Richard O. Covey
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Richard Covey | |
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NASA astronaut | |
Rank | Colonel, USAF |
Time in space | 26d 21h 9m |
Selection | NASA Group 8 (1978) |
Missions | STS-51-I STS-26 STS-38 STS-61 |
Mission insignia | |
Retirement | August 1, 1994 |
Richard Oswalt Covey (born August 1, 1946) is a retired United States Air Force officer, former NASA astronaut, and a member of the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame.
Early life
Born August 1, 1946, in
Military career
As a member of the
He has flown over 5,700 hours in more than 30 different types of aircraft.
NASA career
Selected as an astronaut candidate by
Prior to the first flight of the
Space flights
On his first mission, Covey was on the five-man crew of
He next served as pilot on
On STS-38 Covey was the spacecraft commander of a five-man crew that launched at night from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on November 15, 1990. During the five-day mission crew members conducted Department of Defense operations. After 80 orbits of the Earth in 117 hours, Covey piloted the Space Shuttle Atlantis to a landing on the runway at the Kennedy Space Center on November 20, 1990. This was the first Shuttle recovery in Florida since 1985.
On his fourth flight, Covey commanded a crew of seven aboard the
Post-NASA career
On August 1, 1994, Covey retired from NASA and the Air Force. Covey is married and has two grown daughters. After the
Covey also appeared in an episode of the American TV show Home Improvement. Series 3, Episode 24, titled "Reality Bytes", aired May 18, 1994. The Hubble repair crew appeared on the fictional show Tool Time, where they showed some of the tools they used in space. During the closing credits, Covey also presented the cast and crew of Home Improvement with a frame containing a flag, crew patch and some photos. The flag and patch had flown around four million miles in space.
Special honors
Covey has been awarded 2
Arkansas Aviation Historical Society inducted Covey into the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame in 1995.[1]
References
- ^ "Arkansas Aviation Historical Society Collection". Butler Center for Arkansas Studies.
External links
- "RICHARD O. COVEY (COLONEL, USAF, RET.) NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)" (PDF). NASA. October 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- Spacefacts biography of Richard O. Covey