, Alan Goodwin |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American astronaut |
DATE OF BIRTH | 5th November 1961 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Pasadena , California |
DATE OF DEATH | July 1, 2012 |
Place of death | Pensacola , Florida |