Bill Oefelein | |
|---|---|
 Oefelein in 2003 | |
| Born | William Anthony Oefelein (1965-03-29)March 29, 1965 (age 60) Fort Belvoir,Virginia, U.S. |
| Education | Oregon State University (BS) University of Tennessee Space Institute (MS) |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Commander,USN |
Time in space | 12d 20h 45m[1] |
| Selection | NASA Group 17 (1998) |
| Missions | STS-116 |
Mission insignia |  |
William Anthony Oefelein (/ˈoʊfɛlaɪn/; born March 29, 1965) is an American freelance adventure writer and photographer and formerNASAastronaut who, on his only spaceflight, piloted theSTS-116Space Shuttle mission.[2]
Oefelein gained media attention on February 5, 2007, when fellow astronautLisa Nowak was arrested in Florida and charged with attempting to kidnap his girlfriend,U.S. Air ForceCaptain Colleen Shipman. Nowak later pleaded guilty to felony burglary and misdemeanor battery. Oefelein admitted to a two-year affair with Nowak, and he and Nowak became the first astronauts ever dismissed from NASA. Following the dismissals, NASA created its first astronautCode of Conduct.[3]
Oefelein was born on March 29, 1965, inFort Belvoir, Virginia, and grew up inAnchorage, Alaska, where he flewfloatplanes, and graduated fromWest Anchorage High School in 1983. He earned hisBachelor of Science degree inelectrical engineering fromOregon State University in 1988, where he became a member ofSigma Alpha Epsilon. Ten years later he received aMaster of Science degree inaviation systems from theUniversity of Tennessee Space Institute.[2]
In 1988, Oefelein received his commission as anEnsign in theUnited States Navy fromNaval Aviation Officer Candidate School inPensacola, Florida. He entered flight training inTexas in 1989 and was designated aNaval Aviator in September 1990.His early assignments included overseas deployments to thePersian Gulf as a strike fighter pilot in theF/A-18 Hornet. After attending theUnited States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (a.k.a. TOPGUN), Oefelein graduated in 1995 from theU.S. Naval Test Pilot School atNAS Patuxent River,Maryland, where he later served as an instructor. In 1998, he was working as a strike operations officer forCarrier Air Wing Eight atNAS Oceana,Virginia.
In June 1998, Oefelein was selected by theNASA Astronaut Corps to be anAstronaut Candidate inNASA Astronaut Group 17.[4][5] After two years of training and evaluation, he was promoted toAstronaut, receiving hisAstronaut Pin, with qualification for theNASA position ofSpace Shuttle pilot.[4] He was initially assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Advanced Vehicles Branch and Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM Branch. Oefelein's only mission was pilotingSpace Shuttle Discovery onSTS-116, which launched on December 9, 2006, logging over 308 hours in space before landing on December 22.[2][6][7][8]
Five months after completing his only space mission, and three months after his married former girlfriend, fellow astronautLisa Nowak, attacked his current girlfriend Colleen Shipman,[9] NASA terminated Oefelein's service with the space agency on May 23, 2007, stating that NASA and the U.S. Navy had made "a mutual decision" that his service with the NASA Astronaut Corps was no longer required, and that he would be reassigned to the U.S. Navy.[10][11][12][13] Oefelein and Nowak were the first astronauts ever dismissed by NASA, which created a written Code of Conduct for the NASA Astronaut Corps following their termination.[14] Oefelein retired from the Navy in the fall of 2008, returning to Alaska to start a business called Adventure Write as a freelance writer and photographer with Shipman, then his fiancée and current wife.[2][15][16]
Oefelein served aspilot for the STS-116 mission aboard Space ShuttleDiscovery from December 9 to 22, 2006. The seven-member crew on this 12-day mission continued construction of theInternational Space Station by adding the P5 spacer truss segment during the first of four spacewalks. The next two spacewalks rewired the station's power system, preparing it to support the addition of European and Japanese science modules by future Shuttle crews. The fourthspacewalk was added to allow the crew to coax and retract a stubborn solar panel to fold up accordion-style into its box.Discovery also delivered a new crew member and more than two tons of equipment and supplies to the station. Almost two tons of items no longer needed on the station returned to Earth with STS-116.
Oefelein was married to his first wife[17] and had not yet been accepted to theNASA Astronaut Corps when he met married and recently selectedAstronaut CandidateLisa Nowak in 1996.[18] When Oefelein became an astronaut candidate in 1998, he and Nowak became romantically involved while training together at NASA.[19] Oefelein and his first wife, who had two children together,[7] divorced in 2005.[17] Oefelein continued his relationship with the still married Nowak, while also starting a relationship, in November 2006, with U.S. Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman.[17] Shipman and Oefelein exchanged racy emails throughout his December 2006 space mission, and he ended his relationship with Nowak in January 2007.[17] On February 5, 2007, Nowak was arrested at theOrlando International Airport following an assault on Shipman. On November 10, 2009, Nowak pleaded guilty to charges and was sentenced to time served plus one year's probation.[20]
On July 10, 2009, Oefelein and Shipman were living together in Alaska when they announced their engagement.[21] The couple married in summer 2010, and live inWasilla, Alaska, with their son, born in 2012.[22] Shipman is now an author under the pen name C.M. McCoy, and released her first novel in December 2015.[22]
In September 2011, Oefelein survived a small plane crash in rural Alaska.[23]
(note that WESH revised the article on August 14, 2009, changing July 12, 2007 archive wording:) NASA has fired the astronaut...(to August 14, 2009 wording:) NASA and the astronaut ... have parted ways
Shipman has left the military and Oefelein has left the astronaut corps, and the two live in Anchorage, Alaska, where they run a company called Adventure Write as freelance writers and photographers. People.com reported in July the two were engaged.
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