James Buchli

James Buchli
James Buchli
	NASA astronaut
Rank	Colonel, USMC
Time in space	20d 10h 25m
Selection	NASA Group 8 (1978)
Missions	STS-51-C; STS-61-A; STS-29; STS-48
Mission insignia

James Frederick Buchli (born June 20, 1945, in

aviator and former NASA astronaut who flew on four Space Shuttle

missions.

Early life and education

Buchli graduated from Fargo Central High School,

Aeronautical Engineering from the United States Naval Academy in 1967. He also earned a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering Systems from the University of West Florida

in 1975.

Buchli is an associate member of Naval Academy Alumni, American Legion, Association of Space Explorers, and American Geophysical Union.

Military career

Buchli received his commission in the

U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland

.

He has logged over 4,200 hours flying time: 4,000 hours in

F-4 Phantom II

.

Buchli became a NASA astronaut in August 1979, selected as part of Group 8. He was a member of the support crew for STS-1 and STS-2, and On-Orbit CAPCOM for STS-2. A veteran of four space flights, Buchli has orbited the Earth 319 times, traveling 7.74 million miles in 20 days, 10 hours, 25 minutes, 32 seconds. He served as a mission specialist on STS-51-C, STS-61-A, STS-29, and STS-48. From March 1989 till May 1992 he also served as Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office.

On September 1, 1992, Buchli retired from the Marine Corps and the NASA Astronaut Office to accept a position as manager of space station systems operations and requirements with

Houston, Texas

.

Space flights

STS-51-C flew the Space Shuttle Discovery, and was the first dedicated Department of Defense mission. Launched January 24, 1985, from Kennedy Space Center, STS-51-C performed its mission to deploy a modified Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) vehicle from the Space Shuttle. Landing occurred on January 27, 1985, after slightly more than three days on orbit, ending a mission lasting 73 hours, 33 minutes, and 27 seconds.
STS-61-A, launched October 30, 1985, and landing November 6, saw the Space Shuttle Challenger perform a West German D-1 Spacelab mission. It was the first to carry eight crew members, then the largest crew to fly in space, and the first in which payload activities were controlled from outside the United States. More than 75 scientific experiments were completed in the areas of physiological sciences, materials processing, biology, and navigation, and the mission duration was 168 hours, 44 minutes, and 51 seconds.
protein crystal growth experiment, and a chromosome and plant cell division experiment. In addition, the crew took over 3,000 photographs of the Earth using several types of cameras, including the IMAX
70 mm movie camera, during the 119 hours, 39 minutes, 40 second mission.

STS-48, from September 12, to September 18, 1991, was a five-day mission during which the crew of the Discovery deployed the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) designed to provide scientists with their first complete data set on the upper atmosphere's chemistry, winds, and energy inputs. The crew also conducted numerous secondary experiments ranging from growing protein crystals, to studying how fluids and structures react in weightlessness. Mission duration was 128 hours, 27 minutes; 34 seconds.