Scott Altman
Scott Altman | |
---|---|
NASA astronaut | |
Rank | Captain, USN |
Time in space | 51d 12h 47m |
Selection | NASA Group 15 (1994) |
Missions | STS-90 STS-106 STS-109 STS-125 |
Mission insignia | |
Signature | |
Scott Douglas "Scooter" Altman (born August 15, 1959) is a retired
Personal life
Altman was born in
Education
- 1977: Graduated from Pekin Community High School, Pekin, Illinois
- 1981: Received University of Illinois, where he became a member of the Sigma Chifraternity
- 1990: Received Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School
Military career
After being rejected from the United States Air Force for being too tall, Altman instead enlisted in the United States Navy. He was commissioned as an
Involvement in Top Gun film
Altman performed many of the aerial stunts in the 1986 film Top Gun, most notably in the scene where Tom Cruise's character, Maverick, "flips the bird" at the enemy MiG pilot (played by Robert F. Willard).[5]
In a NASA interview prior to his 2000 spaceflight, Scott Altman commented[6] on his role as an F-14 pilot involved in the filming of Top Gun:
Well, Top Gun was a real thrill. I still remember that so vividly. The word was going around town that Hollywood was coming to Miramar, where I was stationed, and they were going to do a movie, and we were all kind of excited. My squadron had just gotten back from a seven-and-a-half-month cruise about a week and a half before, so our airplanes were at home, we were available, we weren't too highly tasked. And it turned out they picked my squadron to supply the F-14s.
Then the skipper got together and tried to pick four guys that he thought, were mature enough, I guess, to handle, you know, the capability that they were being given in working with the movie, and all the things that were required. And the director wanted to have a small cadre of people that he could work with so you develop an understanding of what the movie folks want versus what we can do and how to try and balance those two requirements.
The flying was incredible. You know, most Navy pilots don't get to buzz the tower like in the movie – if you did you could just peel your wings off and, throw 'em at the door because you probably wouldn't be flying anymore – but, since it was Hollywood, you know, they wanted the scene. I had to buzz the tower. And, of course, they wanted nine different takes – so we did it nine times!
NASA career
Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in December 1994, Altman reported to the
Spaceflights
STS-90 Neurolab (April 17 to May 3, 1998). During the 16-day Spacelab flight the seven person crew aboard Space Shuttle Columbia served as both experiment subjects and operators for 26 individual life science experiments focusing on the effects of microgravity on the brain and nervous system.
STS-106 Atlantis (September 8–20, 2000). During the 12-day mission, the crew successfully prepared the International Space Station for the arrival of the first permanent crew. Additionally, he handflew two complete flyarounds of the station after undocking.
STS-125 Atlantis (May 11–24, 2009). STS-125 was the fifth and final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis carried two new instruments to the telescope, the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and the Wide Field Camera 3. The mission also replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor, six gyroscopes, and two battery unit modules to allow the telescope to continue to function at least through 2014. The crew also installed new thermal blanket insulating panels to provide improved thermal protection, and a soft-capture mechanism that would aid in the safe de-orbiting of the telescope by an uncrewed spacecraft at the end of its operational lifespan. The mission also carried an IMAX camera and the crew documented the progress of the mission for an upcoming IMAX film.
Organizations
- University of Illinois Alumni Association
- Sigma Chi Alumni Association
- Association of Naval Aviation life member
- Military Order of the World Wars
Awards and honors
- Defense Superior Service Medal
- Legion of Merit
- Distinguished Flying Cross
- Defense Meritorious Service Medal
- Navy Strike/Flight Air Medal
- Navy Commendation Medal
- Navy Achievement Medal
- NASA Distinguished Service Medal
- 1987 Award winner for Outstanding Achievement in Tactical Aviation as selected by the Association of Naval Aviation.
- United States Astronaut Hall of Fame - 2018[8]
- Awarded the Order of Lincoln, Illinois' highest honor, on November 6, 2021, at the awards presentation.[9]
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the
- ^ "About ASRC Federal".
- ^ Ninety-Sixth Commencement program, Rice University, May 9, 2009
- ^ Woods Harris, Sharon (September 7, 2010). "Pekin Set to Formally Pay Tribute to Astronaut". Peoria Journal Star. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
- ^ a b "WATCH: Live from the Flight Deck: The F-14 Tomcat with Scott "Scooter" Altman" (video). Youtube. Intrepid Museum. May 13, 2022.
- ^ John Zarrella (May 11, 2009). "Former 'Top Gun' leads Hubble repair mission". CNN.
- ^ "Tazewell County Photo of the Month - December 2000". www.tcghs.org.
- ^ "SCOTT D. ALTMAN (CAPTAIN, USN, RET.) NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)" (PDF). NASA. September 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
- ^ "Two Space Explorers Inducted into U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame". NASA. April 26, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
- ^ The Lincoln Academy of Illinois (September 21, 2021). "57th Laureate Convocation - Chicago History Museum".
External links
- "SCOTT D. ALTMAN (CAPTAIN, USN, RET.) NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)" (PDF). NASA. September 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
- Spacefacts biography of Scott Altman
- Scott Altman at IMDb