Ronald John Grabe ( born Ronald John Grabe ; born 1945 ) is a NASA astronaut . He flew four space flights on space shuttles : STS-51J (1985, Atlantis ), STS-30 (1989, Atlantis ), STS-42 (1992, Discovery ), STS-57 (1993, Endeavor ) , Colonel of the USAF .
| Ronald john grabe | |
|---|---|
| Ronald john grabe | |
 | |
| A country |  USA |
| Specialty | test pilot |
| Military rank | Colonel USAF |
| Expeditions | STS-51J , STS-30 , STS-42 , STS-57 |
| Time in space | 26 days 03 h 38 min |
| Date of Birth | June 13, 1945 (74 years) |
| Place of Birth | New York , New York , USA |
| Awards | |
Content
Personal Information and Education
Born on June 13, 1945 in New York , New York , Grabe graduated from high school there. In 1962, he received a bachelor of science degree from the US Air Force Academy and in 1966 a bachelor's degree in engineering science. In 1967, he studied aeronautics on the Fulbright Program at the Institute of Technology in Darmstadt , West Germany . Greib has two daughters from his first marriage. Wife (second) - Lynn O'Keefe (she is from Ottawa , Canada ), they have a son. He is fond of: skiing, windsurfing and games with a ball and a racket [1] .
Until NASA
After graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1966, Grabe went to Darmstadt, West Germany , as a Fulbright Fellow . In 1967, he returned to the United States to complete training as a pilot at Rendolf Air Force Base, Texas . Subsequently, he flew an F-100 aircraft as part of the 27th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Cannon Air Base, New Mexico . In 1969, as a pilot of an F-100 aircraft in the 3rd Tactical Fighter Squadron at Bien Hoa Air Base in the Republic of Vietnam , where he made 200 combat sorties. In 1970 he was returned to the 27th Squadron for testing the purchased F-100 and F-111 aircraft. He participated in the operational testing and evaluation of the weapons systems of F-111D aircraft. In 1974, Grabe was sent to the Test Pilot School, and after graduation in 1975, he was assigned as a test pilot to the Air Force Flight Test Center for testing A-7 and F-111 planes. He was the chief test pilot program for creating a digital flight control system and combat operations. Later, from 1976 to 1979, he served in the Royal Air Force in the UK as part of the Pilot Exchange Program. During all this time, he mainly tested Harrier aircraft for the Royal Air Force and Sea Harrier for the Royal Navy. He served as an instructor at the US Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California when he was told that he was invited to join NASA . He has more than 5,500 flight hours. Military ranks: Major Air Force (1980), Air Force Colonel (1994, retired from April 11, 1994) [2] .
Preparing for space flight
In May 1980, Grabe was enlisted in the NASA astronaut squad as part of the ninth set. He started the course of general space training (OKP) since July 1980. After graduating in August 1981, he was qualified as a pilot and assigned to the NASA Astronaut Division. He was the chief test pilot for modeling the STS-3 and STS-4 guidance, navigation and control. He was deputy head of the payload installation programs department in the cargo compartments of shuttles, then he was the head of the training process in the Astronaut Division.
Spaceflight
- The first flight - STS-51J [3] , shuttle Atlantis . C 3 to October 7, 1985 as a pilot. This is the second launch of the shuttle in the interests of the US Department of Defense ; two military communications satellites USA-11 and USA-12 (of the DSCS-III type) were launched into orbit. The flight duration was 4 days 1 hour 46 minutes [4] .
- The second flight - STS-30 [5] , shuttle " Atlantis ". From 4 to 8 May 1989 as a pilot. The crew successfully launched an automatic interplanetary station (AMS) "Magellan" into orbit. It was the first US satellite to study another planet since 1978 and the first planetary probe launched from the shuttle . The flight duration was 4 days 00 hours 58 minutes [6] .
- The third flight - STS-42 [7] , shuttle Discovery . From 22 to 30 January 1992 as commander of the ship. The shuttle crew conducted more than 40 scientific experiments in materials science , medicine and biology , as well as two military applied experiments for the US Department of Defense . The main task of these two experiments is to study the effects of low gravity on living organisms, to estimate the probability of genetic changes in long-term manned interplanetary flights. The flight duration was 8 days 1 hour 16 minutes [8] .
- The fourth flight - STS-57 [9] , shuttle " Endeavor ". From June 21 to July 1, 1993 as a ship commander. Continuing biomedical research and astronomical observations. The flight duration was 9 days 23 hours 46 minutes [10] .
The total duration of flights into space is 26 days 3 hours 45 minutes.
After the flight
On April 11, 1994, Grabe left NASA and the Air Force and transferred to Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Virginia .
Awards and prizes
Awarded: Medal for "Air Operations" , Medal "For Space Flight" (1985, 1989, 1992 and 1993) and many others.
See also
- List of astronauts and astronauts (and candidates) .
- List of US astronauts - participants in orbital space flight .
- Chronology of manned space flight .