Carl J. Meade

Last updated
Carl J. Meade
Carl Meade.jpg
Born
Carl Joseph Meade

(1950-11-16) November 16, 1950 (age 73)
StatusRetired
Education University of Texas, Austin (BS)
California Institute of Technology (MS)
Space career
NASA astronaut
Rank Colonel, USAF
Time in space
29d 16h 14m
Selection 1985 NASA Group 11
Missions STS-38, STS-50, STS-64
Mission insignia
Sts-38-patch.png Sts-50-patch.png Sts-64-patch.png

Carl Joseph Meade (born November 16, 1950) is a former NASA astronaut.

Contents

Personal data

Born November 16, 1950, at Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois. Married. Two sons. Resides in Canyon Country, California. He enjoys woodworking, home-built aircraft construction, racquetball, jogging, and snow skiing. His parents were John Migliorini (later changed to Meade) and Esther Josephine Compitiello.

He graduated in 1968 from Randolph High School, on Randolph Air Force Base, in Texas. In 1973 he received a Bachelor of Science degree (with honors) in Electronics Engineering from The University of Texas and in 1975 completed a Master of Science degree in Electronics Engineering from California Institute of Technology. He currently works for Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems as an engineering manager on the Crew Exploration Vehicle project.

Experience

Prior to entering active duty in the United States Air Force, Meade was a Hughes Fellow at the California Institute of Technology and an electronics design engineer at Hughes Aircraft Company in Culver City, California. He entered the U.S. Air Force at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, where he was a distinguished graduate of Undergraduate Pilot Training. In 1977, Meade was assigned to the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, where he flew the RF-4C. He was then selected as a member of the USAF Test Pilot School Class 80B. Upon graduation he received the Liethen-Tittle Award as the Outstanding Test Pilot and was assigned to the 6510th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base, California. In 1985, he was reassigned to the USAF Test Pilot School as a test pilot instructor in the F-4, A-7 Corsair II, A-37, and various gliders, teaching performance, stability/control, departure/spins, and radar flight test techniques. He was also the departure/spin lead instructor and avionics systems test training aircraft program manager.[ citation needed ]

He has logged over 4,800 hours of jet time in 27 different aircraft. [1]

NASA experience

Selected by NASA in June 1985, Meade became an astronaut in July 1986. He has held a variety of technical assignments including verification testing of flight software in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL), crew escape flight tests, Orbiter ground egress tests and launch support duties, both at the Kennedy Space Center and at the Vandenberg Launch Site. Prior to STS-38 and after STS-50, Meade was the Astronaut Office representative to the Solid Rocket Booster Program and the Space Shuttle Main Engine Program at the Marshall Space Flight Center. He also served as a spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) in Mission Control and the lead astronaut for Rendezvous and Docking Operations during the two years following STS-50.

A veteran of three space flights, Meade has logged over 712 hours in space. He served as a mission specialist on STS-38 in 1990, STS-50 in 1992, and STS-64 in 1994.

STS-38 launched at night from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on November 15, 1990. Meade conducted Department of Defense operations during this five-day flight which concluded after 80 orbits of the Earth in 117 hours, 54 minutes, 28 seconds. In the first Shuttle recovery in Florida since 1985, Space Shuttle Atlantis and her five-man crew landed back at the Kennedy Space Center on November 20, 1990.

STS-50, carrying the first United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML), launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on June 25, 1992. USML is a series of Spacelab flights dedicated to basic scientific research in the fields of fluid physics, combustion science, solid state physics, and biotechnology. This flight was also the first to utilize the Extended Duration Orbiter capabilities of the newly modified Orbiter Columbia . Mission duration was 331 hours, 30 minutes, 4 seconds. After 221 orbits of the Earth, the crew of Columbia landed at the Kennedy Space Center on July 9, 1992, thus ending the longest flight in the history of the Space Shuttle Program.

Most recently, Meade flew on STS-64 (September 9–20, 1994) aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery . The mission highlight occurred when Meade performed the first untethered spacewalk in 10 years. The objective was to flight test a self-rescue jetpack. Meade logged 6.9 hours outside Discovery and 3.6 hours piloting the jetpack. Other activities included the first use of lasers for environmental research, deployment and retrieval of a solar science satellite, and the performance of plume characterization studies of the reaction control thruster exhaust. Mission duration was 10 days, 22 hours, 51 minutes.

Meade has served as the Deputy Division Chief of the Crew and Thermal Systems Division and as the Chief of the Flight Support Branch of the Astronaut Office. In March 1996, Meade left NASA and the military to join the Lockheed Skunk Works as the Deputy Project Manager for the X-33 vehicle.

Special honors

Meade has received the following honors: [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Casper</span> American astronaut

John Howard Casper is a former American astronaut and retired United States Air Force pilot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry L. Ross</span> NASA astronaut and flight test engineer

Jerry Lynn Ross is a retired United States Air Force officer, engineer, and a former NASA astronaut. Ross is a veteran of 7 Space Shuttle missions, making him the joint record holder for most spaceflights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Hartsfield</span> American astronaut (1933–2014)

Henry Warren Hartsfield Jr. was a United States Air Force Colonel and NASA astronaut who logged over 480 hours in space. He was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Mullane</span> American aerospace and weapons engineer and astronaut

Richard Michael Mullane is an engineer and weapon systems officer, a retired USAF officer, and a former NASA astronaut. During his career, he flew as a mission specialist on STS-41-D, STS-27, and STS-36.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karol J. Bobko</span> American astronaut (1937–2023)

Karol Joseph "Bo" Bobko was an American aerospace engineer, U.S. Air Force officer, test pilot, and a USAF and NASA astronaut. Bobko was the first graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy to travel in space and the first person to fly on a space shuttle on three different missions: STS-6, STS-51-D, STS-51-J.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. Gordon Fullerton</span> American astronaut (1936–2013)

Charles Gordon Fullerton was a United States Air Force colonel, a USAF and NASA astronaut, and a research pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California. His assignments included a variety of flight research and support activities piloting NASA's B-52 launch aircraft, the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), and other multi-engine and high performance aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert F. Overmyer</span> American astronaut (1936–1996)

Colonel Robert Franklyn "Bob" Overmyer was an American test pilot, naval aviator, aeronautical engineer, physicist, United States Marine Corps officer, and USAF/NASA astronaut. Overmyer was selected by the Air Force as an astronaut for its Manned Orbiting Laboratory in 1966. Upon cancellation of the program in 1969, he became a NASA astronaut and served support crew duties for the Apollo program, Skylab program, and Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. In 1976, he was assigned to the Space Shuttle program and flew as pilot on STS-5 in 1982 and as commander on STS-51-B in 1985. He was selected as a lead investigator into the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, retiring from NASA that same year. A decade later, Overmyer died while testing the Cirrus VK-30 homebuilt aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard O. Covey</span> American astronaut

Richard Oswalt Covey is a retired United States Air Force officer, former NASA astronaut, and a member of the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael A. Baker</span> American astronaut

Michael Allen Baker is a retired captain in the United States Navy, former NASA astronaut, and the International Space Station Program Manager for International and Crew Operations, at NASA's Johnson Space Center. He is responsible for the coordination of program operations, integration and flight crew training and support activities with the International Partners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert D. Cabana</span> American astronaut

Robert Donald Cabana is the Associate Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a NASA astronaut, and a veteran of four Space Shuttle flights. He served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1994 to 1997 and as director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center from 2008 to 2021. He is also a former naval flight officer and naval aviator in the United States Marine Corps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald J. Grabe</span> American astronaut

Ronald John Grabe, , is a former NASA astronaut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L. Blaine Hammond</span> US Air Force pilot and NASA astronaut

Lloyd Blaine Hammond Jr. is a Gulfstream test pilot, a former United States Air Force officer, and a former NASA astronaut. He flew on two Space Shuttle missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Lindsey</span> American astronaut

Steven Wayne Lindsey is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and NASA astronaut. Lindsey served as Chief of the NASA Astronaut Office from September 2006 until October 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James M. Kelly (astronaut)</span> American astronaut

James McNeal "Vegas" Kelly is a NASA astronaut and a retired Colonel of the United States Air Force. He twice served as pilot on Space Shuttle missions. James Kelly is not related to Scott Kelly or Mark Kelly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald R. McMonagle</span>

Donald Ray McMonagle is a former astronaut and a veteran of three shuttle flights. He became the Manager, Launch Integration, at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on August 15, 1997. In this capacity he was responsible for final shuttle preparation, launch execution, and return of the orbiter to KSC following landings at any other location. He was chair of the Mission Management Team, and was the final authority for launch decision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven R. Nagel</span>

Steven Ray Nagel, , was an American astronaut, aeronautical and mechanical engineer, test pilot, and a United States Air Force pilot. In total, he logged 723 hours in space. After NASA, he worked at the University of Missouri College of Engineering as an instructor in its Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark L. Polansky</span> American astronaut and pilot

Mark Lewis "Roman" Polansky is an American aerospace engineer and research pilot and a former NASA astronaut. Polansky received the nickname "Roman" as a joke, because he shares a last name with director Roman Polanski. He flew on three Space Shuttle missions: STS-98, STS-116, and STS-127 and was first person of Korean ancestry in space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles J. Precourt</span> American astronaut

Charles Joseph Precourt is a retired NASA astronaut. His career in flight began at an early age, and spans his entire lifetime. He served in the US Air Force, piloted numerous jet aircraft, and piloted and commanded the Space Shuttle. Notably, he piloted or commanded several missions which involved docking with the Russian Mir space station and was heavily involved in Russian/US Space relations as well as the International Space Station collaboration. He also served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1998 to 2002. He retired from the USAF with the rank of colonel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard A. Searfoss</span>

Richard Alan "Rick" Searfoss was an American aviator who was United States Air Force colonel, NASA astronaut and test pilot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Archambault</span> American test pilot and NASA astronaut (born 1960)

Lee Joseph "Bru" Archambault is an American test pilot and former NASA astronaut. He has logged over 4,250 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft. Archambault is married with three children. His hobbies include bicycling, weightlifting, and playing ice hockey. Archambault has received numerous awards and honors throughout his life. He has also flown two Space Shuttle missions, as pilot of STS-117 in 2007 and as commander of STS-119 in 2009. Archambault left NASA in 2013 after a 15-year career with the agency in order to become a test pilot for Sierra Nevada Corporation on their Dream Chaser orbital spaceplane project.

References

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration .

  1. 1 2 "CARL J. MEADE (COLONEL, USAF, RET.), NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)" (PDF). NASA. March 1996. Retrieved April 14, 2021.