Robert D. Cabana
Robert Cabana | |
---|---|
10th Director of the Kennedy Space Center | |
In office October 26, 2008 – May 17, 2021 | |
Preceded by | William Parsons |
Succeeded by | Janet Petro |
Personal details | |
Born | Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. | January 23, 1949
Education | United States Naval Academy (BS) |
Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross NASA Distinguished Service Medal |
Space career | |
NASA astronaut | |
Rank | Colonel, USMC |
Time in space | 37d 22h 42min |
Selection | NASA Group 11 (1985) |
Missions | STS-41, STS-53, STS-65, STS-88 |
Mission insignia | |
Robert Donald Cabana (born January 23, 1949) is a former Associate Administrator of the
Personal
He was born January 23, 1949, in
Education
He graduated from
Military career
After graduation from the
Cabana retired from the Marine Corps in August 2000 in the rank of colonel.
He has logged over 7,000 hours in 34 different kinds of aircraft.[3]
NASA career
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
Following STS-88, Cabana served as the deputy director of flight crew operations. After joining the
Upon his return to
In October 2008 he was reassigned as director of the
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] Cabana retired from NASA on December 31, 2023.[6]
Spaceflight experience
STS-53 Discovery 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.[8]
STS-88 Endeavour (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.[10]
Cabana has logged over 1,010 hours in space.
Organizations
- Member of the Association of Space Explorers
- Associate Fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots
Awards and honors
- Defense Superior Service Medal
- Distinguished Flying Cross
- Defense Meritorious Service Medal
- Meritorious Service Medal
- National Intelligence Medal of Achievement
- NASA Distinguished Service Medal
- two NASA Outstanding Leadership Medals
- two NASA Exceptional Service Medals
- four NASA Space Flight Medals
- Recipient of The Daughters of the American Revolution Award for the top Marine to complete naval flight training (1976)
- Distinguished Graduate, U.S. Naval Test Pilot School
- De la Vaulx Medal by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (1994)
Footnotes
- ^ Emilee Speck (10 May 2021). "Longtime Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana moving to NASA HQ with new role". ClickOrlando. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
- ^ a b "NASA Announces New Associate Administrator". NASA. May 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
- ^ a b "ROBERT D. CABANA (COLONEL, U.S. MARINE CORPS, RET.), DIRECTOR, KENNEDY SPACE CENTER" (PDF). NASA. July 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
- ^ "Cabana to Succeed Parsons as Kennedy Space Center Director" (Press release). NASA. 2008-09-30. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
- ^ "NASA Management Astronauts". NASA. 2021-01-24. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
- ^ "NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana to Retire After 38 Years" (Press release). NASA. 2023-11-13. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
- ^ Ryba, Jeanne (18 February 2010). "STS-41". Mission Archives. NASA. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
- ^ Ryba, Jeanne (31 March 2010). "STS-53". Mission Archives. NASA. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
- ^ Ryba, Jeanne (1 April 2010). "STS-65". Mission Archives. NASA. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
- ^ Ryba, Jeanne (10 February 2011). "STS-88". Mission Archives. NASA. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
- ^ U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame Inductee Biographies Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2008-03-25
- ^ 2007 U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction Archived 2008-03-15 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2008-03-25
External links
- "ROBERT D. CABANA (COLONEL, U.S. MARINE CORPS, RET.), DIRECTOR, KENNEDY SPACE CENTER" (PDF). NASA. July 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
- Spacefacts biography of Cabana
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Robert Cabana on Twitter