Vance DeVoe Brand (born May 9, 1931) is an American

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contex ...

, aviator,

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is sim ...

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

, and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

astronaut. He served as command module pilot during the first U.S.-Soviet joint spaceflight in 1975, and as commander of three Space Shuttle missions. His flight experience includes 9,669 flying hours, which includes 8,089 hours in jets, 391 hours in

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s, 746 hours in spacecraft, and checkout in more than 30 types of military aircraft.

Early life and education

Brand was born May 9, 1931, in Longmont, Colorado, and is the son of Rudolph William Brand (1903–1984) and Donna Mae Brand (; 1908–1998). He was active in Troop 64 of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

in Longmont, where he achieved its second highest rank,

Life Scout The advancement program for Scouts participating in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America is symbolized by the earning of seven ranks. The advancement program is often considered to be divided into two phases. The first phase from jo ...

. Brand graduated at

Longmont High School Longmont High School is the original high school of the city of Longmont, Colorado, United States, and opened its doors to students in 1901. The school is located in central Longmont and serves as a high school for the St. Vrain Valley School Dis ...

in 1949, and at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

he received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in business in 1953 and another

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree, in

aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is sim ...

, in 1960. He was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity and of the International Order of DeMolay. In 1964 he completed a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

degree in business administration at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

Military service

Brand was a commissioned officer and naval aviator with the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

from 1953 to 1957. His military assignments included a 15-month tour in Japan as a jet fighter pilot. Following his release from active duty, Brand continued service in

United States Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned p ...

and Air National Guard jet fighter squadrons until 1964, reaching the rank of major.

Civilian test pilot

Employed as a civilian by the

Lockheed Corporation The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but ot ...

from 1960 to 1966, he worked initially as a

flight test engineer A flight test engineer (FTE) is an engineer involved in the flight testing of prototype aircraft or aircraft systems. Overview The flight test engineer generally has overall responsibility for the planning of a specific flight test phase, which i ...

on the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

's P-3 Orion aircraft. In 1963, Brand graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School (Class 33) and was assigned to Palmdale, California as an experimental test pilot on

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

and German

F-104 The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the " Century Series" of ...

programs. Prior to selection to the astronaut program, Brand worked at the

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

F-104G Flight Test Center at

Istres Istres (; Occitan: Istre) is a commune in southern France, some 60 km (38 mi) northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture. Location ...

, France as an experimental test pilot and leader of a Lockheed flight test advisory group.

NASA career

One of the 19 pilot astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966, Brand initially was a crew member in the

thermal vacuum chamber A thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC) is a vacuum chamber in which the radiative thermal environment is controlled. Typically the thermal environment is achieved by passing liquids or fluids through thermal shrouds for cold temperatures or through the ...

testing of the prototype command module (alongside astronauts

Joe Engle Joe Henry Engle (born August 26, 1932) is an American pilot, aeronautical engineer and former NASA astronaut. He was the commander of two Space Shuttle missions including STS-2 in 1981, the program's second orbital flight. He also flew three ...

and Dr. Joseph Kerwin) and support crewman on

Apollos Apollos ( grc-gre, Ἀπολλώς) was a 1st-century Alexandrian Jewish Christian mentioned several times in the New Testament. A contemporary and colleague of Paul the Apostle, he played an important role in the early development of the ch ...

8 and 13. During the Apollo 13 crisis, Brand was CAPCOM during the PC+2 burn. Later he was backup Command Module Pilot for Apollo 15, and was likely to be named to the prime crew of Apollo 18 before that mission was canceled. Brand was backup Commander for

Skylab Skylab was the first United States space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three separate three-astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Major operations ...

s 3 and 4. When Skylab 3's CSM had problems with its Reaction Control System, Brand was put on standby to command a rescue mission with backup Pilot

Don Lind Don Leslie Lind (May 18, 1930 – August 30, 2022) was an American scientist, naval officer, aviator, and NASA astronaut. He graduated from the University of Utah with an undergraduate degree in physics in 1953. Following his military service o ...

; however, the crew stood down when it was decided that the problem did not require the rescue mission to be launched. As an astronaut, he held management positions relating to spacecraft development, acquisition, flight safety and mission operations. Brand flew on four space missions;

Apollo–Soyuz Apollo–Soyuz was the first crewed international space mission, carried out jointly by the United States and the Soviet Union in July 1975. Millions of people around the world watched on television as a United States Apollo spacecraft docked ...

STS-5 STS-5 was the fifth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the fifth flight of the Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. It launched on November 11, 1982, and landed five days later on November 16, 1982. STS-5 was the first Space Shuttle mission to deploy comm ...

, STS-41-B, and

STS-35 STS-35 was the tenth flight of Space Shuttle ''Columbia'', the 38th shuttle flight, and a mission devoted to astronomical observations with ASTRO-1, a Spacelab observatory consisting of four telescopes. The mission launched from Kennedy Spac ...

. He logged 746 hours in space and commanded three missions. Brand was the last member of his astronaut class to remain active with NASA, and was the only Apollo-era astronaut to pilot the Space Shuttle in the post-''Challenger'' era. Brand departed the Astronaut Office in 1992 to become Chief of Plans at the

National Aerospace Plane The Rockwell X-30 was an advanced technology demonstrator project for the National Aero-Space Plane (NASP), part of a United States project to create a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) spacecraft and passenger spaceliner. Started in 1986, it was canc ...

(NASP) Joint Program Office at

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene and Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wr ...

. In September 1994, he moved to California to become Assistant Chief of Flight Operations at the

Dryden Flight Research Center The NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. Its primary campus is located inside Edwards Air Force Base in California and is considered NASA's premier site for aeronautical rese ...

, then Acting Chief Engineer, Deputy Director for Aerospace Projects, and Acting Associate Center Director for Programs. He retired from NASA in January 2008.

Apollo–Soyuz Test Project

Brand was launched on his first space flight on July 15, 1975, as Apollo Command Module Pilot on the

Apollo–Soyuz Test Project Apollo–Soyuz was the first crewed international space mission, carried out jointly by the United States and the Soviet Union in July 1975. Millions of people around the world watched on television as a United States Apollo spacecraft docked ...

mission. This flight resulted in the historic meeting in space between American astronauts and Soviet

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

s. Other crewmen on this nine-day Earth-orbital mission were Apollo Commander Thomas Stafford, Apollo Docking Module Pilot

Deke Slayton Donald Kent "Deke" Slayton (March 1, 1924 – June 13, 1993) was a United States Air Force pilot, aeronautical engineer, and test pilot who was selected as one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts. He went on to become NASA's fir ...

, Soyuz Commander Alexei Leonov, and Soyuz Flight Engineer

Valeri Kubasov Valery Nikolaevich Kubasov (russian: Вале́рий Никола́евич Куба́сов; 7 January 1935 – 19 February 2014) was a Soviet/Russian cosmonaut who flew on two missions in the Soyuz programme as a flight engineer: Soyuz 6 and ...

. The Soyuz spacecraft was launched at Baikonur Cosmodrome, and the Apollo was launched 7½ hours later at the

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...

. Two days later, the two spacecraft docked successfully. The linkup tested a new docking system and demonstrated international cooperation in space. There were 44 hours of docked joint activities which included four crew transfers between the Apollo and the Soyuz. Six records for docked and group flight were set on the mission and are recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Apollo splashed down in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

near

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

, on July 25, and was recovered by , completing a 217-hour mission. The mission almost ended in disaster when, during the final stages of the mission, the crew was exposed to near fatal amounts of

nitrogen tetroxide Dinitrogen tetroxide, commonly referred to as nitrogen tetroxide (NTO), and occasionally (usually among ex-USSR/Russia rocket engineers) as amyl, is the chemical compound N2O4. It is a useful reagent in chemical synthesis. It forms an equilibrium ...

gas. The reaction control system had been inadvertently left on during descent, and the poisonous fumes were sucked into the capsule as it drew in outside air. Brand briefly lost consciousness and all three crewmen required hospitalization in Hawaii for a number of weeks after landing.

STS-5

Brand was Commander of Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' for

, the first fully operational flight of the

Space Shuttle program The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. I ...

, which launched on November 11, 1982. His crew comprised Colonel Robert Overmyer, pilot, and two mission specialists, Dr. Joseph P. Allen and Dr. William B. Lenoir. STS-5, the first mission with a four-man crew, demonstrated the Shuttle as operational by the successful first deployment of two commercial communications satellites from the Shuttle's payload bay. The mission marked the Shuttle's first use of an upper-stage rocket for payloads, the Payload Assist Module (PAM-D). The satellites were deployed for Satellite Business Systems Corporation of McLean, Virginia, and TELESAT of

Ottawa, Canada Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. Two FAI records for mass to altitude were set on the mission. Numerous flight tests were performed to ascertain Shuttle performance. STS-5 was the last flight to carry the Development Flight Instrumentation package to support extensive flight testing. The STS-5 crew concluded the 5-day orbital flight of ''Columbia'' with the landing approach through a cloud deck to Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, California on November 16, 1982. Mission duration was 122 hours.

STS-41-B

Brand commanded '' Challenger'' with a crew of five on the tenth flight of the Space Shuttle program, STS-41-B. The launch was on February 3, 1984. His crew included Commander

Robert L. Gibson Robert Lee "Hoot" Gibson (born October 30, 1946), (Capt, USN, Ret.), is a former American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, and aeronautical engineer. A retired NASA astronaut, he also served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1992 ...

, pilot, and 3 Mission Specialists, Captain Bruce McCandless II, Dr.

Ronald McNair Ronald Erwin McNair (October 21, 1950 – January 28, 1986) was an American NASA astronaut and physicist. He died during the launch of the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on mission STS-51-L, in which he was serving as one of three mission spec ...

, and Lt. Col.

Robert L. Stewart Robert Lee Stewart (born August 13, 1942) is a retired brigadier general of the United States Army and a former NASA astronaut. Personal Stewart was born August 13, 1942, in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Hattiesburg High School in Hattie ...

. The flight accomplished the deployment of two Hughes HS-376 communications satellites which failed to reach desired

geosynchronous A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbital ...

orbits due to upper-stage rocket failures. This mission marked the first flight checkout of the Manned Maneuvering Unit and the Manipulator Foot Restraint with McCandless and Stewart performing two untethered extravehicular activities. Shuttle rendezvous sensors and computer programs were flight-tested for the first time. The 8-day flight of ''Challenger'' ended with the first landing on the runway at the Kennedy Space Center on February 11, 1984. Brand was training initially for STS-51-H on ''Atlantis'' in November 1985. That mission was canceled and re-manifested as STS-61-K, a

Spacelab Spacelab was a reusable laboratory developed by European Space Agency (ESA) and used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory comprised multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier, ...

mission which would have launched on ''Columbia'' in October 1986. That mission was canceled by the ''Challenger'' disaster.

STS-35

Brand again commanded ''Columbia'' on the 38th flight of the shuttle, this time with a crew of seven, on

. The night launch on December 2, 1990, started a nine-day mission devoted to round-the-clock astronomical observations. Crewmen included the pilot, Col.

Guy Gardner Guy Gardner may refer to: * Guy Gardner (astronaut) (born 1948), United States Air Force officer and former astronaut * Guy Gardner (character) Guy Gardner, one of the characters known as Green Lantern, is a superhero appearing in American comic ...

; three Mission Specialists, John M. Lounge, Dr. Robert A. Parker and Dr. Jeffrey A. Hoffman; and two payload specialists, Dr.

Samuel T. Durrance Samuel Thornton Durrance (Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D.) (born September 17, 1943) is an American scientist who flew aboard two NASA Space Shuttle missions as a payload specialist. Background Durrance was born September 17, 1943, in Tallahassee, F ...

and Dr. Ronald A. Parise. The 13-ton payload consisted of the three ASTRO-1 ultraviolet (UV) telescopes and the Broadband X-ray Telescope. More than 200 Orbiter maneuvers were required to point the telescopes. This Shuttle flight, one of the first dedicated to astronomy, provided a rich return of science data with emphasis on observations of very active celestial objects. A night landing was made on December 10, to Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base. Mission duration was 215 hours.

Awards and honors

View of Mission Control Center during the Apollo 13 oxygen cell failure

* JSC Certificate of Commendation (1970) *Two NASA Distinguished Service Medals (1975 & 1992) *Two

NASA Exceptional Service Medal The NASA Exceptional Service Medal is an award granted to U.S. government employees for significant sustained performance characterized by unusual initiative or creative ability that clearly demonstrates substantial improvement in engineering, ae ...

s (1974 & 1988) *

Zeta Beta Tau Zeta Beta Tau () is a Greek-letter social fraternity based in North America. It was founded on December 29, 1898. Originally a Zionist youth society, its purpose changed from Zionism in the fraternity's early years when in 1954 the fraternity be ...

's Richard Gottheil Medal (1975) *Wright Brothers International Manned Space Flight Award (1975) *two VFW National Space Award (1976 & 1984) *Sigma Nu Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award (1976) *

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

Alumnus of the Century (1 of 12) (1976) *

AIAA The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of t ...

Special Presidential Citation (1977) *two

American Astronautical Society Formed in 1954, the American Astronautical Society (AAS) is an independent scientific and technical group in the United States dedicated to the advancement of space science and space exploration. AAS supports NASA The National Aerona ...

's Flight Achievement Award for 1976 *AIAA Haley Astronautics Award (1978) *JSC Special Achievement Award (1978) *

Harmon Trophy The Harmon Trophy is a set of three international trophies, to be awarded annually to the world's outstanding aviator, aviatrix, and aeronaut (balloon or dirigible). A fourth trophy, the "National Trophy," was awarded from 1926 through 1938 to th ...

(Astronaut) (1993) *FAI

De la Vaulx Medal The De la Vaulx Medal is an aviation award presented by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the international aviation standard setting and record-keeping body. The award was established in 1933 in memory of the Comte de La Vaulx ...

(1983) *Three

NASA Space Flight Medal The NASA Space Flight Medal is a decoration of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. According to its statutes, it is awarded "for significant achievement or service during individual participation as a civilian or military astrona ...

s (1983, 1984, 1992) *Distinguished Visiting Lecturer at

(1984) *

Vance Brand Airport Vance Brand Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district of Longmont, in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The Airport is named after former NASA astronaut Vance ...

in Longmont, CO named in his honor (1988) * De Molay Hall of Honor (1989) *two FAI V. M. Komarov Diplomas (1983 & 1991) *

George Norlin Award (1991) *De Molay Legion of Honor (1993) * International Space Hall of Fame (1996) * U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame (1997) *Meritorious Executive, U.S. Senior Executive Service (1997) * Honorary

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

degree from

(2000) *

International Aerospace Hall of Fame The International Air & Space Hall of Fame is an honor roll of people, groups, organizations, or things that have contributed significantly to the advancement of aerospace flight and technology, sponsored by the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Sin ...

(2001) * Oklahoma Aviation and Space Hall of Fame (2005) *Tsiolkovsky Gold Medal of the

International Aeronautical Federation International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(2005) *ASE Crystal Helmet Award (2005) * Sigma Nu Hall of Fame (2010) *Honorary Citizen of

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

DeMolay International DeMolay International is an international fraternal organization for young men ages 12 to 21. It was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1919 and named for Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar. DeMolay was incorporat ...

Hall of Fame

Personal life

Brand is married to the former Beverly Ann Whitnel and has two daughters and four sons: Susan Nancy (born April 30, 1954), Stephanie Brand Lowery (born August 6, 1955), Patrick Richard (born March 22, 1958), Kevin Stephen (born December 1, 1963), Erik Ryan (May 11, 1981), and Dane Vance (born October 1, 1985). He currently resides with his wife in

Tehachapi, California Tehachapi (; Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") is a city in Kern County, California, United States, in the Tehachapi Mountains, at an elevation of , between the San Joaquin Valley and the Mojave Desert. Tehachapi is east-southeas ...

Philanthropy

In 2019, Brand donated 40 acres of land to the Rocky Mountain Conservancy, which is the nonprofit arm of Rocky Mountain National Park, hoping to expand the national park that he has visited throughout his life. He had purchased the land in 1967. The 40 acres of rugged terrain, located near Estes Cone and roughly 4 miles from Longs Peak, borders Rocky Mountain National Park on two sides. The

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

will need to approve the boundary change for this acreage to be officially incorporated into the national park.

References

External links

Astronautix biography of Vance D. Brand

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brand, Vance D. 1931 births Living people 1975 in spaceflight 1982 in spaceflight 1984 in spaceflight 1990 in spaceflight Apollo–Soyuz Test Project People from Longmont, Colorado Aviators from Colorado Harmon Trophy winners Recipients of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal NASA people United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees United States Marine Corps officers United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni United States Naval Aviators American aerospace engineers UCLA Anderson School of Management alumni University of Colorado Boulder alumni NASA civilian astronauts Apollo program astronauts American test pilots Lockheed people United States Marine Corps reservists Space Shuttle program astronauts Skylab program astronauts Military personnel from Colorado