John Mace Grunsfeld

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John Grunsfeld
John Grunsfeld
Country: United States
Organization: NASA
selected on March 31, 1992
( 14th NASA Group )
Calls: 5 space flights
Start of the
first space flight: 		March 2, 1995
Landing of the
last space flight: 		May 24, 2009
Time in space: 58d 15h 03min
EVA inserts: 8th
EVA total duration: 58 h 39 min
retired on January 2010
Space flights

John Mace Grunsfeld (born October 10, 1958 in Chicago , Illinois , USA ) is an American astronaut .

Start of career

Grunsfeld graduated from Highland Park High School in Illinois. He then studied physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and graduated in 1980 with a bachelor's degree . From the University of Chicago he received a Masters in 1984 and a PhD in Physics in 1988 .

NASA

In 1992 he was elected to NASA's 14th astronaut group and trained as a mission specialist for a year. He specializes in portable computers for work in space.

STS-67

On his first space mission, Grunsfeld flew into space on March 2, 1995 with the latest space shuttle Endeavor . It was the astro-observatory's second flight with three ultra-violet telescopes on board. The flight lasted over 16 days and ended with landing on March 18, 1995 at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

After this space flight, he became the head of a group of scientists who developed the control system and computers of the ISS .

STS-81

During his second space flight, Grunsfeld flew with the Atlantis to the Russian space station Mir from August 12-22, 1997 . It was the fifth flight of Atlantis to Mir and the second in which astronauts of the long-term crew were exchanged. The most important test was a fitness treadmill, which is now also in use on the ISS, whose vibrations are dampened so that the astronaut's movements are not transmitted to the space station. The landing was made directly in the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

After this flight he became head of the computer development department for the ISS and the space shuttles.

STS-103

The Mars flag

The third flight took him to the Hubble Space Telescope with the Discovery from December 20-28, 1999 . Special maintenance has been carried out here and the computer hardware has just been brought up to date. The landing was again directly in the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

After this flight, Grunsfeld became head of training for spacecraft operations . During the flight he carried a Mars flag with him, which was the first time in space.

STS-109

He made his fourth flight from March 1 to 12, 2002 with the Columbia again to the Hubble space telescope. This time, too, maintenance work was carried out, including the replacement of the control system and solar panels. Again they landed in Florida.

After this flight he was appointed chief scientist at NASA.

STS-125

This flight started on May 11, 2009 and was the 30th flight of the Atlantis , which in the meantime had even been planned as the last flight of this space shuttle. He guided Grunsfeld for the third time to the Hubble space telescope, which was last serviced. Grunsfeld was selected for this mission because he has the most experience with outboard activities related to the telescope.

On the telescope, all three rate sensor units, each with two gyroscopes (devices for regulating the position of the telescope) and the two batteries were replaced. In addition, a new sensor was installed to precisely align the telescope with celestial objects. A new camera and a new spectrometer were installed on improved research equipment.

Of the five space exits required for maintenance, he took over three. He was outside the shuttle for a total of 20 hours and 58 minutes.

Summary

No. mission function Flight date Flight duration
1 STS-67 Mission specialist March 2 - March 18, 1995 16d 15h 08min
2 STS-81 Mission specialist January 12 - January 22, 1997 10d 04h 55min
3 STS-103 Mission specialist December 20 - December 28, 1999 7d 23h 10min
4th STS-109 Mission specialist March 1 - March 12, 2002 10d 22h 09min
5 STS-125 Mission specialist May 11th - May 24th 2009 12d 21h 38min

After NASA and return

In early January 2010 NASA announced that Grunsfeld would leave NASA and move to the Space Telescope Science Institute as deputy director . There he prepared the institute's collaboration with NASA as part of the launch of the James Webb space telescope (as the successor to the Hubble telescope), which is planned for 2021 . He also held a research professorship at Johns Hopkins University in the fields of physics and astronomy.

In 2012 he was appointed Associate Administrator of the NASA Science Mission Directorate. This primarily representative post provided that he made NASA and its space programs known to the public and presented them to the US Congress . During his tenure, the Curiosity rover landed on Mars and the New Horizons spacecraft flew past Pluto in July 2015. In 2016, he retired.

Honors

Grunsfeld was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2015 .

Private

Grunsfeld is married and has two children. His hobbies are mountaineering, flying, sailing, cycling and music.

See also

Web links

Commons : John Mace Grunsfeld  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ " The First Salute: Martian Flag Flies in Space ", www.spaceref.com
  2. ↑ NASA astronaut John Grunsfeld, Instrumental to Hubble Telescope Repair, Will Help Oversee its Science Operations (English)
  3. ↑ HubbleSite: News - "Hubble Repairman" Becomes Research Professor at Johns Hopkins University. In: hubblesite.org. Retrieved February 28, 2019 .
  4. ^ John M. Grunsfeld | Former Associate Administrator. In: NASA. Retrieved February 28, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Karen Northon: John Grunsfeld Announces Retirement from NASA. April 5, 2016, accessed February 28, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Space Coast Daily: NASA Inducts Four Heroes Into US Astronaut Hall Of Fame. June 1, 2015, accessed June 3, 2015 .
personal data
SURNAME Grunsfeld, John Mace
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American astronaut
DATE OF BIRTH October 10, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago , Illinois