Spaceflight Now




STS-121 Commander
Steven W. Lindsey
Colonel, U.S. Air Force
NASA BIOGRAPHY
Posted: May 7, 2006


Credit: NASA
 
PERSONAL DATA: Born August 24, 1960, in Arcadia, California. Considers Temple City, California, to be his hometown. Married to the former Diane Renee Trujillo. They have three children. He enjoys reading, skiing, scuba diving, windsurfing, camping, mountain biking, and dirt biking. His parents, Arden and Lois Lindsey, reside in Arcadia, California. Her parents, Gene and Marcene Trujillo, reside in Glendale, Arizona.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Temple City High School, Temple City, California, in 1978; received a bachelor of science degree in engineering sciences from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1982, and a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1990.

ORGANIZATIONS: Member, Society of Experimental Test Pilots, USAF Academy Association of Graduates, Association of Space Explorers.

SPECIAL HONORS: Distinguished Graduate Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training (1983). Distinguished Graduate and recipient of the Liethen-Tittle Award as the outstanding test pilot of the USAF Test Pilot School Class 89A (1989). Awarded Distinguished Flying Cross, Defense Superior Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, 3 NASA Space Flight Medals, NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, NASA Exceptional Service Medal, Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal and Aerial Achievement Medal.

EXPERIENCE: Lindsey was commissioned a second lieutenant at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1982. In 1983, after receiving his pilot wings at Reese Air Force Base, Texas, he qualified in the RF-4C Phantom II and was assigned to the 12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas. From 1984 until 1987, he served as a combat-ready pilot, instructor pilot, and academic instructor. In 1987, he was selected to attend graduate school at the Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where he studied aeronautical engineering. In 1989, he attended the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. In 1990, Lindsey was assigned to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, where he conducted weapons and systems tests in F-16 and F-4 aircraft. While a member of the 3247th Test Squadron, Lindsey served as the deputy director, Advanced Tactical Air Reconnaissance System Joint Test Force and as the squadron's F-16 Flight Commander. In August of 1993 Lindsey was selected to attend Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Upon graduation in June of 1994 he was reassigned to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida as an Integrated Product Team leader in the USAF SEEK EAGLE Office where he was responsible for Air Force weapons certification for the F-16, F-111, A-10, and F-117 aircraft. In March of 1995 he was assigned to NASA as an astronaut candidate.

He has logged over 5000 hours of flying time in more than 50 different types of aircraft.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in March 1995, Lindsey became an astronaut in May 1996, qualified for flight assignment as a pilot. Initially assigned to flight software verification in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory, Lindsey also worked on the Multifunction Electronic Display System ( MEDS) program, a glass cockpit Space Shuttle upgrade program, as well as a number of other advanced upgrade projects. In between his first two flights he worked as the Shuttle Landing and Rollout representative responsible for training flight crews and testing orbiter landing techniques and flying qualities. After his second flight, Lindsey served as Deputy for Shuttle Operations and Co-Chairman of the Space Shuttle Cockpit Council, responsible for designing, testing, and implementing crew interfaces and displays for the $400 million Shuttle Cockpit Avionics Upgrade. More recently, he served as the Chief of International Space Station Operations for the astronaut office, responsible for integrating astronaut, civil service, and contractor activities in providing support to all aspects of the development, testing, crew training and operations of the International Space Station. A veteran of three space flights, Lindsey has logged over 896 hours in space. He flew as pilot on STS-87 in 1997 and STS-95 in 1998, and was mission commander on STS-104 in 2001. Lindsey is assigned to command the crew of STS-121, a return-to-flight test mission and assembly flight to the International Space Station.

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-87 (November 19 to December 5, 1997) was the fourth U.S Microgravity Payload flight and focused on experiments designed to study how the weightless environment of space affects various physical processes, and on observations of the Sun's outer atmospheric layers. Two members of the crew performed two EVAs (spacewalks) that featured the manual capture of a Spartan satellite, and tested EVA tools and procedures for future Space Station assembly. During one EVA, Lindsey piloted the first flight of the AERCam Sprint, a free-flying robotic camera. The mission was accomplished in 252 orbits of the Earth, traveling 6.5 million miles in 376 hours and 34 minutes.

STS-95 (October 29 to November 7, 1998) was a 9-day mission during which the crew supported a variety of research payloads including deployment and retrieval of the Spartan solar-observing spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, and investigations on space flight and the aging process. The mission was accomplished in 134 Earth orbits, traveling 3.6 million miles in 213 hours and 44 minutes.

STS-104 (July 12-24, 2001), designated assembly mission 7A, was the 10 th mission to the International Space Station (ISS). During the 13-day flight the crew conducted joint operations with the Expedition-2 crew and performed three spacewalks to install the ISS joint airlock Quest and to outfit it with four high-pressure gas tanks. In addition to installing and activating the joint airlock, the crew also performed the first spacewalk from Quest. The mission was accomplished in 200 Earth orbits, traveling 5.3 million miles in 306 hours and 35 minutes.

MISSION INDEX