He was born January 23,1949,in Minneapolis,Minnesota,to Ted and Annabell Cabana. Ted has since moved to Salt Lake City. Robert is the older of two sons. His younger brother is Gary Cabana,and he is married to the former Nancy Joan Shimer of Cortland,New York. He has three children:Jeffrey,Christopher,and Sarah.[3]
He has logged over 7,000 hours in 34 different kinds of aircraft.[3]
NASA career
Robert Cabana in Firing Room Four observing the last mission of the Space Shuttle.
Selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in June 1985,Cabana completed initial astronaut training in July 1986,qualifying for assignment as a pilot on future Space Shuttle flight crews. His initial assignment was as the Astronaut Office Space Shuttle flight software coordinator until November 1986. At that time he was assigned as the deputy chief of aircraft operations for the Johnson Space Center where he served for 2+1⁄2 years. He then served as the lead astronaut in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) where the Orbiter's flight software is tested prior to flight. Cabana has served as a spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) in Mission Control during Space Shuttle missions, and as chief of astronaut appearances. Prior to his assignment to command STS-88, Cabana served three years as NASA's Chief of the Astronaut Office.
Following STS-88, Cabana served as the deputy director of flight crew operations. After joining the ISS Program in October 1999, Cabana served as manager for international operations. From August 2001 to September 2002, he served as director of Human Space Flight Programs, Russia. As NASA's lead representative to the Russian Aviation and Space Agency (Rosaviakosmos) and its contractors, he provided oversight of all human space flight operations, logistics, and technical functions, including NASA's mission operations in Korolev and crew training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.
Upon his return to Houston, Cabana was assigned briefly as the deputy manager of International Space Station (ISS) Program. From November 2002 to March 2004, he served as director of Flight Crew Operations Directorate, responsible for directing the day-to-day activities of the directorate, including the NASA Astronaut Corps and aircraft operations at Ellington Field. He was then assigned as deputy director of the Johnson Space Center, where he served for three and a half years. From October 2007 through October 2008, Cabana served as director of John C. Stennis Space Center.
In October 2008 he was reassigned as director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center,[4] and served as director for over a decade.
In May 2021, Cabana was appointed as the Associate Administrator of NASA.[2] As a former "active" (eligible for space missions) astronaut still working for NASA, Cabana remains a member of the NASA Astronaut Corps, as one of sixteen (as of May 2021) management astronauts.[5]
Spaceflight experience
STS-41Discovery launched on October 6, 1990, from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on October 10, 1990. During 66 orbits of the Earth, the five-man crew successfully deployed the Ulysses spacecraft, starting the interplanetary probe on its four-year journey, via Jupiter, to investigate the polar regions of the Sun; operated the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet instrument (SSBUV) to map atmospheric ozone levels; activated a controlled "fire in space" experiment (the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment, or SSCE); and conducted numerous other middeck experiments involving radiation measurements, polymer membrane production, and microgravity effects on plants.[6]
STS-53Discovery launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on December 2, 1992. The crew of five deployed the classified Department of Defense payload DOD-1 and then performed several Military-Man-in-Space and NASA experiments. After completing 115 orbits of the Earth in 175 hours, Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on December 9, 1992.[7]
STS-65Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on July 8, 1994, returning to Florida on July 23, 1994. The crew conducted the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) mission utilizing the long Spacelab module in the payload bay. The flight consisted of 82 experiments from 15 countries and six space agencies from around the world. During the record-setting 15-day flight, the crew conducted experiments that focused on materials and life sciences research in a microgravity environment paving the way for future operations and cooperation aboard International Space Station. The mission was accomplished in 236 orbits of the Earth in 353 hours and 55 minutes.[8]
STS-88Endeavour (December 4–15, 1998) was the first International Space Station assembly mission. During the 12-day mission, Unity, the U.S. built node, was attached to Zarya, the Russian built Functional Cargo Block (FGB). Two crewmembers performed three spacewalks to connect umbilicals and attach tools/hardware in the assembly and outfitting of the station. Additionally, the crew performed the initial activation and first ingress of the International Space Station preparing it for future assembly missions and full-time occupation. The crew also performed IMAX Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC) operations, and deployed two satellites, Mighty Sat 1 built by the U.S. Air Force's Phillips Laboratory, and SAC-A, the first successful launch of an Argentine satellite. The mission was accomplished in 185 orbits of the Earth in 283 hours and 18 minutes.[9]
Michael Lloyd Coats is a former NASA astronaut, raised in Riverside, California. From December 2005 to December 2012, he served as Director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
James Frederick Buchli is a retired United States Marine aviator and former NASA astronaut who flew on four Space Shuttle missions.
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.
Kent Vernon "Rommel" Rominger is an American former astronaut, former NASA Chief of the Astronaut Office at Johnson Space Center, and a captain in the United States Navy. Rominger holds the Space Shuttle Orbiter flight time record with 1610 hours. He joined ATK Launch Systems Group in 2006 as Vice President of Advanced Programs.
Norman Earl Thagard, is an American scientist and former U.S. Marine Corps officer and naval aviator and NASA astronaut. He is the first American to ride to space on board a Russian vehicle, and can be considered the first American cosmonaut. He did this on March 14, 1995, in the Soyuz TM-21 spacecraft for the Russian Mir-18 mission.
Andrew Michael "Andy" Allen is a retired American astronaut. A former Marine aviator and lieutenant colonel, he worked as a test pilot before joining NASA in 1987. He flew three Space Shuttle missions before retiring in 1997.
John Elmer Blaha is a retired United States Air Force colonel and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of five space missions aboard the Space Shuttle and Mir.
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.
Kenneth Donald Cameron, , is a retired American naval aviator, test pilot, engineer, U.S. Marine Corps officer, and NASA astronaut.
Brian Duffy is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and a former NASA astronaut. He flew aboard four Space Shuttle missions.
Charles Donald "Sam" Gemar is an American former astronaut with NASA and a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army. Gemar has flown on three Space Shuttle missions. Gemar has completed 385 orbits of the Earth and over 581 hours in space. He has also served in different positions in NASA, including as a CAPCOM for Shuttle missions. Gemar was the first astronaut to be born in the state of South Dakota.
Linda Maxine Godwin is an American scientist and retired NASA astronaut. Godwin joined NASA in 1980 and became an astronaut in July 1986. She retired in 2010. During her career, Godwin completed four space flights and logged over 38 days in space. Godwin also served as the assistant to the director for exploration, Flight Crew Operations Directorate at the Johnson Space Center. Since retiring from NASA, she accepted the position of professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Missouri.
Terence Thomas "Tom" Henricks is a retired colonel in the United States Air Force and a former NASA astronaut. He served on four Space Shuttle missions.
Carlos Ismael Noriega is a Peruvian-American NASA employee, a former NASA astronaut and a retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel.
Stephen Scot Oswald is an American former pilot and NASA astronaut.
Bryan Daniel O'Connor is a retired United States Marine Corps Colonel and former NASA astronaut. He was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2008.
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.
Robert Clyde "Bob" Springer is a retired American astronaut and test pilot who flew as a mission specialist on two NASA Space Shuttle missions in 1989 and 1990. A decorated aviator in the United States Marine Corps, Springer also flew more than 500 combat sorties during the Vietnam War. He has logged over 237 hours in space and 4,500 hours flying time, including 3,500 hours in jet aircraft.
Pierre Joseph Thuot is a retired United States Navy captain and NASA astronaut. He went into space three times, spending over 650 hours in space, including over 15 hours in three space walks. He is a former U.S. record holder for time spent on one spacewalk, and participated in the first three-person spacewalk.
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.
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.
