S. David Griggs

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David Griggs
David Griggs
Country: United States
Organization: NASA
selected on January 16, 1978
( 8th NASA Group )
Calls: 1 space flight
Begin: April 12, 1985
Landing: April 19, 1985
Time in space: 6d 23h 55min
EVA inserts: 1
EVA total duration: 3h 6min
retired on June 17, 1989
Space flights

Stanley David Griggs (born September 7, 1939 in Portland , Oregon , † June 17, 1989 in Earle , Arkansas ) was an American astronaut .

education

David Griggs received a bachelor's degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1962 and a master's degree in administration from George Washington University in 1970 .

In 1962 he began his naval aviation training with the United States Navy . From 1964 to 1967 he was stationed in the Mediterranean Sea and off Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War on board the aircraft carriers USS Independence and USS Franklin D. Roosevelt . In 1967 he graduated from the US. Naval Test Pilot School and worked as a test pilot until 1970.

Astronaut activity

In 1970 Griggs moved from the Navy to NASA's Johnson Space Center as a research pilot. In 1974 he took over the role of project pilot for Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA). He was involved in the design, development and testing of this aircraft. In 1976, after the commissioning of the STA, he became head of the office for the STA and was thus responsible for the operation of this aircraft. In January 1978 he was selected by NASA as an astronaut aspirant. From 1979 to 1983 he was involved in the development of various systems of the space shuttle.

STS-41-F

STS-41-F was scheduled for August 1984 with the space shuttle Discovery . This would have been the Discovery's first flight had it not been canceled due to payload delays. The crew were Karol J. Bobko , Donald E. Williams , Rhea Seddon , David Griggs and Jeffrey A. Hoffman . The flight then became STS-51-E .

STS-51-E

This Challenger flight was canceled due to problems with the IUS upper level. A TDRS satellite should have been deployed. The crew were Karol Bobko, Donald Williams, Rhea Seddon, David Griggs, Jeffrey Hoffman, the French payload specialist Patrick Baudry and the politician Jake Garn .

STS-51-D

Griggs waves to the shuttle during its three hour EVA
Hoffman and Griggs during the space exit

On April 12, 1985, Griggs launched the Discovery as a mission specialist into space for the first time. The payload was the two satellites TELESAT-9 and LEASAT-3 . In the latter, however, the automatic commissioning of the antenna and the engine did not work. During a space exit, Griggs and his astronaut colleague Jeffrey Hoffman could not fix this defect.

STS-61-K

STS-61-K was a Columbia mission that was canceled because of the Challenger disaster . The EOM-1 shuttle mission was scheduled for October 1986. The crew included Vance D. Brand , David Griggs, Robert L. Stewart , Owen K. Garriott , Claude Nicollier and the three payload specialists Byron Lichtenberg , Michael Lampton and Robert E. Stevenson .

STS-71-E / SLS-1

The next scheduled flight was also canceled due to the Challenger disaster. The start of the Atlantis mission STS-71-E would have been planned for April 1987. In addition to Griggs, Vance Brand, John M. Fabian , James P. Bagian , Rhea Seddon, Drew Gaffney and Robert Phillips were planned as crew members for this SLS-1 mission .

STS-33

Griggs had been nominated as a pilot for the STS-33 Discovery mission . The mission began on November 22, 1989, about five months after his death.

death

Griggs was an avid private pilot . He was killed on June 17, 1989 when his historic WWII trainer plane crashed near Earle, Arkansas. He left behind his wife and two children.

See also

Web links

Commons : S. David Griggs  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
personal data
SURNAME Griggs, S. David
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Griggs, Stanley David
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American astronaut
DATE OF BIRTH September 7, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Portland , Oregon
DATE OF DEATH June 17, 1989
Place of death near Earle , Arkansas