Randolph Bresnik

Last updated

Randolph Bresnik
Randolph J. Bresnik (cropped).jpg
Bresnik in 2009
Born
Randolph James Bresnik

(1967-09-11) September 11, 1967 (age 56)
Fort Knox, Kentucky, U.S.
Other namesKomrade
Education The Citadel (BA)
University of Tennessee, Knoxville (MS)
Space career
NASA astronaut
Rank Colonel, USMC (ret.)
Time in space
149d 12h 12m
Selection NASA Group 19 (2004)
Total EVAs
5
Total EVA time
32h [1]
Missions STS-129
Soyuz MS-05 (Expedition 52/53)
Mission insignia
 STS-129 patch.png ISS Expedition 52 Patch.svg ISS Expedition 53 Patch.png

Randolph James "Komrade" [2] [3] Bresnik (born September 11, 1967) is a retired officer in the United States Marine Corps and an active NASA astronaut. [4] A Marine Aviator by trade, Bresnik was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Group 19 in May 2004. [5] He first launched to space on STS-129, then served as flight engineer for Expedition 52, and as ISS commander for Expedition 53. [6]

Contents

Biography

Bresnik was born in Fort Knox, Kentucky, but considers Santa Monica, California, to be his hometown. [4]

Bresnik graduated from Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, California, in 1985. [4] He then earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from The Citadel in 1989, and later a Master of Science degree in Aviation Systems from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 2002. [4] He then graduated from the Air War College in 2008. Randy is the first graduate of The Citadel to fly in space. [7]

Bresnik's family includes his wife, Rebecca Burgin of Pompton Plains, New Jersey, a son Wyatt (2006), and a daughter Abigail Mae (2009) who was born while he was in orbit during STS-129. This marked the second time a space traveler became a parent while on orbit; it first happened when Franz Viehböck's daughter was born while he was in space in 1991. [8] Bresnik's wife Rebecca has worked at NASA as acting associate general counsel of its International, Space and National Security Law Group. [9] His father is Albert 'Randy' Bresnik, a pilot himself, serving in the Vietnam war and later in domestic duties. [4] His grandfather, Albert Louis 'Al' Bresnik, was Amelia Earhart's photographer. [10]

Marine Corps

In May 1989, Bresnik received his commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps from the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at The Citadel. After graduation he attended The Basic School (TBS) and Infantry Officers Course (IOC) at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. Following Aviation Indoctrination and Primary flight training in Pensacola, Florida, he entered Intermediate and Advanced flight training in Beeville, Texas, and was designated a Naval Aviator in 1992. [4]

Bresnik then reported to the Navy Fighter/Attack Training Squadron VFA-106, Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Florida, for initial F/A-18 training. Upon completion of training, he reported to Marine Fighter/Attack Squadron, VMFA-212 at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, then MCAS El Toro, California, and additionally MCAS Miramar, California, where he made three overseas deployments to the Western Pacific. While assigned to VMFA-212, he attended the Marine Corps Weapons and Tactics Instructors Course (WTI) and Naval Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN). [4]

Bresnik was selected for the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, and began the course January 1999. After graduation in December 1999, he was assigned as an F/A-18 Test Pilot/Project Officer at VX-23, the Naval Strike Aircraft Test Squadron (NSATS). While at Strike, Bresnik flew the F/A-18 A-D and F/A-18 E/F in all manners of flight test. [4]

In January 2001, he returned to the USNTPS as a Fixed-Wing and Systems Flight Instructor, where he instructed in the F/A-18, T-38 Talon, and T-2 Buckeye. Bresnik returned to NSATS in January 2002 to continue flight test on the F/A-18 A-F as the Platform/Project Coordinator.

In November 2002, he reported to Marine Aircraft Group 11 (MAG-11) as the Future Operations Officer. In January 2003, MAG-11 deployed to Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait. From Al Jaber, he flew combat missions in the F/A-18 with VMFA(AW)-225 in support of Operation Southern Watch and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Bresnik was the Operations Officer of VMFA-232 when he was selected for the astronaut program.

Bresnik has logged more than 6,000 hours on 81 different aircraft. [4]

During his military service he was awarded: Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Strike/Flight Air Medal (3), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat "V" (3), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (3), Presidential Unit Citation and various other service awards.

NASA career

STS 129: Bresnik participates in the mission's second session of extravehicular activity STS-129 EVA2 Randolph Bresnik 4.jpg
STS 129: Bresnik participates in the mission's second session of extravehicular activity

Bresnik was selected by NASA in May 2004 as an astronaut candidate. He was one of two pilots chosen in the Astronaut Class of 2004. [5] In February 2006, he completed Astronaut Candidate Training. [4] Bresnik participated in the first analogue ESA CAVES [11] mission in September 2011, staying underground and exploring the caves for 6 days, simulating Mars mission technologies. [12] [13]

On June 10, 2014, NASA announced that Bresnik would command the NEEMO 19 undersea exploration mission aboard the Aquarius underwater laboratory, which began on September 7, 2014, and lasted seven days. [14] [15] Bresnik was the lead astronaut assigned to the closeout crew for the final STS-135 launch in the Shuttle program. [4]

Spaceflight experience

STS-129

In September 2008 NASA announced that Bresnik was assigned as Mission Specialist STS-129, a shuttle mission to the International Space Station. [16] The mission was then slated to launch in October 2009 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery, although this was later pushed back to November 2009 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. [17]

Bresnik and his five crew mates launched from the Kennedy Space Center on November 16, 2009, ahead of an approximately two day rendezvous with the ISS, following which the crew joined the Expedition 21 crew, Commanded by Belgian ESA astronaut Frank De Winne. [18] The main objective of STS-129 was to deliver and install the first two of four ExPRESS Logistics Carriers (ELCs) to the ISS. ELCs are exposed pellets installed on the outboard truss of the ISS intended to support vacuum capable payloads such as scientific experiments built for operations on the outside of the station or for holding spare parts. [19]

Bresnik participated in the second and third EVA of STS-129. On November 21, 2009, Bresnik stepped outside the station with veteran spacewalk Michael Foreman, the two spent six hours and eight minutes outside of the ISS installing a piece of equipment called the Grappling Adapter to On-Orbit Railing (GATOR) on the European Columbus, installing a wireless video system on the outside of the station and setting up a cargo attachment system. Bresnik's second spacewalk took place on November 23, 2009, and was alongside NASA astronaut Robert Satcher. Satcher and Bresnik spent five hours and 42-minutes outside the station installing a similar cargo attachment system to the one on the last spacewalk, but on the opposite side of the station, installing the MISSE-7 experiment and transferring a high pressure gas tank.

STS-129 returned to Earth on November 27, 2009, returning Bresnik and his five crew mates, as well as Expedition 21 flight engineer Nicole Stott from the ISS.

Expedition 52/53

Bresnik(right) pictured with Paolo Nespoli in the Columbus module ISS-52 Paolo Nespoli and Randy Bresnik work in the Columbus module.jpg
Bresnik(right) pictured with Paolo Nespoli in the Columbus module

Bresnik launched aboard Soyuz MS-05 to the ISS on July 28, 2017, and served as flight engineer for Expedition 52, and as ISS commander for Expedition 53. [6]

On October 5, 2017, Bresnik performed his third spacewalk, along with Mark Vande Hei. The spacewalk replaced the gripping mechanism on Canadarm2, the latching end effector A, or LEE-A. Spacewalk duration was 6 hours and 55 minutes. [20] On October 10, 2017, Bresnik and Vande Hei completed the second EVA of the mission. They lubricated the newly installed end effector and replaced cameras, and the duration was 6 hours and 26 minutes. On October 20, 2017, Bresnik and Joe Acaba performed an EVA to continue with the lubrication tasks, and to install more cameras. The duration was 6 hours and 49 minutes. [21]

Bresnik returned to Earth on December 14, 2017. The Soyuz MS-05 landed on 8:38 UTC. [22] The duration of the mission was 138 days, 16 hours, 56 minutes and 37 seconds. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yury Lonchakov</span> Russian cosmonaut

Yury Valentinovich Lonchakov is a Russian former cosmonaut and a veteran of three space missions. He has spent 200 days in space and has conducted two spacewalks. From 2014 to 2017, Lonchakov served as head of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles O. Hobaugh</span> Former NASA astronaut and U.S. Marine Corps officer

Charles Owen Hobaugh is a former NASA astronaut and a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer. He has had three spaceflights, all of which were Space Shuttle missions to the International Space Station, lasting between 10 and 13 days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rex J. Walheim</span> United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut (born 1962)

Rex Joseph Walheim is a retired United States Air Force officer, engineer and NASA astronaut. He flew three Space Shuttle missions, STS-110, STS-122, and STS-135. Walheim logged over 566 hours in space, including 36 hours and 23 minutes of spacewalk (EVA) time. He was assigned as mission specialist and flight engineer on STS-135, the final Space Shuttle mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fyodor Yurchikhin</span> Russian cosmonaut and engineer

Fyodor Nikolayevich Yurchikhin is a Russian cosmonaut of Greek descent, engineer and RSC Energia test-pilot who has flown on five spaceflights. His first spaceflight was a 10-day Space Shuttle mission STS-112. His second was a long-duration stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as a flight engineer for Expedition 15; for this mission he was launched in the Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft. He has undertaken two further long-duration stays aboard the ISS, as a crew member of Expedition 24 / 25. For this mission he was launched with the spacecraft Soyuz TMA-19, and he landed in November 2010, also with the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft. He served as Soyuz commander for his fourth mission aboard Soyuz TMA-09M, as flight engineer for Expedition 36 and ISS commander for Expedition 37. In April 2017, Yurchikhin launched on Soyuz MS-04 for the fifth spaceflight of his career, a six-month mission to the ISS as part of Expedition 51 and 52, for which he was the commander.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Fincke</span> United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut

Edward Michael "Mike"/"Spanky" Fincke is an American astronaut who formerly held the American record for the most time in space. His record was broken by Scott Kelly on October 16, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph M. Acaba</span> American educator, hydrogeologist, and NASA astronaut

Joseph Michael Acabá is an American educator, hydrogeologist, and NASA astronaut. In May 2004 he became the first person of Puerto Rican heritage to be named as a NASA astronaut candidate, when he was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Training Group 19. He completed his training on February 10, 2006, and was assigned to STS-119, which flew from March 15 to 28, 2009, to deliver the final set of solar arrays to the International Space Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shane Kimbrough</span> American astronaut

Robert Shane Kimbrough is a retired United States Army officer and NASA astronaut. He was part of the first group of candidates selected for NASA astronaut training following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Kimbrough is a veteran of three spaceflights, the first being a Space Shuttle flight, and the second being a six-month mission to the ISS on board a Russian Soyuz craft. He was the commander of the International Space Station for Expedition 50, and returned to Earth in April 2017. He is married to the former Robbie Lynn Nickels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soichi Noguchi</span> Japanese aeronautical engineer and JAXA astronaut

Soichi Noguchi is a Japanese aeronautical engineer and former JAXA astronaut. His first spaceflight was as a mission specialist aboard STS-114 on 26 July 2005 for NASA's first "return to flight" Space Shuttle mission after the Columbia disaster. He was also in space as part of the Soyuz TMA-17 crew and Expedition 22 to the International Space Station (ISS), returning to Earth on 2 June 2010. He is the sixth Japanese astronaut to fly in space, the fifth to fly on the Space Shuttle, and the first to fly on Crew Dragon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christer Fuglesang</span> Swedish physicist and an ESA astronaut

Arne Christer Fuglesang is a Swedish physicist and an ESA astronaut. He was first launched aboard the STS-116 Space Shuttle mission on 10 December 2006, making him the first Swedish citizen in space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael E. Fossum</span>

Michael Edward Fossum is a former American astronaut, engineer, and the Chief Operating Officer of Texas A&M University at Galveston. He flew into space on board the NASA Space Shuttle missions STS-121 and STS-124 and served as a mission specialist of Expedition 28 and commander of Expedition 29 aboard the International Space Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-129</span> 2009 American crewed spaceflight to the ISS

STS-129 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Atlantis was launched on November 16, 2009, at 14:28 EST, and landed at 09:44 EST on November 27, 2009, on runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. It was also the last Shuttle mission of the 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew J. Feustel</span> American-Canadian NASA astronaut and geophysicist

Andrew Jay "Drew" Feustel is a former American/Canadian NASA astronaut and geophysicist. Following several years working as a geophysicist, Feustel was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in July 2000. He is the veteran of 3 space flights with NASA. His first spaceflight in May 2009, STS-125, lasted just under 13 days. This was a mission with six other astronauts to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. Feustel performed three spacewalks during the mission. His second spaceflight was STS-134, which launched on May 16, 2011, and landed on June 1, 2011. STS-134 was the penultimate Space Shuttle flight. Feustel returned to space on March 21, 2018, on Soyuz MS-08 with Expedition 55/56. For expedition 56, he commanded the International Space Station, before handing over to Alexander Gerst on October 3, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Marshburn</span> American physician and NASA astronaut

Thomas Henry Marshburn is an American physician and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of three spaceflights to the International Space Station and holds the record for the oldest person to perform a spacewalk at 61 years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Cassidy</span> Retired NASA astronaut (born 1970)

Christopher John "Chris" Cassidy is a retired NASA astronaut and United States Navy SEAL. Chris Cassidy achieved the rank of captain in the U.S. Navy. His first spaceflight was on a Space Shuttle mission in 2009. He was the Chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA from July 2015 until June 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akihiko Hoshide</span> Japanese engineer and JAXA astronaut

Akihiko Hoshide is a Japanese engineer, JAXA astronaut, and former commander of the International Space Station. On August 30, 2012, Hoshide became the third Japanese astronaut to walk in space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Barratt (astronaut)</span> American aerospace medicine physician and a NASA astronaut with two flights

Michael Reed Barratt is an American physician and a NASA astronaut. Specializing in aerospace medicine, he served as a flight surgeon for NASA before his selection as an astronaut, and has played a role in developing NASA's space medicine programs for both the Shuttle-Mir Program and International Space Station. His first spaceflight was a long-duration mission to the International Space Station, as a flight engineer in the Expedition 19 and 20 crew. In March 2011, Barratt completed his second spaceflight as a crew member of STS-133. Barratt will pilot the SpaceX Crew-8 mission in spring 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Hurley</span> Former NASA astronaut

Douglas Gerald Hurley is an American engineer, former Marine Corps pilot and former NASA astronaut. He piloted Space Shuttle missions STS-127 and STS-135, the final flight of the Space Shuttle program. He launched into space for the third time as commander of Crew Dragon Demo-2, the first crewed spaceflight from American soil since STS-135 and became, together with Bob Behnken, the first astronaut in history launching aboard a commercial orbital spacecraft. He was also the first Marine to fly the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet. His call sign is "Chunky", and he was sometimes referred to by this name on the communication loops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard R. Arnold</span> American educator and NASA astronaut

Richard Robert "Ricky" Arnold II is an American educator and a NASA astronaut. He flew on Space Shuttle mission STS-119, which launched March 15, 2009, and delivered the final set of solar arrays to the International Space Station. He launched again in 2018 to the ISS, onboard Soyuz MS-08.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA Astronaut Group 19</span> 2004 human spaceflight selection of 11 candidates; "the Peacocks"

NASA Astronaut Group 19 was a NASA spaceflight team that saw the training of two pilots, six mission specialists, three educator mission specialists to become NASA astronauts. These 11 astronauts began training in 2004. This was the last group to fly the Space Shuttle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Meir</span> American astronaut and marine biologist

Jessica Ulrika Meir is an American NASA astronaut, marine biologist, and physiologist. She was previously an assistant professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, following postdoctoral research in comparative physiology at the University of British Columbia. She has studied the diving physiology and behavior of emperor penguins in Antarctica, and the physiology of bar-headed geese, which are able to migrate over the Himalayas. In September 2002, Meir served as an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 4 crew. In 2013, she was selected by NASA to Astronaut Group 21. In 2016, Meir participated in ESA CAVES, a training course in which international astronauts train in a space-analogue cave environment. Meir launched on September 25, 2019, to the ISS onboard Soyuz MS-15, where she served as a flight Engineer during Expedition 61 and 62. On October 18, 2019, Meir and Christina Koch were the first women to participate in an all-female spacewalk.

References

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

  1. ↑ "EVA info for Astronaut Randolph Bresnik". spacefacets.de. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  2. ↑ Chris Gebhardt (November 2, 2009). "Shuttle Program managers outline mission priorities for STS-129". NASASpaceflight.com.
  3. ↑ "Photo of Bresnik on November 3, 2009, during Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (KSC-2009-6056)". NASA. November 3, 2009. Archived from the original on June 8, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (February 2018). "Randolph J. Bresnik (Colonel, USMC)" (PDF). NASA . Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  5. 1 2 NASA (February 13, 2006). "Astronaut Class of 2004 (Group 19)". Astronaut Biographies. NASA. Retrieved April 22, 2007.
  6. 1 2 "NASA Updates 2017 International Space Station Crew Assignments". NASA. November 15, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  7. ↑ Mike Massimino (October 30, 2009). "STS-129 Behind The Scenes". NASA. Archived from the original on December 31, 2009.
  8. ↑ Viehböck, Franz; Eigner, Susanne (February 23, 2017). "… my business trip into space". Talking about ... Graz University of Technology. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  9. ↑ May, Sandra (May 11, 2023). "Behind the Blue Suit: Teamwork as an Astronaut's Wife". NASA. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  10. ↑ Michaels, Jill (October 22, 2009). "Amelia's Astronaut Connection". Air & Space Magazine. Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022.
  11. ↑ Sauro, Francesco; De Waele, Jo; Payler, Samuel J.; Vattano, Marco; Sauro, Francesco Maria; Turchi, Leonardo; Bessone, Loredana (July 1, 2021). "Speleology as an analogue to space exploration: The ESA CAVES training programme". Acta Astronautica. 184: 150–166. Bibcode:2021AcAau.184..150S. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.04.003. ISSN   0094-5765. S2CID   234819922.
  12. ↑ "Mission accomplished cave crew returns to Earth". ESA. October 19, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  13. ↑ "SPACE in videos: CAVES 2011 MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: CAVE CREW ASTRONAUTS RETURN TO EARTH". ESA. October 19, 2011.
  14. ↑ "NASA Announces Two Upcoming Undersea Missions". NASA. June 10, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  15. ↑ Bergin, Chris (June 11, 2014). "NEEMO returns with two new underwater missions". NASASpaceflight. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  16. ↑ Administrator, NASA (June 6, 2013). "NASA Assigns Crew For Space Shuttle Discovery's Sts-129 Mission". NASA. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  17. ↑ "STS-129" (PDF). November 2009.
  18. ↑ "NASA – Launch and Landing". www.nasa.gov. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  19. ↑ Garcia, Mark (October 25, 2018). "EXPRESS Logistics Carriers". NASA. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  20. ↑ Harwood, William (October 5, 2017). "Aging robot arm gets spacewalk surgery". cbsnews. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  21. ↑ Whiting, Melanie (October 20, 2017). "Expedition 53 Spacewalk Successfully Comes to an End". NASA.
  22. ↑ Chris Bergin (December 14, 2017). "Soyuz MS-05 returns crew back to Earth". nasaspaceflight.com.
  23. ↑ "Expedition 53". spacefacts.de.

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Preceded by ISS Expedition Commander
September 2, 2017 - December 14, 2017		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.