Robert C. Springer
| Robert Springer | |
|---|---|
|
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| Country: | United States |
| Organization: | NASA |
| selected on | May 19, 1980 ( 9th NASA Group ) |
| Calls: | 2 space flights |
| Start of the first space flight: |
March 13, 1989 |
| Landing of the last space flight: |
November 20, 1990 |
| Time in space: | 9d 21h 32min |
| retired on | December 1990 |
| Space flights | |
Robert Clyde "Bob" Springer (born May 21, 1942 in St. Louis , Missouri , USA ) is a former American astronaut .
Springer received a bachelor's degree in marine science from the United States Naval Academy in 1964 and a master's degree in operations research and systems analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1971 .
Springer joined the United States Marine Corps in 1964 . After completing his basic training, he completed pilot training. He was then sent to the Vietnam War , where he flew a total of 550 combat missions. In 1968 he returned to the USA and in 1972 attended the Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun). In 1975 he was trained as a test pilot. In 1978 he graduated from Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia, and was then transferred to Headquarters Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic.
Astronaut activity
After an unsuccessful application for the eighth astronaut group, Springer was selected by NASA in May 1980 as an astronaut candidate with the ninth group. He was a member of the Kennedy Space Center's support team for the STS-3 mission , developed studies for the Space Operations Center, worked on the shuttle robotic arm, and was CAPCOM on seven shuttle flights between 1984 and 1985 .
STS-51-H
In November 1985 Springer was to fly as Mission Specialist on the STS-51-H mission . The planned Atlantis mission was canceled even before the Challenger disaster . In addition to Springer, Commander Vance Brand, pilot Michael J. Smith, mission specialist Owen Garriott, and the two payload specialists Byron Lichtenberg and Michael Lampton were also scheduled for the EOM-1 shuttle mission.
STS-61-H
In February 1985 Springer was assigned to the Mission STS-61-H as a Mission Specialist . The Columbia mission planned for June 1986 was canceled after the Challenger disaster . A commercial communications satellite should have been suspended. The team would have consisted of Michael Coats, John Blaha, Anna Fisher, James Buchli, Robert Springer, the British payload specialist Nigel Wood and the Indonesian payload specialist Pratiwi Sudarmono.
STS-29
On March 13, 1989, Springer flew into space as a mission specialist on the space shuttle Discovery. In addition to carrying out a large number of experiments, the TDRS-4 communications satellite was deployed on this mission . The astronauts also took pictures with a handheld IMAX camera.
STS-38
Springer started on November 15, 1990 as a mission specialist on the space shuttle Atlantis on its second mission into space . A military spy satellite was deployed as a payload on behalf of the US Department of Defense .
According to NASA
In December 1990, Springer resigned from NASA and the US Marine Corps and moved to Boeing as Director of Quality Systems, Integrated Defense Systems .
Private
Robert Springer is married and has three children.
See also
Web links
- Short biography of Robert C. Springer at spacefacts.de
- NASA biography of Robert C. Springer (English; PDF)
- Biography of Robert C. Springer in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Springer, Robert C. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Springer, Robert Clyde; Springer, Bob (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American astronaut |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 21, 1942 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | St. Louis , Missouri, USA |