Patrick Forrester | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Patrick Graham Forrester (1957-03-31)March 31, 1957 (age 68) El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
| Education | United States Military Academy (BS) University of Virginia (MS) |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Colonel,USA (ret.) |
Time in space | 39d 14h 18m[1] |
| Selection | NASA Group 16 (1996) |
TotalEVAs | 4 |
Total EVA time | 25h 22m[1] |
| Missions | STS-105 STS-117 STS-128 |
Mission insignia |    |
Patrick Graham Forrester (born March 31, 1957) is a NASAastronaut, engineer, and formerChief of the Astronaut Office. He is a retiredUnited States Armycolonel and Army aviator. He is married and has two children.
Forrester flew on threeSpace Shuttle missions:STS-105,STS-117, andSTS-128.
Born March 31, 1957, inEl Paso, Texas, he is anEagle Scout in theBoy Scouts of America.[2] Forrester is married to the former Diana Lynn Morris ofSpringfield, Virginia. They have two sons, Patrick Forrester, Jr. and Andrew. His father, Colonel (ret.) Redmond V. Forrester, is deceased; his mother, Patsy L. Forrester, is deceased.
Forrester graduated fromWest Point in June 1979 and was commissioned as asecond lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He entered theU.S. Army Aviation School in 1979 and was designated anArmy Aviator in September 1980. He was subsequently assigned as an instructor pilot at the Aviation School, and as the aide-de-camp to the Deputy Commanding General of the U.S. Army Aviation Center. In 1984, he was assigned to the25th Infantry Division (Light),Schofield Barracks,Hawaii, where he served as aplatoon leader, aviation company operations officer, and an assault helicopter battalion operations officer. After completing a master of science degree at theUniversity of Virginia in 1989, he was assigned as aflight test engineer and as the research and development coordinator with the Army Aviation Engineering Flight Activity atEdwards Air Force Base,California. In June 1992, he graduated from theU.S. Naval Test Pilot School and was designated an experimentaltest pilot. In 1992, he was assigned as an engineering test pilot at the U.S. Army Aviation Technical Test Center,Fort Rucker,Alabama. Other military schools include the Army Parachutist Course, U.S. ArmyRanger School, the Combined Arms Services Staff School, and theCommand and General Staff College.
AMaster Army Aviator, Forrester has logged over 5,500 hours in over 50 different aircraft.
Forrester retired from the Army in October 2005.
Forrester was assigned to NASA at theJohnson Space Center as an aerospace engineer in July 1993. His technical assignments within the Astronaut Office Operations Development Branch have included: flight software testing with theShuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL); Astronaut Office representative for Landing/Rollout issues, Multi-function Electronic Display System (MEDS) upgrade of the Orbiter fleet, and the Portable In-flight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT). He has also served as the crew representative for robotics development for the International Space Station.
Forrester was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in May 1996. Having completed two years of training and evaluation, he is qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. Initially, Forrester was assigned to duties at theKennedy Space Center as a member of the astronaut support team, responsible for Shuttle prelaunch vehicle checkout, crew ingress and strap-in, and crew egress after landing. He next served as the technical assistant to the Director, Flight Crew Operations. Following that, Forrester served as the Shuttle training and on-board crew procedures representative. Forrester flew onSTS-105 in 2001, with the crew ofSTS-117 in 2007, and as a mission specialist on theSTS-128 mission in 2009. He has logged over 950 hours in space, including fourspacewalks totaling 25 hours and 22 minutes of EVA time.
He was announced asChief of the Astronaut Office on June 2, 2017. He is the first Army officer to hold this position. He replacedChris Cassidy who returned to normal flight status. He served in this position until December 20, 2020, whenGregory R. Wiseman was selected.[3]
Discovery (August 10–22, 2001) was the 11th mission to theInternational Space Station (ISS). While at the orbital outpost, the STS-105 crew delivered theExpedition 3 crew, attached the LeonardoMulti-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), and transferred over 2.7 metric tons of supplies and equipment to the station. During the mission, Forrester andDan Barry performed two spacewalks totaling 11 hours and 45 minutes of EVA time. Forrester served as the prime robotics operator to install the MPLM. STS-105 also brought home theExpedition 2 crew. The STS-105 mission was accomplished in 186 orbits of the Earth, traveling over 4.9 million miles in 285 hours and 13 minutes.
Atlantis (June 8–22, 2007) was the 118th Shuttle mission and the 21st mission to visit the ISS, delivering the second starboard truss segment, the third set of U.S. solar arrays and batteries and associated equipment. The successful construction and repair mission involved four spacewalks by two teams. Forrester accumulated 13 hours and 37 minutes of EVA time in two spacewalks. The mission also delivered crewmemberClayton Anderson, and returned withSunita Williams from theExpedition 15 crew. STS-117 returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California, having traveled 5.8 million miles in 14 days.
Discovery (August 28-September 11, 2009) was the 128th Shuttle mission and the 30th mission to the ISS. While at the orbital outpost, the STS-128 crew rotatedNicole Stott for crewmemberTimothy Kopra onExpedition 20, attached the Leonardo MPLM and transferred more than 18,000 pounds of supplies and equipment to the ISS. The STS-128 crew conducted three spacewalks. Forrester served as the prime robotics operator forDiscovery. The STS-128 mission was accomplished in 217 orbits of the Earth, traveling more than 5.7 million miles in 332 hours and 53 minutes and returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.| Preceded by | Chief of the Astronaut Office 2017–2020 | Succeeded by |
NASA Astronaut Group 15 ← NASA Astronaut Group 16 →NASA Astronaut Group 17 | |||||||
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| International mission specialists |
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