Randolph Bresnik | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bresnik in 2009 | |
| Born | Randolph James Bresnik (1967-09-11)September 11, 1967 (age 58) Fort Knox, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Other names | Komrade |
| Education | The Citadel (BA) University of Tennessee, Knoxville (MS) |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Colonel,USMC (ret.) |
Time in space | 149d 12h 12m |
| Selection | NASA Group 19 (2004) |
TotalEVAs | 5 |
Total EVA time | 32h[1] |
| Missions | STS-129 Soyuz MS-05 (Expedition 52/53) |
Mission insignia |    |
Randolph James "Komrade"[2][3]Bresnik (born September 11, 1967) is a retired officer in theUnited States Marine Corps and an activeNASAastronaut.[4] AMarine Aviator by trade, Bresnik was selected as a member ofNASA Astronaut Group 19 in May 2004.[5] He first launched to space onSTS-129, then served as flight engineer forExpedition 52, and as ISS commander forExpedition 53.[6]
Bresnik was born inFort Knox, Kentucky, but considersSanta Monica, California, to be his hometown.[4]
Bresnik graduated fromSanta Monica High School in Santa Monica,California, in 1985.[4] He then earned aBachelor of Arts degree inmathematics fromThe Citadel in 1989, and later aMaster of Science degree inAviation Systems from theUniversity of Tennessee-Knoxville in 2002.[4] He then graduated from theAir War College in 2008. Randy is the first graduate of The Citadel to fly in space.[7]
Bresnik's family includes his wife, Rebecca Burgin ofPompton Plains, New Jersey, a son, and a daughter who was born while he was in orbit during STS-129. This marked the second time a space traveler became a parent while on orbit; it first happened whenFranz Viehböck's daughter was born while he was in space in 1991.[8] Bresnik's wife Rebecca has worked at NASA as acting associate general counsel of its International, Space and National Security Law Group.[9] His father is Albert "Randy" Bresnik, a pilot himself, serving in theVietnam War and later in domestic duties.[4] His grandfather, Albert Louis "Al" Bresnik, wasAmelia Earhart's photographer.[10]
In May 1989, Bresnik received his commission as asecond lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps from theNaval Reserve Officer Training Corps at The Citadel. After graduation he attendedThe Basic School (TBS) and Infantry Officers Course (IOC) atMarine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. Following Aviation Indoctrination and Primary flight training inPensacola, Florida, he entered Intermediate and Advanced flight training inBeeville, Texas, and was designated aNaval Aviator in 1992.[4]
Bresnik then reported to the Navy Fighter/Attack Training SquadronVFA-106,Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Florida, for initialF/A-18 training. Upon completion of training, he reported to Marine Fighter/Attack Squadron,VMFA-212 atMarine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, thenMCAS El Toro, California, and additionallyMCAS Miramar, California, where he made three overseas deployments to the Western Pacific. While assigned to VMFA-212, he attended the Marine Corps Weapons and Tactics Instructors Course (WTI) andNaval Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN).[4]
Bresnik was selected for theU.S. Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) atNAS Patuxent River, Maryland, and began the course January 1999. After graduation in December 1999, he was assigned as an F/A-18 Test Pilot/Project Officer atVX-23, the Naval Strike Aircraft Test Squadron (NSATS). While at Strike, Bresnik flew the F/A-18 A-D and F/A-18 E/F in all manners of flight test.[4]
In January 2001, he returned to the USNTPS as aFixed-Wing and SystemsFlight Instructor, where he instructed in the F/A-18,T-38 Talon, andT-2 Buckeye. Bresnik returned to NSATS in January 2002 to continue flight test on the F/A-18 A-F as the Platform/Project Coordinator.
In November 2002, he reported toMarine Aircraft Group 11 (MAG-11) as the Future Operations Officer. In January 2003, MAG-11 deployed toAhmad al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait. From Al Jaber, he flewcombat missions in the F/A-18 withVMFA(AW)-225 in support ofOperation Southern Watch andOperation Iraqi Freedom. Bresnik was the Operations Officer ofVMFA-232 when he was selected for the astronaut program.
Bresnik has logged more than 6,000 hours on 81 different aircraft.[4]
During his military service he was awarded:Defense Meritorious Service Medal,Meritorious Service Medal, Strike/FlightAir Medal (3),Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal withCombat "V" (3),Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (3),Presidential Unit Citation and various other service awards.
Bresnik was selected by NASA in May 2004 as an astronaut candidate. He was one of two pilots chosen in the Astronaut Class of 2004.[5] In February 2006, he completed Astronaut Candidate Training.[4]Bresnik participated in the first analogueESA CAVES[11] mission in September 2011, staying underground and exploring the caves for 6 days, simulating Mars mission technologies.[12][13]
On June 10, 2014, NASA announced that Bresnik would command theNEEMO 19 undersea exploration mission aboard theAquariusunderwater laboratory, which began on September 7, 2014, and lasted seven days.[14][15] Bresnik was the lead astronaut assigned to thecloseout crew for the finalSTS-135 launch in theShuttle program.[4]
In September 2008 NASA announced that Bresnik was assigned as Mission SpecialistSTS-129, a shuttle mission to the International Space Station.[16] The mission was then slated to launch in October 2009 aboardSpace ShuttleDiscovery, although this was later pushed back to November 2009 aboardSpace ShuttleAtlantis.[17]
Bresnik and his five crew mates launched from theKennedy Space Center on November 16, 2009, ahead of an approximately two day rendezvous with the ISS, following which the crew joined theExpedition 21 crew, Commanded by BelgianESA astronautFrank De Winne.[18] The main objective of STS-129 was to deliver and install the first two of fourExPRESS Logistics Carriers (ELCs) to the ISS. ELCs are exposed pellets installed on the outboard truss of the ISS intended to support vacuum capable payloads such as scientific experiments built for operations on the outside of the station or for holding spare parts.[19]
Bresnik participated in the second and thirdEVA of STS-129. On November 21, 2009, Bresnik stepped outside the station with veteran spacewalkMichael Foreman, the two spent six hours and eight minutes outside of the ISS installing a piece of equipment called the Grappling Adapter to On-Orbit Railing (GATOR) on the EuropeanColumbus, installing a wireless video system on the outside of the station and setting up a cargo attachment system. Bresnik's second spacewalk took place on November 23, 2009, and was alongside NASA astronautRobert Satcher. Satcher and Bresnik spent five hours and 42-minutes outside the station installing a similar cargo attachment system to the one on the last spacewalk, but on the opposite side of the station, installing theMISSE-7 experiment and transferring a high pressure gas tank.
STS-129 returned to Earth on November 27, 2009, returning Bresnik and his five crew mates, as well asExpedition 21 flight engineerNicole Stott from the ISS.
Bresnik launched aboardSoyuz MS-05 to the ISS on July 28, 2017, and served as flight engineer forExpedition 52, and as ISS commander forExpedition 53.[6]
On October 5, 2017, Bresnik performed his third spacewalk, along withMark Vande Hei. The spacewalk replaced the gripping mechanism onCanadarm2, the latching end effector A, or LEE-A. Spacewalk duration was 6 hours and 55 minutes.[20] On October 10, 2017, Bresnik and Vande Hei completed the second EVA of the mission. They lubricated the newly installed end effector and replaced cameras, and the duration was 6 hours and 26 minutes. On October 20, 2017, Bresnik andJoe Acaba performed an EVA to continue with the lubrication tasks, and to install more cameras. The duration was 6 hours and 49 minutes.[21]
Bresnik returned to Earth on December 14, 2017. TheSoyuz MS-05 landed on 8:38 UTC.[22] The duration of the mission was 138 days, 16 hours, 56 minutes and 37 seconds.[23]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration.
This article incorporates text in thepublic domain from theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration.
| Preceded by | ISS Commander (Expedition 52) 2 September to 14 December 2017 | Succeeded by |
NASA Astronaut Group 18 ← NASA Astronaut Group 19 →NASA Astronaut Group 20 | |||||||
| Pilots | |||||||
| Mission specialists | |||||||
| Educator mission specialists | |||||||
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