Charles J. Precourt

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Charles Precourt
Charles Precourt
Country: United States
Organization: NASA
selected on Jan 17, 1990
( 13th NASA Group )
Calls: 4 space flights
Start of the
first space flight: 		April 26, 1993
Landing of the
last space flight: 		June 12, 1998
Time in space: 38d 20h 16min
retired on March 11, 2005
Space flights

Charles Joseph Precourt (born June 29, 1955 in Waltham , Massachusetts , USA ) is a retired American astronaut .

Precourt received a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the United States Air Force Academy in 1977 and a master's degree in industrial engineering from Golden Gate University in 1988 . In 1990, he received a Masters in National Security and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval War College .

In 1978 Precourt made his pilot's license with the US Air Force. He then worked as a pilot instructor. From 1982 to 1984 he was stationed as an F-15 fighter pilot in Germany (Bitburg). In 1985 he completed his training as a test pilot and as such flew various types of aircraft until 1989. On March 31, 2000 Precourt retired from the Air Force.

Astronaut activity

In January 1990, Precourt was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate. He was employed in the development department of the astronauts office and he was the liaison officer ( CAPCOM ) for various space shuttle missions. From October 1995 to April 1996 he was Director of Operations for NASA at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Svyosdny Gorodok in Russia, responsible for the Shuttle Mir program . From May 1996 to September 1998, he was the technical assistant director at the Johnson Space Center . From October 1998 to November 2002 he was head of the astronauts office. Since November 2002, he has been the assistant manager for the ISS program at the Johnson Space Center.

STS-55

Precourt's first flight took him into space as a mission specialist on the Columbia space shuttle . The flight is known in Germany as the second German Spacelab mission "D-2". The ten-day flight had to be postponed several times due to various technical problems and could only begin on April 26, 1993. An IMAX camera was carried for the first time on the mission . On board were two German astronauts, Ulrich Walter and Hans Schlegel .

STS-71

On June 27, 1995 Precourt flew as a pilot of the Atlantis on the 100th mission of a manned spacecraft of the USA. The main tasks were the first coupling during the third flight within the Shuttle Mir program between the space shuttle Atlantis and the space station Mir . In addition, various medical experiments were carried out in the Spacelab module to research the effects of weightlessness on the vascular system, bones and lungs of humans.

STS-84

On May 15, 1997 Precourt flew again to the Mir space station as the commander of the Atlantis. It was the sixth coupling mission under the Shuttle-Mir program. After docking, several tons of equipment and experiments were brought into the Russian space station. In addition, a team change was made. Astronaut Jerry Linenger was relieved after four months and returned to Earth by shuttle. Michael Foale took his place . After nine days, the STS-84 mission ended on May 24th.

STS-91

On June 2, 1998 Precourt took off as commander of the space shuttle Discovery on its final flight into space . It was the ninth and final docking maneuver of a shuttle at the Russian Mir space station and marked the end of a successful collaboration. Take-off and landing took place at the Kennedy Space Center.

According to NASA

After leaving NASA in March 2005, Precourt went to ATK Thiokol.

Private

Charles Precourt is married with three children. In his spare time he flies a VariEze aircraft.

See also

Web links

Commons : Charles J. Precourt  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
personal data
SURNAME Precourt, Charles J.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Precourt, Charles Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American astronaut
DATE OF BIRTH June 29, 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Waltham (Massachusetts) , Massachusetts, USA