Vance D. Brand

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vance D. Brand
Vance D. Brand
Country: United States
Organization: NASA
selected on April 4, 1966
( 5th NASA Group )
Calls: 4 space flights
Start of the
first space flight: 		15th July 1975
Landing of the
last space flight: 		December 11, 1990
Time in space: 31d 2h 3min
retired on April 1992
Space flights

Vance DeVoe Brand (born May 9, 1931 in Longmont , Colorado ) is a retired American astronaut .

Brand graduated from Longmont High School. He then studied at the University of Colorado and earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1953 and another bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering in 1960. In 1964 he received a Masters in Business Management from the University of California . From 1953 to 1957 Brand was a pilot in the US Marines . After his release from active duty, he served as a reserve officer for seven years and served in the Air National Guard .

Brand joined the aircraft manufacturer Lockheed in 1960 , where he initially worked as a test engineer for the P-3 Orion . After he received his license as a test pilot three years later, he went to California and tried out the further developments of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter . He also worked for some time as an F-104 test pilot in Istres in the south of France , before moving to NASA in 1966.

Astronaut activity

Brand was selected by NASA for the US space program in the spring of 1966 and was part of the fifth astronaut group, which was presented on April 4, 1966. After basic training, he was a member of the Apollo 8 and Apollo 13 support teams .

Apollo 18

On March 26, 1970, the Apollo 15 crew was announced. Since the replacement team usually formed the main team three flights later, Richard Gordon , Vance Brand and Jack Schmitt had legitimate hopes of being nominated for Apollo 18. On September 2, 1970, the cancellation took place, Apollo 18 , like Apollo 19 and Apollo 20, was canceled by NASA.

Reserve crew for Skylab

Commander Vance Brand, pilot Don L. Lind and science astronaut William B. Lenoir were available as crew for the replacement crew for Skylab 3 .

During the second Skylab mission, Skylab 3, problems occurred with two of the four control engine systems (quads) of the Apollo spacecraft. Although the spaceship was still fully controllable with two quads, there was a risk that the two defects would be connected and the other two quads would also fail, which would make a return to earth impossible. Under normal circumstances the mission would have been canceled. But because there was the possibility of a rescue flight, the problem could be analyzed in peace. At the same time, however, the preparations for the rescue flight were in full swing. Work on the launch pad, rocket and spacecraft ran around the clock from August 3, 1973. A start on September 9th would have been possible.

The crew for this rescue flight were Commander Brand and Pilot Lind, because they formed the backup team for Skylab 3 together with the science astronaut Lenoir. It turned out that the two problems on the control thrusters were independent and the other two quad systems were not affected. From August 13, 1973, the normal pace was resumed, so that a start would still be possible on September 25. From September 10, 1973, the spaceship was kept in a condition that would have allowed a launch within the next nine days. With the splashdown of Skylab 3 on September 25, the start date was set again on November 10, 1973. The problem was solved, the rescue crew was not used.

Apollo Soyuz Project

On July 15, 1975, Brand started the Apollo-Soyuz project for his first space flight as a pilot of the Apollo command module. The highlight of this mission was the historic meeting of the American astronauts with the Soviet cosmonauts in space.

STS-5

As commander of Columbia , he started the STS-5 mission on November 11, 1982 . This was the first flight with a crew of four. During the 5-day flight, two commercial communications satellites were launched into orbit from the space shuttle's payload bay for the first time .

STS-41-B

On February 3, 1984, Brand was in command of mission STS-41-B . The Manned Maneuvering Unit and the manipulator Foot Restraint were tested by the two mission specialists Bruce McCandless and Robert L. Stewart during two outboard activities.

STS-51-H

STS-51-H was an Atlantis mission that was canceled before the Challenger disaster. The Spacelab / EOM-1 mission was scheduled for November 1985. As a crew, he was scheduled as commander and pilot Michael Smith , the three mission specialists Robert L. Stewart, Owen K. Garriott , Claude Nicollier and the two payload specialists Byron K. Lichtenberg and Michael Lampton . This mission was canceled at the end of 1985 in a similar constellation planned as STS-61-K.

STS-61-K

Brand should have carried out his fourth space flight as commander of STS-61-K . This was a Columbia mission that was canceled because of the Challenger disaster . The Spacelab / EOM-1 mission was scheduled for October 1986. In addition to Brand, pilot David Griggs , the mission specialists Robert L. Stewart, Owen K. Garriott and Claude Nicollier as well as the three payload specialists Byron K. Lichtenberg, Michael Lampton and Robert E. Stevenson were scheduled.

STS-71-E

The Atlantis mission STS-71-E / SLS-1, which would have been planned for April 1987, was canceled due to the Challenger disaster. Brand's crew members would have included David Griggs, John M. Fabian , James P. Bagian , Rhea Seddon , Drew Gaffney and Robert Phillips .

STS-35

For his last space flight, Brand started as commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia on December 2, 1990 with the STS-35 mission . It was the first shuttle flight devoted exclusively to astronomy. At the time, Brand, aged 59, was the oldest astronaut in space. In 1996, this record was broken by the 61-year-old story Musgrave during the STS-80 mission .

After 26 years as an astronaut, Brand ended his space travel activity in April 1992 and coordinated the planning of the experimental spacecraft NASP for NASA at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio . When this program was discontinued, he went to the Californian Dryden Flight Research Center : From 1994 he headed flight operations and was promoted to Vice Director for Aerospace Projects in June 2001. Brand left NASA in January 2008.

See also

Web links

Commons : Vance D. Brand  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Brand, Vance D.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Brand, Vance DeVoe (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American astronaut
DATE OF BIRTH May 9, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Longmont , Colorado