Max Q (astronaut band)

Max Q on stage: guitar player Dan Burbank and drummer Jim Wetherbee (2004)

Max Q^[1] is a Houston-based rock band whose members are all astronauts. It was formed in early 1987 by Robert L. Gibson, George Nelson and Brewster Shaw. Gibson named the band after "max Q," the engineering term for the maximum dynamic pressure from the atmosphere experienced by an ascending spacecraft. He joked that like the Space Shuttle, the band "makes lots of noise but no music."

The band's rotating line-up often changes due to flight crew assignments, training, and the occasional retirement^[1]. Current members include^[1]:

• Ricky Arnold – rhythm guitar
• Dan Burbank – lead vocals and guitar
• Tracy "TC" Caldwell Dyson – lead vocals
• Ken "Taco" Cockrell – keyboards and background vocals
• Chris Ferguson – drums
• Drew Feustel – lead vocals and lead guitar
• Kevin A. Ford – drums
• Chris Hadfield – lead vocals and bass guitar
• Greg "Box" Johnson – keyboards and background vocals
• Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger – lead vocals
• Steve "Stevie Ray" Robinson – lead guitar

Former members include^[1]:

• Kevin "Chili" Chilton – lead vocals and guitar
• Robert "Hoot" Gibson – lead vocals and guitar
• Susan Helms – lead vocals and keyboards
• George "Pinky" Nelson – guitar
• Brewster Shaw – guitar
• Pierre Thuot – bass guitar
• Carl Walz – lead vocals
• Jim Wetherbee – drums

References

• Moonlighting to the Max (Jill Michaels, Go [AirTran Airways inflight magazine], April 2005)
• NASA's Space Shuttle: Cheers to 25 Years from a Veteran Space Reporter, Todd Halvorson, FLORIDA TODAY, 12 April 2006, accessed 5 April 2010
• YouTube - Max Q performs at the Kemah Boardwalk in Kemah, TX. 4 September 2008

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Max Q Live: In space no one can hear you sing, Michael Cassutt, Air & Space Magazine, 1 March 2009, accessed 5 April 2010