Ronald J. Grabe
Ronald Grabe | |
---|---|
NASA astronaut | |
Rank | Colonel, USAF |
Time in space | 26d 3h 38m |
Selection | NASA Group 9 (1980) |
Missions | STS-51-J STS-30 STS-42 STS-57 |
Mission insignia |
Ronald John Grabe (born June 13, 1945, in New York, New York), (Col, USAF, Ret.), is a former NASA astronaut.
He has earned the Air Force
Education and early career
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (December 2021) |
Grabe graduated from
) in 1967.He returned to the United States in 1967 to complete pilot training at
In 1970, he was reassigned to the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing at Cannon Air Force Base to fly F-100 and
He has logged more than 5,500 hours flying time.
NASA experience
Grabe became a NASA astronaut in August 1981. He has served as a chief verification pilot for
Grabe has logged over 627 hours in space. Effective April 11, 1994, Grabe left NASA and the Air Force to join Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Virginia.
Space flight experience
STS-51-J, the second Space Shuttle Department of Defense mission, launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on October 3, 1985. This was the maiden voyage of the Atlantis, the final Orbiter in the Shuttle fleet. After 98 hours of orbital operations, Atlantis landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on October 7, 1985. Mission duration was 97 hours, 14 minutes, 38 seconds.
STS-57 Endeavour launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on June 21, 1993. The primary mission of this flight was the retrieval of the European Retrievable Carrier satellite (EURECA). Additionally, STS-57 featured the first flight of the Spacehab, a commercially provided middeck augmentation module for the conduct of microgravity experiments. Spacehab carried 22 individual flight experiments in materials processing and human factors. A spacewalk was conducted on this flight as part of an ongoing program to evaluate extravehicular activity (EVA) techniques for future missions. The Space Shuttle Endeavour landed at the Kennedy Space Center on July 1, 1993, after 10 days on orbit. Mission duration was 239 hours, 45 minutes.
He is married to the former Lynn O'Keefe of Ottawa, Canada. Ron has two daughters and he and Lynn have a son. Recreational interests include skiing, wind surfing, and racquet sports.
References
- "Biographical Data: RONALD J. GRABE (COLONEL, USAF, RET.) NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)" (PDF). NASA. July 1999. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- Spacefacts biography of Ronald J. Grabe