Stanley David Griggs (September 7, 1939 – June 17, 1989) was a United States Navy officer and a NASA astronaut. He is credited with conducting the first unscheduled

extra-vehicular activity Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmental support. EVA inc ...

of the space program during Space Shuttle mission STS-51-D. Griggs was killed when the vintage World War II-era training aircraft he was piloting – a North American AT-6D (registration N3931S) – crashed near Earle, Arkansas.

Early life

Born September 7, 1939, in Portland, Oregon, Griggs graduated from Lincoln High School in his hometown in 1957. He was an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

. In 1962 he received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy and in 1970 a Master of Science degree in Administration from George Washington University. He enjoyed

flying Flying may refer to: * Flight, the process of flying * Aviation, the creation and operation of aircraft Music Albums * ''Flying'' (Grammatrain album), 1997 * ''Flying'' (Jonathan Fagerlund album), 2008 * ''Flying'' (UFO album), 1971 * ''Fl ...

, auto restoration,

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ...

, and diving. He married Karen Frances Kreeb and they had two daughters together, Alison Marie (August 21, 1971) and Carre Anne (May 14, 1974).

Navy career

Griggs graduated from

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

in 1962 and entered

Naval pilot Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

training shortly thereafter. In 1964, he received his United States Navy pilot wings and was attached to Attack Squadron-72 flying

A-4 Skyhawk The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet engined Skyhawk was designed ...

s. He completed one

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

cruise and two

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

combat cruises aboard the aircraft carriers USS ''Independence'' and USS ''Franklin Roosevelt''. In 1967 Griggs entered the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at

Patuxent River The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington, D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeast ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

and upon completion of

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 ...

training was assigned to the Flying Qualities and Performance Branch, Flight Test Division, where he flew various test projects on fighter and attack-type aircraft. In 1970, he resigned his regular United States Navy commission and affiliated with the Naval Air Reserve in which he achieved the rank of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

. As a Naval Reservist, Griggs was assigned to several fighter and attack squadrons flying

A-7 Corsair II The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design wa ...

and

F-8 Crusader The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) is a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps (replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass), and for the Fr ...

aircraft based at Naval Air Stations in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Miramar, California. He logged 9,500 hours flying time, 7,800 hours in jet aircraft, and flew over 45 different types of aircraft including single and multi engine prop,

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...

and

jet aircraft A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by jet engines. Whereas the engines in propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much lower speeds and altitudes, jet ...

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 attribut ...

s, gliders,

hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carrie ...

s and the

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 ...

. He made over 300 aircraft carrier landings, held an

Airline Transport Pilot License The airline transport pilot license (ATPL), or in the United States of America, an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate is the highest level of aircraft pilot certificate. In the United States, those certified as airline transport pilots ...

, and was a certified flight instructor.

NASA career

In July 1970, Griggs was employed at the

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late ...

as a research pilot, working on various flight test and research projects in support of NASA programs. In 1974, he was assigned duties as the project pilot for the

trainer aircraft and participated in the design, development, and testing of those aircraft pending their operational deployment in 1976. He was appointed Chief of the Shuttle Training Aircraft Operations Office in January 1976 with responsibility for the operational use of the shuttle trainer, and held that position until being selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978. In August 1979, he completed a one-year training and evaluation period and became eligible for Space Shuttle flight crew assignment. From 1979 to 1983, Griggs was involved in several Space Shuttle engineering capacities including the development and testing of the

Head-Up Display A head-up display, or heads-up display, also known as a HUD (), is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of the name stems from a pilot being able to view inform ...

(HUD) approach and landing avionics system, development of 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 spacewalks at a distance from the shuttle. ...

(MMU), and the requirements definition and verification of on-orbit rendezvous and entry flight phase software and procedures. In September 1983 he began crew training as a mission specialist for flight STS-51-D, which flew April 12–19, 1985. During the flight, Griggs conducted the first unscheduled extravehicular activity (

space walk Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmental support. EVA inc ...

) of the space program. The space walk lasted for over three hours during which preparations for a satellite rescue attempt were completed. At the time of his death, Griggs was in flight crew training as pilot for

STS-33 STS-33 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission, during which Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' deployed a payload for the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It was the 32nd shuttle mission overall, the ninth flight of ''Discovery'', the fifth shutt ...

, a dedicated Department of Defense mission, scheduled for launch in November 1989. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

.Burial Detail: Griggs, Stanley David
– ANC Explorer

Awards and honors

Defense Distinguished Service Medal ribbon

Defense Distinguished Service Medal The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to the ...

Distinguished Flying Cross * Meritorious Service Medal ribbon

Meritorious Service Medal * Air Medal ribbon

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

with two Silver Stars and four Gold Stars * Navy and Marine Corps Commendation ribbon

Navy Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

with three Gold Stars * Navy Unit Commendation ribbon

Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy and U.S. Marine Corps commands may recommend any Navy or Marine Cor ...

Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon

Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...

Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross also known as the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross or Vietnam Cross of Gallantry ( vi, Anh-Dũng Bội-Tinh) is a military decoration of the former Government of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam). The medal w ...

Vietnam Campaign Medal ribbon with 60- clasp

Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, also known as the Vietnam Campaign Medal ( vi, Chiến Dịch Bội Tinh), is a South Vietnamese military campaign medal which was created in 1949, and awarded to French military personnel during the First ...

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 ...

* NASA Achievement Award *

NASA Sustained Superior Performance Award 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 ...

References

*
Astronautix S. David Griggs bio

External links

at ArlingtonCemetery.net, an unofficial website {{DEFAULTSORT:Griggs, Stanley 1939 births 1989 deaths Accidental deaths in Arkansas United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War American test pilots Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Burials at Arlington National Cemetery George Washington University alumni Lincoln High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni NASA civilian astronauts Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Gallantry Cross (Vietnam) Space Shuttle program astronauts United States Naval Academy alumni United States Naval Aviators United States Navy rear admirals (upper half) Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1989 Spacewalkers