David M. Walker (astronaut)

David Walker
David Walker
	NASA astronaut
Rank	Captain, USN
Time in space	30d 4h 27m
Selection	NASA Group 8 (1978)
Missions	STS-51-A; STS-30; STS-53; STS-69
Mission insignia
Retirement	April 15, 1996

David Mathieson Walker (May 20, 1944 – April 23, 2001), (

aviator, fighter pilot, test pilot, and a former NASA astronaut. He flew aboard four Space Shuttle

missions in the 1980s and 1990s.

Personal life

Born May 20, 1944, in

Houston, Texas. His wife, the former Paige Lucas, and two adult sons from a previous marriage survived him. He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery

on May 24, 2001.

Education

1962: Graduated from Eustis High School, Eustis, Florida
1966: Received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy

Military career

Walker graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at

NAS Oceana, Virginia, as a fighter pilot and was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea

twice aboard the USS America.

He logged more than 7,500 hours flying time, with over 6,500 hours in jet aircraft.

NASA career

One of 35 candidates selected by NASA in January 1978 for the new Space Shuttle program, Walker became an astronaut in August 1979. Among his technical assignments, he served as Astronaut Office Safety Officer; technical assistant to the Director of Flight Crew Operations in 1981; a chase pilot on STS-1; software verification at the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL); mission support group leader for STS-5 and STS-6; Assistant to the Director, Flight Crew Operations; leader of the astronaut support team at Kennedy Space Center in 1985; Branch Chief, Space Station Design and Development; and Special Manager for Assembly, Space Station Project Office. From July 1993 to June 1994, Walker was Chief of the Station/Exploration Support Office, Flight Crew Operations Directorate, after which he chaired the JSC Safety Review Board.

A veteran of four spaceflights, Walker logged nearly 725 hours in space. He was the pilot on STS-51-A in 1984, and was the commander of STS-30 in 1989, STS-53 in 1992 and STS-69 in 1995.

Walker was in training to command

STS-61-G, scheduled for a May 1986 launch when the Challenger disaster forced NASA to suspend all Shuttle flights. In 1989, while piloting a NASA T-38 Talon to Washington, D.C. for ceremonies honoring the crew of STS-30, Walker came within 100 ft (30 m) of striking a Pan Am jetliner. That encounter and other infractions of NASA flying rules caused him to be grounded from July to September 1990, costing him the command of STS-44.^[2]^[3]

Spaceflights

Westar VI satellites. Mission duration was 127 Earth orbits

in 7 days, 23 hours, 44 minutes, 56 seconds.

Magellan Venus-exploration spacecraft, the first U.S. planetary science mission launched since 1978, and the first planetary probe to be deployed from the Shuttle. Magellan arrived at Venus

in August 1990, and mapped over 95% of the surface of Venus. In addition, the crew also worked on secondary payloads involving fluid research in general, chemistry, and electrical storm studies. Following 64 orbits of the Earth, the STS-30 mission concluded with the first cross-wind landing test of the Shuttle Orbiter at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

STS-53 Discovery (December 2–9, 1992) was launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and also returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California. During 115 Earth orbits, the five-man crew deployed a classified Department of Defense payload DOD-1 and then performed several Military-Man-in-Space and NASA experiments. Mission duration was 175 hours, 19 minutes, 17 seconds.

International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker

payload, and numerous secondary payloads and medical experiments. Mission duration was 10 days, 20 hours, 28 minutes.