Stephen Oswald | |
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| Born | Stephen Scot Oswald (1951-06-30)June 30, 1951 (age 73) Seattle,Washington, U.S. |
| Education | United States Naval Academy (BS) |
| Spouse | Mary Bono |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Rear Admiral,USN |
Time in space | 33d 22h 30m |
| Selection | NASA Group 11 (1985) |
| Missions | STS-42 STS-56 STS-67 |
Mission insignia |    |
| Retirement | January 2000 |
Stephen Scot Oswald (born June 30, 1951) is an American former pilot andNASA astronaut.
Born June 30, 1951, inSeattle, Washington, but considersBellingham, Washington, to be his hometown. He graduated fromBellingham High School in 1969 and earned aBachelor of Science degree inaerospace engineering from theUnited States Naval Academy in 1973.
Oswald graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1973, and was designated aNaval Aviator in September 1974. Following training in theA-7 Corsair II aircraft, he flew aboard theaircraft carrierUSS Midway from 1975 to 1977. In 1978, Oswald attended theUnited States Naval Test Pilot School atPatuxent River, Maryland. Upon graduation, he remained at theNaval Air Test Center conducting flying qualities, performance, and propulsion flight tests on the A-7 andF/A-18 Hornet aircraft until 1981. Following tours as an F/A-18flight instructor and as acatapult officer aboardUSS Coral Sea, Oswald resigned from active Navy duty and joinedWestinghouse Electric Corporation as a civilian test pilot. As a reservist, Rear Adm. Oswald flew the RF-8 and the A-7 until 1988 when he transferred to the fledgling Naval Reserve space community. His assignments included three command tours, the last of which was at the Navy Space Systems Division in the Pentagon as Director, Naval Space Reserve Program. In 2000 and 2001, he served on active duty as Deputy Commander, Joint Task Force – Computer Network Operations based in Washington, D.C. He was assigned as the Reserve Deputy to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfare Requirements and Programs (OPNAV N6/7) inThe Pentagon.
He has logged 7,000+ flight hours in over 40 different aircraft.[1]
Oswald joined NASA in November 1984 as an aerospace engineer and instructor pilot and was selected as an astronaut candidate in June 1985. His technical assignments within the Astronaut Office have included: flight crew representative toKennedy Space Center; flight software testing with theShuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory; crew representative to theMarshall Space Flight Center onsolid rocket booster redesign; and spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) in theMission Control Center duringSpace Shuttle missions. He was also the Chief of the Operations Development Branch within the Astronaut Office and served as Assistant Director of Engineering atJohnson Space Center.
Oswald has piloted two missions aboard theSpace Shuttle Discovery:STS-42, theInternational Microgravity Laboratory-1 mission, flown in January 1992,[2] andSTS-56, the secondAtmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-2) mission, flown in April 1993.[3] Oswald commandedSTS-67, the second flight of the Astro observatory (Astro II), which flew on theSpace Shuttle Endeavour in March 1995. This mission established a mission duration record for Space Shuttle at 17 days.[4] With the completion of his third space flight, Oswald has logged over 33 days in space.[1]
After STS-67, Oswald was assigned to NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., as deputy associate administrator for space operations. In this capacity, he was responsible for Space Shuttle,expendable launch vehicles, and space communications for the agency. After nearly two and a half years in Washington, Oswald returned to the Astronaut Office in July 1998.
Oswald retired from NASA in January 2000.[1]
Oswald is anEagle Scout and recipient of theDistinguished Eagle Scout Award from theBoy Scouts of America.
Member of theSociety of Experimental Test Pilots, theAssociation of Space Explorers, the Naval Reserve Association, and theAmerican Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Recipient of theLegion of Merit, theDistinguished Flying Cross, theMeritorious Service Medal, theNavy Commendation Medal (2), theNASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, theNASA Exceptional Service Medal (2), theNASA Space Flight Medal (3), and various service awards.
Oswald is married toMary Bono who served as aUnited States representative from California from 1998 to 2013.[5] He has three children from a previous marriage.
In 2002, his youngest brother,Navy SEAL Commander Peter G. Oswald was killed inEl Salvador during a helicopter fast-roping accident during joint training exercises with the Salvadoran forces.[6][7]
NASA Astronaut Group 10 ← NASA Astronaut Group 11 →NASA Astronaut Group 12 | |||||||
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