Gordon Fullerton | |
|---|---|
 Fullerton in 1979 | |
| Born | Charles Gordon Fullerton (1936-10-11)October 11, 1936 Rochester, New York, U.S. |
| Died | August 21, 2013(2013-08-21) (aged 76) Lancaster, California, U.S. |
| Education | California Institute of Technology (BS,MS) |
| Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross NASA Distinguished Service Medal |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Colonel,USAF |
Time in space | 15d 22h 50m |
| Selection | USAF MOL Group 2 (1966) NASA Group 7 (1969) |
| Missions | ALT STS-3 STS-51-F |
Mission insignia |    |
| Retirement | December 31, 2007 |
Charles Gordon Fullerton (October 11, 1936 – August 21, 2013) was aUnited States Air Forcecolonel, a USAF andNASAastronaut, and a research pilot at NASA'sDryden Flight Research Facility,Edwards, California.[1] His assignments included a variety of flight research and support activities piloting NASA'sB-52 launch aircraft, theBoeing 747Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), and other multi-engine and high performance aircraft.
Fullerton logged more than 380 hours in space flight, and was a NASA astronaut from September 1969 until November 1986 when he joined the research pilot office at Dryden. In July 1988, he completed a 30-year career with theU.S. Air Force and retired as a colonel. He continued in his position of NASA research pilot as a civilian. Fullerton, his wife, and their two children lived inLancaster, California.
Born October 11, 1936, inRochester, New York, Fullerton graduated fromUlysses S. Grant High School,Portland, Oregon, in 1953.[2] He receivedBachelor of Science andMaster of Science degrees inmechanical engineering from theCalifornia Institute of Technology,Pasadena, California, in 1957 and 1958, respectively.[3]
Fullerton entered the U.S. Air Force in July 1958 after working as a mechanical design engineer forHughes Aircraft Company,Culver City, California.[3]
After primary and basic flight school, Fullerton was trained as anF-86 interceptor pilot, and later became aB-47 bomber pilot atDavis-Monthan Air Force Base,Arizona. In 1964 he was chosen to attend the Air ForceAerospace Research Pilot School (now the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School),Edwards Air Force Base, California. Upon graduation he was assigned as a test pilot with the Bomber Operations Division atWright-Patterson Air Force Base,Ohio. In 1966, Fullerton was selected for and served as a flight crew member for the Air ForceManned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program until its termination in 1969.[3]
Fullerton was part ofNASA Astronaut Group 7 in September 1969 after the cancellation of the MOL program. After assignment to the NASA Johnson Space Center as an astronaut, Fullerton served on the support crews for theApollo 14,15,16, and17 lunar missions.[3]
In 1977, Fullerton was assigned to one of the two-man flight crews that piloted the Space Shuttle prototypeEnterprise during theApproach and Landing Tests Program at Dryden that same year.[4]
Fullerton was the pilot on the eight-daySTS-3Space Shuttle orbital flight test mission, March 22–30, 1982. Launched from theKennedy Space Center,Florida, the mission exposed the orbiterColumbia to extremes in thermal stress and tested the 50-foot (15 m)Canadarm used to grapple and maneuver payloads to orbit.[3] STS-3 landed atNorthrup Strip,White Sands, New Mexico, becauseRogers Dry Lake at Edwards AFB was wet due to heavy seasonal rains.[3]
Fullerton was commander of theSTS-51-F "Spacelab 2" mission, launched from Kennedy Space Center on July 29, 1985. This mission, with the orbiterChallenger, was the first pallet-onlySpacelab mission and the first to operate the Spacelab Instrument Pointing System (IPS). It carried 13 major experiments in the fields of astronomy, solar physics, ionospheric science, life science, and a superfluid helium experiment. The mission ended August 6, 1985, with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base.[4]
Fullerton served as project pilot on the NASA/Convair 990 aircraft, which had been modified as a Landing Systems Research Aircraft to test Space Shuttle landing gear components.[1] Additionally, Fullerton was also project pilot onF-18 Systems Research Aircraft, a test bed to develop new flight control actuators, fiber optic control systems, and other advanced aircraft technology.[1]
As the project pilot on thePropulsion Controlled Aircraft program, Fullerton successfully landed anF-15 and anMD-11 with all control surfaces fixed, using only engine thrust modulation for control.[1][4]
In addition to these activities, Fullerton served as a project pilot on several other research programs at Dryden. Among them were theC-140 Jetstar Laminar Flow Control,F-111 Mission Adaptive Wing,F-14 Variable Sweep Flow Transition, Space Shuttle orbiter drag chute and F-111 crew module parachute tests with theB-52, andX-29 vortex flow control.[1] As project pilot on the B-52 launch aircraft, Fullerton was involved in tests to develop a new F-111 crew module recovery system. He also flew the B-52 for the first six mid-air launchings of the commercially developedPegasus space vehicle.[5]
Fullerton was one of two NASA pilots who flew the Russian-builtTu-144LL supersonic aircraft used in a joint high speed research program.[6]
With over 16,000 hours of flying time, Fullerton piloted 135 different types of aircraft, including full qualification in theT-33,T-34,T-37,T-39, F-86,F-101,F-106, F-111, F-14, X-29,KC-135, C-140, and B-47.[3] After joining Dryden as a research pilot, Fullerton piloted nearly all the research and support aircraft flown at the facility, including theT-38, F-18, F-15, B-52, NASA/Convair 990, 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, and theDC-8.[1]
Fullerton retired in 2007.[2] He suffered astroke in 2009 and was cared for in a facility inLancaster, California, where he died from complications on August 21, 2013, aged 76.[3]
Fullerton was inducted with Lousma into theInternational Space Hall of Fame during a ceremony with the governor of New Mexico in 1982 for their involvement in the STS-3 mission.[10] The governor also presented them with the International Space Hall of Fame's Pioneer Award, and were the second group to receive this award.[11]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
