Robert Cabana | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cabana in 2023 | |
| 10th Director of theKennedy Space Center | |
| In office October 26, 2008 – May 17, 2021 | |
| President | George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | William Parsons |
| Succeeded by | Janet Petro |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1949-01-23)January 23, 1949 (age 76) Minneapolis,Minnesota, U.S. |
| 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 theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) and retired NASAastronaut, having flown on fourSpace Shuttle flights.[1][2] He served asChief of the Astronaut Office from 1994 to 1997 and as director of theJohn F. Kennedy Space Center from 2008 to 2021. He is also a formernaval flight officer andnaval aviator in theUnited States Marine Corps.
Robert Donald Cabana was born January 23, 1949, inMinneapolis, Minnesota, to Ted and Annabell Cabana. Robert is the older of two sons. His younger brother is Gary Cabana. He has three children.[3]
Cabana graduated fromWashburn High School,Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1967.He received hisBachelor of Science degree inmathematics from theUnited States Naval Academy,Annapolis, Maryland, in 1971.
After graduation from theUnited States Naval Academy, Cabana attendedThe Basic School atMarine Corps Base Quantico,Virginia, and completedNaval Flight Officer training atNaval Air Station Pensacola,Florida, in 1972. He served as anA-6 Intruder bombardier/navigator with squadrons in the2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (2nd MAW) atMarine Corps Air Station Cherry Point,North Carolina, and the1st Marine Aircraft Wing atMarine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. He returned to NAS Pensacola in 1975 for pilot training and was redesignated as anaval aviator in September 1976. He was then assigned to the 2nd MAW at MCAS Cherry Point, where he flew A-6 Intruders. He graduated from theUnited States Naval Test Pilot School in 1981, and served at theNaval Air Test Center atNAS Patuxent River,Maryland, as the A-6 program manager,X-29 advanced technology demonstrator project officer, and as atest pilot for flight systems and ordnance separation testing on A-6 Intruder andA-4 Skyhawk series aircraft. Prior to his selection as an astronaut candidate, he was serving as the assistant operations officer ofMarine Aircraft Group 12 at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan.
Cabana retired from theMarine Corps in August 2000 in the rank ofcolonel.
He has logged over 8,000 hours in over 50 different kinds of aircraft.[3]
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 futureSpace Shuttle flight crews. His initial assignment was as the Astronaut Office Space Shuttle flight software coordinator until November 1986. At that time he was assigned as the deputy chief of aircraft operations for theJohnson Space Center where he served for2+1⁄2 years. He then served as the lead astronaut in theShuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) where theOrbiter's flight software is tested prior to flight. Cabana has served as a spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) in Mission Control during Space Shuttle missions, and as chief of astronaut appearances. Prior to his assignment to commandSTS-88, Cabana served three years as NASA'sChief of the Astronaut Office.
Following STS-88, Cabana served as the deputy director of flight crew operations. After joining theISS Program in October 1999, Cabana served as manager for international operations. From August 2001 to September 2002, he served as director of Human Space Flight Programs, Russia. As NASA's lead representative to theRussian Aviation and Space Agency (Rosaviakosmos) and its contractors, he provided oversight of all human space flight operations, logistics, and technical functions, including NASA's mission operations inKorolev and crew training at theGagarin Cosmonaut Training Center inStar City, Russia.
Upon his return toHouston, Cabana was assigned briefly as the deputy manager of International Space Station (ISS) Program. From November 2002 to March 2004, he served as director of Flight Crew Operations Directorate, responsible for directing the day-to-day activities of the directorate, including theNASA Astronaut Corps and aircraft operations atEllington Field. He was then assigned as deputy director of the Johnson Space Center, where he served for three and a half years. From October 2007 through October 2008, Cabana served as director ofJohn C. Stennis Space Center.
In October 2008 he was reassigned as director of theJohn F. Kennedy Space Center,[4] and served as director for over a decade.
In May 2021, Cabana was appointed as the Associate Administrator of NASA.[2] As a former active astronaut still employed by NASA, Cabana remained a member of theNASA Astronaut Corps as a non-flight eligiblemanagement astronauts.[5] Cabana retired from NASA on December 31, 2023.[6]
STS-41Discovery launched on October 6, 1990, from theKennedy Space Center,Florida, and landed atEdwards Air Force Base,California, on October 10, 1990. During 66 orbits of the Earth, the five-man crew successfully deployed theUlysses spacecraft, starting the interplanetary probe on its four-year journey, viaJupiter, to investigate the polar regions of the Sun; operated the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet instrument (SSBUV) to map atmospheric ozone levels; activated a controlled "fire in space" experiment (the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment, or SSCE); and conducted numerous other middeck experiments involving radiation measurements, polymer membrane production, and microgravity effects on plants.[7]
STS-53Discovery launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on December 2, 1992. The crew of five deployed the classifiedDepartment 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-65Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on July 8, 1994, returning to Florida on July 23, 1994. The crew conducted the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) mission utilizing the longSpacelab module in the payload bay. The flight consisted of 82 experiments from 15 countries and six space agencies from around the world. During the record-setting 15-day flight, the crew conducted experiments that focused on materials and life sciences research in amicrogravity environment paving the way for future operations and cooperation aboard International Space Station. The mission was accomplished in 236 orbits of the Earth in 353 hours and 55 minutes.[9]
STS-88Endeavour (December 4–15, 1998) was the firstInternational Space Station assembly mission. During the 12-day mission,Unity, the U.S. built node, was attached toZarya, 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'sPhillips Laboratory, and SAC-A, the first successful launch of anArgentine satellite. The mission was accomplished in 185 orbits of the Earth in 283 hours and 18 minutes.[10]
Cabana has logged over 910 hours in space.
| Preceded by | Chief of the Astronaut Office 1994–1997 | Succeeded by |
NASA Astronaut Group 10 ← NASA Astronaut Group 11 →NASA Astronaut Group 12 | |||||||
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