Paul Scott "Paco" Lockhart (born April 28, 1956) is an American

aerospace 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 si ...

, retired

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

colonel and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

astronaut 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 ...

, a veteran of two

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...

missions.

Early life and education

Lockhart, born April 28, 1956, and reared in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

, graduated from

Tascosa High School Tascosa High School is a public high school located in Amarillo, Texas (USA) and classified as a 5A school by the UIL. It is one of four high schools in the Amarillo Independent School District located in southern Potter County. The school wa ...

in 1974. He received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

from Texas Tech University in 1978, and a Master of Science degree in

aerospace 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 si ...

from University of Texas at Austin before being commissioned in 1981 into the

. He also studied at the University of Innsbruck and the University of Vienna Summer School from 1978 to 1979 on a Rotarian Fellowship. Has also completed aerospace-related courses from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

and the University of Florida. He is also a distinguished graduate of both

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

and the Air Force

Squadron Officer School Squadron Officer School (SOS), is a 5.5-week-long Professional Military Education (PME) course for U.S. Air Force and Space Force Captains, Department of the Air Force Civilian (DAFC) equivalents and International Officers. It fulfills the U.S ...

Military service

Upon graduation from pilot training in 1983, Lockhart was assigned to the 49th Fighter Interceptor Squadron flying T-33s. In 1986, he transitioned to the F-4 and flew operationally with U.S. Air Forces, Europe (in Germany) from 1987 to 1990 as an instructor pilot for F-4 and F-16 aircrew in the tactics of surface-to-air missile suppression. In 1991 he reported to

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...

, California, for year long training as a test pilot in high performance military aircraft. Upon graduation, he was assigned to the Test Wing at the Air Force Developmental Test Center at

Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...

, Florida, performing weapons testing for the F-16 aircraft. During his -year tour at Eglin, he was selected as the operations officer for the

39th Flight Test Squadron The 39th Flying Training Squadron is part of the 340th Flying Training Group and is the reserve associate to the 12th Flying Training Wing based at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. The squadron (aviation), squadron was first activated as the 39t ...

. Much of America's state-of-the-art weaponry was first tested under his guidance at the 39th Flight Test Squadron. He has logged over 5,000 flying hours in more than 30 different aircraft and the Space Shuttle. After his service with NASA, Lockhart was assigned to and graduated in 2004 from the Royal College of Defence Studies in London, United Kingdom. His last military assignment was with the headquarters Air Force, A9, where he was a directorate chief for both the force structures and the analyses and assessments branch. Lockhart retired from the U.S. Air Force in January 2007 and returned to NASA in an administrative position.

NASA career

A test pilot for the

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...

aircraft, Lockhart was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1996. Lockhart's two space missions, STS-111 and STS-113, both in 2002, were missions to the International Space Station. He was assigned to STS-113 as pilot after the resignation of Christopher Loria from the NASA Astronaut Corps due to an injury.

Organizations

* Society of Experimental Test Pilots * Order of Daedalians (Fraternal Order of Military Pilots).

Awards and decorations

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

* Defense Meritorious Service Medal * Air Force Aerial Achievement Medal * Air Force Commendation Medal * Outstanding Unit Award with Valor * National Defense Service Medal *

Air Force Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to recei ...

, and numerous other service recognitions and ribbons.

References

External links

*
Spacefacts biography of Paul Lockhart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lockhart, Paul 1956 births People from Amarillo, Texas Tascosa High School alumni Texas Tech University alumni Living people U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies United States Air Force astronauts Space Shuttle program astronauts