Skylab astronaut

Biographical Data

Born November 22, 1930, in Enid, Oklahoma.

Married Helen Mary Walker (divorced)
Children Randall O., Robert K., Richard A., Linda S.

Education

High School Enid High School (graduated 1948)
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering University of Oklahoma, 1953
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering Stanford University, 1957
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering Stanford University, 1960
Honorary Doctorate of Science Phillips University, 1973

Military Career

Electronics officer on active duty in the U.S. Navy from 1953 to 1956.

Completed U.S.Air Force Pilot Training Program in 1960.

Post-Military Career

Assistant Professor, then Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, 1961 to 1965. In these capacities he performed research and led graduate studies in ionospheric physics. Authored or co-authored more than 45 scientific papers, chapters, and one book, principally in areas of the physical sciences.

NASA Career

Selected as an astronaut in 1965.

Flew on Skylab III, July 28-September 25, 1973.

Deputy, Acting and Director of Science and Applications at Johnson Space Center, 1974-1975, 1976-1978.

Flew on Spacelab I, a multidisciplinary and international laboratory carried in the cargo hold of Space Shuttle Challenger, November 28-December 8, 1983. Operated the world's first amateur radio station from space, W5LFL, which has since expanded into an important activity on subsequent Shuttle flights, as well as on the Soviet Space Station Mir and the International Space Station.

Project Scientist in the Space Station Project Office, 1984-1986.

Post-NASA Career

Left NASA in June 1986.

Consulted for various aerospace companies and served on several NASA and National Research Council Committees.

Vice-President of Space Programs at Teledyne Brown Engineering, 1988-1993. This division provided payload integration for all Spacelab projects at Marshall Space Flight Center, and also played a major role in the development of the U.S. Laboratory for the International Space Station.

Co-founded the Enid (Oklahoma) Arts and Sciences Foundation in 1992.

Adjunct Professor in the Laboratory for Structural Biology at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. Has participated in research activities there involving microbes recovered from extreme environments such as very alkaline lakes and deep sea hydrothermal vents. Has also made three trips to Antarctica to recover some 20 meteorites.

Organizations

fellow, American Astronautical Society
associate fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
member, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
member, American Geophysical Union
member, American Association for the Advancement of Science
member of Board of Directors, Association of Space Explorers
vice-president and vice-chairman, Astronaut Scholarship Foundation

Awards and Honors

National Science Foundation Fellowship (1960-1961)
NASA Distinguished Service Medal (1973)
Collier Trophy for 1973
Federation Aeronautique Internationale's V.M. Komarov Diploma for 1973
Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy for 1975
induction into Oklahoma Hall of Fame (1980)
induction into Oklahoma Air and Space Hall of Fame (1980)
NASA Space Flight Medal (1983)
induction into U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame (1997)
induction into Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame (2000)
induction into Enid Public Schools Hall of Fame (2001)

SEE ALSO
Oklahoma
Skylab III
Mir Space Station

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This page was last updated on 05/27/2017.