Kerbim, Robert Lee

Robert Kerbim was born March 5, 1962 in Baltimore , Maryland , where he graduated from high school in 1980. In 1984, he received a bachelor 's degree in aerospace engineering from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis , Maryland . In 1990, at the Maritime School, he received a master 's degree in science in the field of aeronautical engineering, and in 1991 - a master's degree in aviation and astronautics.

Married to Julie Down Lane, they have two children. His hobbies are weightlifting, cycling, and family activities. ^[1] .

After graduating from the United States Naval Academy, in 1984 Kerbim was sent to the Naval Aviation School. In 1986, he was assigned to the squadron, which was based on the Forrestol aircraft carrier , and went on campaigns in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas , as well as in the Arctic and Indian Oceans . After completing the practice, in December 1991, he began to fly fighter jets, tested various types of air-to-ground weapons for F-14 Tomcat aircraft . In August 1994, he returned to the United States, to the Naval Academy as an instructor in weapons and aircraft engineering systems. ^[2] .

In December 1994, he was enrolled in the NASA squad as part of the fifteenth set , a candidate for astronauts . Since June 1995, he began to study at the course of General Space Training (OKP). At the end of the course, in May 1996, he received the qualification of “flight specialist” and was appointed to the NASA Astronaut Office . He was engaged in debugging computer software, since 2001 he became a communications operator with crews.

• The first flight - STS-85 ^[3] , the Shuttle Discovery . From August 7 to August 19, 1997 as a “flight specialist”. The flight program included: launching the satellite into orbit and returning the Earth for CRISTA-SPAS studies of the Earth ’s atmosphere , developing a prototype of the manipulator for the Japanese ISS module and other experiments ^[4] . The flight duration was 11 days 20 hours 28 minutes ^[5] .

• The second flight is STS-98 ^[6] , the Atlantis shuttle . From February 7 to February 20, 2001 as a “flight specialist”. The main objective was the delivery to the International Space Station (ISS) of the Destiny laboratory module ^[7] . During the flight, he performed three spacewalks: February 10, 2001 - lasting 7 hours 34 minutes, ensuring the transfer and docking of the Laboratory module , docking of the SES and STR connectors. February 12 - 6 hours 50 minutes, transfer and docking of the sealed docking adapter PMA-2 (PMA-2 was docked to the front port of the new module, and Destiny took its place on the front port of Unity . February 14 - 5 hours 25 minutes, installation of the SASA antenna assembly, development of an astronaut evacuation, the flight duration was 12 days 21 hours 21 minutes ^[8] .

• The third flight - STS-116 ^[9] , the Shuttle Discovery . From December 10 to 22, 2006 as a “flight specialist”. The purpose of the flight: delivery and installation of the truss segment of the ISS P5, partial replacement of the long-term crew of the ISS, cargo delivery to the ISS in the space head transport module. The three main components of the shuttle's payload were: the P5 truss segment, the single Spacehab module, and the panel on which the experimental equipment was installed. The P5 segment will serve as an intermediate link between the solar panels, which will provide reconfiguration of the distribution of electricity and cooling systems. In addition, the shuttle delivered three pico-satellites into orbit, which were launched after the shuttle was undocked from the ISS. These three companions are the size of a cup of coffee. The successful installation of the P5 segment is the key to configuring the ISS power supply system. The power supply system consists of energy generators, energy storage and storage, control and distribution of electricity. During the flight, he performed four spacewalks: December 12, 2006 - lasting 6 hours 36 minutes. The main objective of the exit was to install the P5 truss segment. Installation of the P5 segment was carried out using the robot manipulator of the station, which was controlled by Joan Higginbotham. The astronauts also replaced the failed camera on the S1 segment, and performed several small tasks, including made electrical connections between the P4 and P5 segments and checked the reliability of the assembly. December 14 - 5 hours 1 minute, astronauts were engaged in electrical work: laid power cables and connected solar panels to the ISS power supply system. December 16 - 6 hours 31 minutes, astronauts continued to do electrical work: laid power cables and connected solar panels to the ISS power supply system. In addition, astronauts tried to loosen and roll the jammed solar panel P6 segment. These attempts failed only partially. It was possible to add 4 more sections of the battery (in total, 21 out of 31 sections were formed). It was not possible to return the battery to a fully folded state. December 18, 2006 - 6 hours 28 minutes, with previous exits and attempts to curtail wing 4B, it jammed. It was decided on an additional fourth exit into space in order to remove obstacles to the collapse of the solar battery. On December 18, this task was successfully completed by Robert Courbim and Christer Fuglesang. The flight duration was 12 days 20 hours 44 minutes. ^[10] .

The total duration of extra-ship activity (ACV) for 7 exits is 45 hours 34 minutes. The total duration of space flights is 37 days 14 hours 34 minutes.

In October 2007, Kerbim was transferred to the position of Deputy Head of the Flight Crew Administration; in November 2007, he quit NASA. ^[2] As of 2017, he is Vice President and Deputy Head of Space Systems at Raytheon Co. ^[eleven]

Awarded: Medal "For Space Flight" (1997, 2001 and 2006) and many others.

• List of astronauts and astronauts (and candidates) .
• List of US astronauts - participants in orbiting space flights .
• Timeline of manned spaceflight .

• Biography of Robert L. Curbeam