George Driver Nelson
| George Nelson | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Country: | United States |
| Organization: | NASA |
| selected on | January 16, 1978 ( 8th NASA Group ) |
| Calls: | 3 space flights |
| Start of the first space flight: |
April 6, 1984 |
| Landing of the last space flight: |
3rd October 1988 |
| Time in space: | 17d 2h 43min |
| EVA inserts: | 2 |
| EVA total duration: | 9h 22min |
| retired on | June 30, 1989 |
| Space flights | |
George Driver "Pinky" Nelson (born July 13, 1950 in Charles City , Iowa ) is a former American astronaut .
Nelson received a bachelor's degree in physics from Harvey Mudd College in 1972 and a master's degree in 1974 and a doctorate in astronomy in 1978 , both from the University of Washington .
Nelson conducted astronomical research at the solar observatory on Sacramento Peak, at the Astronomical Institute in Utrecht , at the Observatory of the University of Göttingen and at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics in Boulder (Colorado) .
Astronaut activity
Nelson was selected by NASA as a candidate astronaut in January 1978. He was a scientist on earth observation aircraft and worked in the space suit development department of the astronauts offices. On the first space shuttle flight STS-1 , he was a photographer in the observation aircraft. He was a member of the support teams and liaison officer ( CAPCOM ) for missions STS-3 and STS-4 .
STS-41-C
On April 6, 1984 Nelson started as a mission specialist on the space shuttle Challenger for his first flight into space . The defective solar observation satellite SolarMax was caught and repaired by Nelson and his astronaut colleague James van Hoften during two space exits . In addition, the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) with 57 experiments was suspended, which was later recaptured with STS-32 and brought back to Earth. After seven days, Nelson landed at Edwards Air Force Base .
STS-61-C
Nelson took off on January 12, 1986 on the Columbia space shuttle for the STS-61-C mission . The main objective of the mission was to put the SATCOM KU-1 communications satellite into orbit. In addition, numerous smaller astrophysical and material science experiments were carried out.
STS-26
On September 29, 1988 Nelson took off again into space on the space shuttle Discovery . After an interruption of over two and a half years caused by the Challenger disaster , the shuttle program was resumed with this mission. In addition to conducting a large number of experiments of all kinds, the mission exposed the TDRS-3 communications satellite . The landing was on schedule at Edwards AFB , California .
According to NASA
Nelson left NASA in 1989 and became a professor at Western Washington University in Bellingham .
Private
George Nelson is married with two children. In 1987 he founded the astronaut band Max Q together with Robert Gibson and Brewster H. Shaw .
See also
Web links
- Short biography of George Driver Nelson at spacefacts.de
- NASA biography of George Driver Nelson (PDF)
- Biography of George Driver Nelson in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Nelson, George Driver |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Nelson, Pinky (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American astronaut |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 13, 1950 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Charles City , Iowa |