Rick D. Husband (larger image)

Richard Douglas Husband (July 12, 1957 – February 1, 2003) was an astronaut and the space shuttle commander of STS-107 (Columbia) who was killed when the craft disintegrated after reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. NASA image from http://www. ... NASA image from http://www. ... July 12 is the 193rd day (194th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 172 days remaining. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... U.S. Space Shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless II using a manned maneuvering unit (MMU) outside the Challenger in 1984. ... The Space Shuttle Columbia seconds after engine ignition, 1981 (NASA). ... The STS-107 crewmembers strike a ‘flying’ pose for their traditional in-flight crew portrait in the SPACEHAB aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. ... Space Shuttle Columbia (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-102) was the first space shuttle in NASAs orbital fleet. ... Aerospace engineering is the branch of engineering that concerns aircraft, spacecraft and related topics. ... Atmospheric entry is the transition from the vacuum of space to the atmosphere of any planet or other celestial body. ... Layers of Atmosphere (NOAA) Earths atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earths gravity. ...

Early life

He was born in Amarillo, Texas. He attended Crockett Junior High School, and he graduated from Amarillo High School in 1975. Husband received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Texas Tech University in 1980, and a master of science degree also in mechanical engineering from California State University, Fresno in 1990. Nickname: Rotor City, USA Motto: Official website: http://www. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... The Ford Essex V6 engine Mechanical engineering is a very broad field of engineering that involves the application of physical principles for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. ... Texas Tech University is a nationally recognized doctoral/research university located in Lubbock, Texas, established in 1923 originally as Texas Technological College. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... The campus on a sunny day California State University, Fresno, commonly referred to as Fresno State, is one of the campuses of California State University, located at the northeast edge of Fresno, California, at the foot of the majestic Sierra Nevada mountain range. ... This article is about the year. ...

U.S. Air Force career

After graduating from Texas Tech University, Husband was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force and attended pilot training at Vance Air Force Base (AFB) in Oklahoma. He finished his training there in October 1981, and was assigned to F-4 Phantom II training at Homestead Air Force Base in Florida. After completion of F-4 training in September 1982, Husband was assigned to Moody Air Force Base in Georgia flying the F-4E. From September to November 1985, he attended F-4 Instructor School at Homestead AFB and was assigned as an F-4E instructor pilot and academic instructor at George AFB, California in December 1985. A Lieutenant is a military, paramilitary or police officer. ... The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aviation branch of the United States armed forces. ... Vance Air Force Base is a military base of the United States Air Force in Enid, Oklahoma. ... Official language(s) None Capital Oklahoma City Largest city Oklahoma City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 20th 181,196 km² 355 km 645 km 1. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... F-4 re-directs here; for alternate uses, see F4 The F-4 Phantom II (simply F-4 Phantom after 1990) is a two-place (tandem), supersonic, long-range, all-weather fighter-bomber built by (originally McDonnell Aircraft Corporation) McDonnell Douglas Corporation. ... Homestead Air Force Base, located 22 miles SSW of Miami, Florida (25 29 31. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 22nd 170,451 km² 260 km 800 km 17. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Moody Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Lowndes County, Georgia. ... This article is about the year. ... This article is about the year. ...

In December 1987, Husband was assigned to Edwards Air Force Base in California, where he attended the USAF Test Pilot School. Upon completion of test pilot school, Husband served as a test pilot flying the F-4 and all five models of the F-15 Eagle. In the F-15 Combined Test Force, Husband was the program manager for the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 increased performance engine, and also served as the F-15 Aerial Demonstration Pilot. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Edwards Air Force Base is a USAF airbase located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County, California in the Antelope Valley, 7 miles (11 km) due East of Rosamond, USA at 34°57′ N 117°52′ W. An airbase since 1933, Edwards has long been a home... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 402. ... The U.S. Air Force Flight Test School is located on Edwards Air Force Base in California. ... An F-15 executing a zoom-climb takeoff in afterburner The Boeing (formerly McDonnell Douglas) F-15 Eagle is an American-built all-weather tactical fighter designed to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. ... Pratt & Whitney is an American owned aircraft engine manufacturer whose products are widely used in both civil and military aircraft. ...

In June 1992, Husband was assigned to the Aircraft and Armament Evaluation Establishment at Boscombe Down, England, as an exchange test pilot with the Royal Air Force. At Boscombe Down, Husband was the Tornado GR1 and GR4 Project Pilot and served as a test pilot in the Hawk, Hunter, Buccaneer, Jet Provost, Tucano, and Harvard. He has logged over 3800 hours of flight time in more than 40 different types of aircraft. 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Boscombe Down is a British Ministry of Defence site in Wiltshire, England, currently operated by QinetiQ as a station for trials aircraft. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK... The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... A Japan Airlines Boeing 747-400. ...

NASA career

Husband was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in December 1994. He reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995 to begin a year of training and evaluation. Upon completion of training, Husband was named the Astronaut Office representative for Advanced Projects at Johnson Space Center, working on Space Shuttle Upgrades, the Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) and studies to return to the Moon and travel to Mars. Most recently, he served as Chief of Safety for the Astronaut Office. He flew as pilot on STS-96 in 1999, and logged 235 hours and 13 minutes in space. Husband was later assigned to command the crew of STS-107 which was launched early in 2003. NASA logo Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... An aerial view of the complete Johnson Space Center facility in Houston, Texas in 1989. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... An aerial view of the complete Johnson Space Center facility in Houston, Texas in 1989. ... The Space Shuttle Columbia seconds after engine ignition, 1981 (NASA). ... ISS NASA Crew Return Vehicle cancelled in 2001. ... Crust composition Oxygen 43% Silicon 21% Aluminium 10% Calcium 9% Iron 9% Magnesium 5% Titanium 2% Nickel 0. ... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ... This was a mission of the United States Space Shuttle // Crew Kent V. Rominger (4), Commander Rick D. Husband (1), Pilot Ellen Ochoa (3), Mission Specialist Tamara E. Jernigan (5), Mission Specialist Daniel T. Barry (2), Mission Specialist Julie Payette (1), (Canada) Mission Specialist Valery Ivanovich Tokarev (1), (Russia) Mission... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Layers of Atmosphere - not to scale (NOAA) Outer space, also called just space, refers to the relatively empty regions of the Universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. ... The STS-107 crewmembers strike a ‘flying’ pose for their traditional in-flight crew portrait in the SPACEHAB aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Shuttle missions

• STS-96 (May 27 to June 6, 1999) aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery was a 10-day mission during which the crew performed the first docking with the International Space Station and delivered 4 tons of logistics and supplies in preparation for the arrival of the first crew to live on the station early next year. The mission was accomplished in 153 Earth orbits, traveling 4 million miles in 9 days, 19 hours and 13 minutes.
• STS-107 (January 16 to February 1, 2003) aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia was a 16 day mission during which the crew performed over 80 experiments testing applications of microgravity to gain insight into the environment of space and improve life on Earth as well as enable future space exploration. The mission ended in tragedy on the morning of February 1 when the shuttle disintegrated upon reentry killing all crew members (see Space Shuttle Columbia disaster).

This was a mission of the United States Space Shuttle // Crew Kent V. Rominger (4), Commander Rick D. Husband (1), Pilot Ellen Ochoa (3), Mission Specialist Tamara E. Jernigan (5), Mission Specialist Daniel T. Barry (2), Mission Specialist Julie Payette (1), (Canada) Mission Specialist Valery Ivanovich Tokarev (1), (Russia) Mission... May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Shuttle Orbiter Discovery (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is a NASA Space Shuttle. ... ISS Statistics Crew: 2 As of August 21, 2005 Perigee: 352. ... The STS-107 crewmembers strike a ‘flying’ pose for their traditional in-flight crew portrait in the SPACEHAB aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. ... January 16 is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Space Shuttle Columbia (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-102) was the first space shuttle in NASAs orbital fleet. ... Astronauts on the International Space Station display an example of weightlessness Weightlessness is the experience (by people and objects) during freefall, of having no weight. ... Shuttle debris falling over Texas, on Time cover The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was the disintegration of the Space Shuttle Columbia over Texas on February 1, 2003, during reentry into the Earths atmosphere on its 28th mission, STS-107. ...

Tributes

A memorial statue of Rick Husband in front of the Amarillo Civic Center.

• Husband Hall, in the Columbia Village apartments, at the Florida Institute of Technology.
• Husband Hill, part of the Columbia Hills on Mars.
• Asteroid 51823 Rickhusband.
• Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport, in his hometown of Amarillo, Texas.

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 371 KB) Summary The uploader is the photographer. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 371 KB) Summary The uploader is the photographer. ... The Amarillo Civic Center is a 6,670-seat multi-purpose arena in Amarillo, Texas. ... // Florida Tech Founded by Jerome P. Keuper in 1958 as Brevard Engineering College, absorbing the University of Melbourne, and changing its name to Florida Institute of Technology in 1966, Florida Tech is a growing independent technological college centered on engineering fields. ... For the Roman god, see Mars (god). ... Rick Husband International Airport (IATA: AMA, ICAO: KAMA) is a public airport located just east of Amarillo, Texas in the United States. ...

Quotes

Husband describes how he became a shuttle commander having flown in only one other space flight: Layers of Atmosphere - not to scale (NOAA) Outer space, also called just space, refers to the relatively empty regions of the Universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. ... Flight is the process of flying: either movement through the air by aerodynamically generating lift or aerostatically using buoyancy, or movement beyond earths atmosphere by spacecraft. ...

• "I think a lot of it has to do with being in the right place at the right time."

See also

• Space science

Space science, or the space sciences, are fields of science that are concerned with the study or utilization of outer space. ...

Reference

• NASA - Astronaut bio: R. D. Husband
• Rick Husband STS-107 Crew Memorial
• Spacefacts biography of Rick Husband
• Florida Today - Florida Tech dedicates dorms to Columbia 7 - October 29, 2003