Robert Laurel Crippen (born September 11, 1937) is an American retired

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 (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...

and

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

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 ...

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 s ...

, and retired

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

. He traveled into space four times: as pilot of STS-1 in April 1981, the first

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, 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. ...

mission; and as commander of

STS-7 STS-7 was NASA's seventh Space Shuttle mission, and the second mission for the Space Shuttle Challenger, Space Shuttle ''Challenger''. During the mission, ''Challenger'' deployed several satellites into orbit. The shuttle launched from Kennedy ...

in June 1983, STS-41-C in April 1984, and STS-41-G in October 1984. He was also a part of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL), Skylab Medical Experiment Altitude Test (SMEAT), ASTP support crew member, and the

Approach and Landing Tests The Approach and Landing Tests were a series of sixteen taxiing, taxi and flight trials of the prototype Space Shuttle Orbiter, Space Shuttle ''Space Shuttle Enterprise, Enterprise'' that took place between February and October 1977 to test the ...

(ALT) for the

. In 1986, Crippen participated in the recovery operations for the remains of crew members after the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster. He was also on the commission responsible for determining the cause of the accident. After retiring as an astronaut, Crippen worked his way through management at

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

, namely as Director, Space Shuttle, at NASA Headquarters, then Director of 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 NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...

. He also went to

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

and

Thiokol Thiokol was an American corporation concerned initially with rubber and related chemicals, and later with rocket and missile propulsion systems. Its name is a portmanteau of the Greek words for sulfur () and glue (), an allusion to the company ...

Propulsion before retiring to private life in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Crippen has received several awards and honors, including the

Congressional Space Medal of Honor The Congressional Space Medal of Honor was authorized by the United States Congress in 1969 to recognize "any astronaut who in the performance of his or her duties has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious efforts and co ...

in 2006, and having an elementary school named after him in Porter, Texas. He is also a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of several organizations, including the

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecra ...

(AIAA) and the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP).

Early life and education

Robert Crippen was born in

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...

, on September 11, 1937. After graduating from New Caney High School in New Caney, Texas in 1955, Crippen went to the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

to major 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 s ...

. In 1960, he graduated with his

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

degree. He was selected as a member of the Texas Alpha chapter of

Tau Beta Pi The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...

and Sigma Gamma Tau. Crippen became interested in flying and computers at a very early age. He attended the first computer programming class held at the University of Texas. Throughout his career in the military and at NASA, he worked on computer programming, including programs such as the Manned Orbiting Laboratory, Skylab and the Space Shuttle.

Military career

Crippen was commissioned through the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

's Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) Program at Naval Air Station Pensacola,

. He also spent time at the

Naval Air Station Whiting Field Naval Air Station Whiting Field is a United States Navy base located near Milton, Florida, with some outlying fields near Navarre, Florida, in south and central Santa Rosa County, and is one of the Navy's two primary pilot training bases (the ...

in Florida and the Naval Air Station Chase Field in

Beeville, Texas Beeville is a city in Bee County, Texas, Bee County, Texas, United States. Its population of 13,543 at the 2020 census makes it the 207th-largest city in Texas. It is the county seat of Bee County and home to the main campus of Coastal Bend Co ...

. That is where he earned his wings. As a

Naval Aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

from the summer of 1962 to the end of 1964, he made two deployments aboard the USS ''Independence'', flying the A-4 Skyhawk in Attack Squadron 72 ( VA-72). He later went 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, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to attend the U.S. Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School. After graduation, Crippen worked as an instructor at Edwards Air Force Base until October 1966 when he was picked for the U.S. Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program. He has spent more than 6,500 hours in the air as either a pilot or an astronaut.

Manned Orbiting Laboratory

The Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program was a follow-on to the X-20 Dyna-Soar program. A joint program between the United States Air Force and the

National Reconnaissance Office The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. f ...

(NRO), the MOL program would send humans into space. Publicly, the MOL program was designed to determine the usefulness of man in space. Crews would be in orbit for about a month and they would be able to freely move about the laboratory. The secret and primary mission was to perform reconnaissance missions on

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The pilots were not told of this true mission, though they were later informed. When Crippen was selected for astronaut training in October 1966, he had to choose between the military and NASA, deciding to stay in the military to work on the MOL program. He felt that he would get lost at NASA due to the number of astronauts already in programs at the agency. There was an uncrewed flight on November 3, 1966. There were no crewed flights. The MOL program was canceled in June 1969, after which Crippen transferred to NASA to continue his career. The cancellation was due to differing priorities within the military and space programs, with the government deciding to de-emphasize military involvement in the space program. However, developments like the space suit, waste management, and the high resolution camera were later used in various space programs going forward.

NASA career

After the MOL program was canceled, Crippen became part of NASA Astronaut Group 7 in September 1969. He served as support for the Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and

Skylab 4 Skylab 4 (also SL-4 and SLM-3) was the third crewed Skylab mission and placed the third and final human spaceflight, crew aboard the first American space station. The mission began on November 16, 1973, with the launch of Gerald P. Carr, Edwar ...

, as well as for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

Skylab Medical Experiment Altitude Test (SMEAT)

The Skylab Medical Experiment Altitude Test (SMEAT) was a 56-day mission (July 26 through September 19, 1972), where astronauts Crippen, Karol J. Bobko and William E. Thornton were housed in a vacuum chamber to conduct medical experiments. The goal was to ensure that crews in space could handle minor medical emergencies, including dentistry. SMEAT also was able to discover and fix the design flaws in the urine handling system for Skylab. Crippen and the team worked to enlarge the original collection system design, which was too small, the collection system of which had burst at one point.

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) was a joint effort between the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the Soviet Union, designed to test rendezvous and docking capabilities if there were ever an emergency in space. Crippen was the

capsule communicator Flight controllers are personnel who aid space flight by working in mission control centers such as NASA's Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center or ESA's European Space Operations Centre. Flight controllers work at computer consoles ...

(CAPCOM) for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (as well as Skylab), during which time he developed a close association with Mission Operations and Flight Control. On July 15, 1975, the United States launched a

Saturn IB The Saturn IB (also known as the uprated Saturn I) was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the Apollo program. It uprated the Saturn I by replacing the S-IV second stage (, 43,3 ...

launch vehicle in an Apollo configuration into space. Two days later, it docked with a

Soyuz Soyuz is a transliteration of the Cyrillic text Союз (Russian language, Russian and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, 'Union'). It can refer to any union, such as a trade union (''profsoyuz'') or the Soviet Union, Union of Soviet Socialist Republi ...

spacecraft.

Approach and Landing Tests (ALT)

The Approach and Landing tests for the Space Shuttle were critical to the overall program, in which a crew tested the maneuverability and landing capabilities of the spacecraft. Launched from a 747 aircraft, the prototype Space Shuttle Enterprise was first tested on August 12, 1977. Astronauts Fred W. Haise Jr. and C. Gordon Fullerton piloted the

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

from about to the ground and landed at Edwards Air Force Base. A second crew of astronauts Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly alternated with Haise and Fullerton to test the Enterprise's capabilities. Crippen was first assigned to family support with the testing, then progressed to being a chase pilot in a T-38. The ALT program lasted about a year, testing all aspects of approach and touchdown from aerodynamics to maneuverability, gliding and landing characteristics.

STS-1

Crippen was the pilot of the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' on STS-1, the first test flight of the Space Shuttle in orbit. His job involved working with the Shuttle computers, electrical systems, and auxiliary power units. He was also responsible for operating the payload bay doors. STS-1 had several firsts: a crewed vehicle to be flown into Earth orbit without any prior non-crewed orbital testing; a crewed, winged vehicle to launch with solid rocket boosters; a reentry vehicle to land on a conventional runway. It launched April 12, 1981, and landed April 14, 1981.

STS-7

Crippen served as the commander of STS-7, the second launch of the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'', and headed a crew of five people. During flight, the team deployed the

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

Anik-C2 satellite, as well as the Palapa-B1 satellite from

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. They also used the Canadian Remote Manipulator System ( Canadarm) to deploy and retrieve the Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS-01). They conducted formation flying with an untethered satellite (SPAS-02), operated a joint U.S.-German materials experiment (OSTA-2) and activated seven Getaway Special (GAS) experiments. Finally, they worked with the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES) and the Monodisperse Latex Reactor (MLR). It launched June 18, 1983, and landed on June 24, 1983.

STS-41-C

Crippen was the commander of Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on STS-41-C, a seven-day mission during which the crew deployed the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). The crew also retrieved, repaired and redeployed

Solar Maximum Mission The Solar Maximum Mission satellite (or SolarMax) was designed to investigate Solar phenomena, particularly solar flares. It was launched on February 14, 1980. The SMM was the first satellite based on the Multimission Modular Spacecraft bus man ...

(SMM) satellite using the Canadarm. The flight also tested the

Manned Maneuvering Unit The Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) is an astronaut propulsion unit that was used by NASA on three Space Shuttle missions in 1984. The MMU allowed the astronauts to perform untethered Extravehicular activity, extravehicular spacewalks at a dist ...

s (MMU) through two extravehicular activities (EVAs). The team also operated the Cinema 360 and IMAX Camera Systems. Finally, the crew ran a student experiment on

honey bee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to mainland Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the ...

s. It launched April 6, 1984, and landed April 13, 1984.

STS-41-G

On his final spaceflight, Crippen served as the commander of STS-41-G. During the eight-day flight, the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' crew deployed the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS). They also performed scientific observations of the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

with a Large Format Camera, and demonstrated potential satellite refueling with the Orbital Refueling System (ORS). Finally, the Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications-3 (OSTA-3) also had experiments for the crew to perform. It launched October 5, 1984, and landed October 13, 1984, at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

Post-spaceflight career

After STS-41-G, Crippen became deputy director of flight crew operations (1984–1986) and was also named commander of the STS-62-A mission which would have launched from the new SLC-6 facility at

Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida * Vandenberg S ...

, California. That mission was canceled after the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster in 1986, and SLC-6 was mothballed in 1989. Crippen was personally involved in the recovery efforts of the ''Challenger'' disaster, brooking no interference in recovering all seven bodies of the Challenger crew for their families. Crippen was also a part of the STS-51-L Interim Mishap Review Board to examine the cause of the ''Challenger'' accident. The Board became a sub-team for the Rogers Commission Report, the team put together by President Ronald Reagan to investigate the accident. Crippen was stationed at

(KSC) from July 1987 to December 1989 where he was Deputy Director of Shuttle Operations under Arnie Aldrich, Director of Space Shuttle. He was accountable for Shuttle missions and the return of the craft to KSC after landings at Edwards. From January 1990 to January 1992, Crippen served as Director of the Space Shuttle program at NASA Headquarters. As such, he was responsible for the all aspects of the Shuttle program, including scheduling, budget and overall program management. Afterwards, he moved to KSC to become center director. This lasted from January 1992 through January 1995.

Post-NASA career

After leaving NASA, from April 1995 through November 1996, Crippen was the

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

Information Systems. His main focus was simulation work supporting the military. Crippen became

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Propulsion from December 1996 through April 2001. They were responsible for producing the Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motors. Crippen enjoyed continuing his connection with the Space Shuttle program. In particular, he appreciated his role in working to improve the design of the solid rocket boosters to prevent another ''Challenger'' disaster.

Organizations

Crippen is a

in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP), and the American Astronautical Society (AAS). He served as President of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1999. He was selected to be a member of Naval Aviators Golden Eagles in 2009. He was elected to the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

in 2012 for leadership in human space flight and development of solid fueled rockets.

Awards and honors

Crippen has earned several awards throughout his career, including the SETP Iven C. Kincheloe Award (1981) and the

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, a ...

(1972). In 1981, after the inaugural Space Shuttle flight, he received the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

Distinguished Service Award, the American Astronautical Society's Flight Achievement Award, the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...

Gardiner Greene Hubbard Gardiner Greene Hubbard (August 25, 1822 – December 11, 1897) was an American lawyer, financier, and community leader. He was a founder and first president of the National Geographic Society; a founder and the first president of the Bell Teleph ...

Medal, and the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

's Distinguished Service Medal. He was awarded the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

(FAA)'s Award for Distinguished Service (1982), the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy and the

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 in av ...

. He received the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross (1984) and the

Defense Meritorious Service Medal The Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM) is an award bestowed upon members of the United States military by the United States Department of Defense. In the order of precedence of the United States Armed Forces, it is worn between the Purple ...

(1984). Finally, Crippen received the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

(1986). He also received

NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal The NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal is awarded to US government employees only for notably outstanding leadership which affects technical or administrative programs of NASA. The leadership award may be given for an act of leadership, for sustain ...

, four

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 astronau ...

s, and three

NASA Distinguished Service Medal The NASA Distinguished Service Medal is the highest award that can be bestowed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States. The medal may be presented to any member of the federal government, including both milita ...

s. In 1996, Crippen became the tenth individual to receive th
Rotary National Award for Space Achievement's National Space Trophy
He was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1991 and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2001. On April 6, 2006, he received the

, the highest award for spaceflight achievement. On November 18, 2015, at the National Business Aviation Association convention in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, Crippen was announced as a 2016 Inductee into the

National Aviation Hall of Fame The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with ...

. On December 15, 2023, Crippen received the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy from the

National Aeronautic Association The National Aeronautic Association of the United States (NAA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and a founding member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Founded in 1905, it is the oldest national aviation club in the Uni ...

in Washington, D.C. for his devotion to public service and the advancement of American aerospace; his achievements as an aviator, astronaut, and leader; and his selfless dedication to the future of humankind.

Personal life

Crippen was first married to Virginia Hill on September 8, 1959. They had three daughters together: Ellen Marie (born June 1962), Susan Lynn (born December 1964), and Linda Ruth (born May 1967). On November 7, 1987, he married Pandora Puckett, NASA's first female lead Orbiter Project Engineer, on the and at the Kennedy Space Center.

References

External links

Robert L. Crippen, NASA.gov biography (archival)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crippen, Robert 1937 births Living people 1981 in spaceflight 1983 in spaceflight 1984 in spaceflight United States Navy astronauts American aerospace engineers United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees Directors of the Kennedy Space Center People from Beaumont, Texas People from Montgomery County, Texas Military personnel from Texas Cockrell School of Engineering alumni U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni United States Navy officers United States Naval Aviators American test pilots Aviators from Texas Recipients of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal American businesspeople Lockheed Martin people Harmon Trophy winners Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering NASA people Space Shuttle program astronauts