Lee Archambault | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Lee Joseph Archambault (1960-08-25)August 25, 1960 (age 65) Oak Park, Illinois, U.S. |
| Other names | Bru |
| Education | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (BS,MS) |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Colonel,USAF |
Time in space | 26d 15h 33m |
| Selection | NASA Group 17 (1998) |
| Missions | STS-117 STS-119 |
Mission insignia |   |
Lee Joseph "Bru"Archambault (born August 25, 1960) is an Americantest pilot and formerNASAastronaut. He has logged over 4,250 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft. Archambault is married with three children. His hobbies include bicycling, weightlifting, and playing ice hockey. Archambault has received numerous awards and honors throughout his life. He has also flown twoSpace Shuttle missions, as pilot ofSTS-117 in 2007 and as commander ofSTS-119 in 2009. Archambault left NASA in 2013 after a 15-year career with the agency in order to become a test pilot forSierra Nevada Corporation on theirDream Chaserorbitalspaceplane project.[1][2]
Archambault attendedProviso West High School inHillside, Illinois in 1978. After graduating high school, he attended theUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he earnedBachelor of Science andMaster of Science degrees inaeronautical andastronautical engineering in 1982 and 1984, respectively.
Archambault received a commission ofSecond Lieutenant in theUnited States Air Force from theAir Force Officer Training School atLackland Air Force Base,Texas, in January 1985. Upon completion, he attended the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) Program atSheppard Air Force Base, Texas, and earned hispilot wings in April 1986. He then reported toCannon Air Force Base,New Mexico, where he served as a combat readyF-111D pilot in the27th Tactical Fighter Wing until April 1990. In May 1990, he transitioned to theF-117A in the37th Tactical Fighter Wing atNellis Air Force Base/Tonopah Test Range,Nevada. From November 1990 to April 1991, he deployed toSaudi Arabia in support ofOperation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and flew twenty-twocombat missions in the F-117A during theGulf War. He served a second F-117A tour in Saudi Arabia from August 1991 to December 1991 in support of post-Desert Storm peacekeeping efforts. In August 1992, Archambault was reassigned toHolloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, where he served as an F-117A instructor pilot and operational test pilot for the57th Wing. Archambault attended theU.S. Air Force Test Pilot School atEdwards Air Force Base, California, from July 1994 until June 1995. In July 1995, he was assigned to the46th Test Wing at the Air Force Development Test Center,Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. There, he performed weapons developmental flight tests in all models of theF-16. Archambault was the assistant operations officer for the39th Flight Test Squadron when he was selected for the astronaut program. Archambault is aColonel in the U.S. Air Force.
Archambault has received many awards and honors, including theDistinguished Flying Cross,Defense Meritorious Service Medal,Meritorious Service Medal (2nd Oak Leaf Cluster),Air Medal (2nd Oak Leaf Cluster),Aerial Achievement Medal (4th Oak Leaf Cluster),Air Force Commendation Medal (1st Oak Leaf Cluster),Air Force Achievement Medal,Combat Readiness Medal,Southwest Asia Service Medal,Kuwait Liberation Medal, and various other service awards. He is a Distinguished Graduate and Liethen-Tittle Award recipient (top graduate) from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, and a Distinguished Graduate from the U.S. Air Force Officer Training School. He graduated with honors from theUniversity of Illinois, was listed as an Outstanding Recent Alumnus at the University of Illinois Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering, and is a Hall of Fame inductee at Proviso West High School.
In June 1998, Archambault was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA, and he reported for training in August 1998. In June 1999, Archambault was assigned to the Astronaut Office Shuttle Operations Branch, where he worked on flight instrument upgrades that were incorporated into theShuttle in 2003. In September 2001, Archambault was also assigned within the Shuttle Branch to serve as an Astronaut Support Person. In this role, Archambault supported launch and landing operations at the Kennedy Space Center, and was the lead in this role forSTS-111 andSTS-114. Beginning in October 2004, he picked up duties as aCAPCOM and served in this role during daily orbit shifts forSTS-121.
Archambault was the pilot forSTS-117, which was the 118th mission of theSpace Shuttle program. STS-117 launched on 8 June 2007 at 19:38 EDT and landed on 22 June 2007 at 15:49 EDT. The 14-day mission traveled 5.8 million miles and landed atEdwards Air Force Base,California. The mission delivered the S3/S4 truss segment to theInternational Space Station and swapped a long duration crew member.
STS-119 was Archambault's first mission as commander of a Space Shuttle. The mission delivered the final set of solar arrays to the space station, as well as long duration crew memberKoichi Wakata. STS-119 was a 13-day mission which was launched on 15 March 2009, and landed at 19:43 EDT. The mission landed on 28 March 2009 at 15:13 EDT and traveled 5.3 million miles and landed atKennedy Space Center inFlorida.[3]
On March 19, 2013, NASA announced that Archambault was leaving the agency after 15 years in order to joinSierra Nevada Corporation.[1][2] Archambault will work on Sierra Nevada'sDream Chaserlifting-bodyspaceplane, which is being developed under NASA'sCommercial Crew Development program as a potential vehicle for futurecrewed anduncrewed cargo missions to theInternational Space Station. Like the Space Shuttle, which Archambault has previously flown, Dream Chaser is designed tolaunch vertically and land horizontally on a runway.[4] Unpowered drop tests of a Dream Chaser test article are planned at Edwards Air Force Base, where Archambault previously landed the Space Shuttle at the end of STS-117.[5]
In early March 2019, Archambault obtained his type rating in theBombardier Dash 8, previously known as the de Havilland Canada Dash 8 or DHC-8, a series of twin-engine, medium-range, turboprop airliners. Archambault currently flies the Dash 8 part-time.[citation needed]
NASA Astronaut Group 16 ← NASA Astronaut Group 17 →NASA Astronaut Group 18 | |||||||
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