Kenneth Cockrell

Infobox Astronaut
name =Kenneth Cockrell


type =Astronaut
nationality =American
date_birth =April 9, 1950
date_death =
place_birth =Austin, Texas
place_death =
occupation =Test Pilot
rank =
selection =1990 NASA Group
time =64d 12h 25m
mission =STS-56, STS-69, STS-80, STS-98, STS-111
insignia =:"For the similarly named interim mayor of Detroit, see Kenneth Cockrel, Jr."Kenneth Dale "Taco" Cockrell (born 9 April 1950) is an American astronaut and a veteran of five space shuttle missions.

Cockrell was born in Austin, Texas to Buford Dale Cockrell and Jewell Moorman. He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1972 and received his commission in the United States Navy that same year. He also earned a master's in aeronautical systems from the University of West Florida in 1974. He was trained a pilot and was stationed from 1975 to 1978 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Midway. Cockrell then became a test pilot for several years before serving two tours of duty aboard the USS "Constellation". In 1987, Cockrell resigned from the Navy and joined the Aircraft Operations Division of Johnson Space Center as a research pilot.

Cockrell was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1990 and made his first spaceflight in 1993 on mission STS-56 as a mission specialist. He flew as a pilot on the STS-69 in 1995 and commanded STS-80 (1996), STS-98 (2001) and STS-111 (2002).

The nickname "Taco" dates from his days as a naval aviator. As a member of the second NASA "Dog Crew" on STS-69 (in which all of the crewmembers were given dog-themed nicknames), he received the nickname "Cujo" after the dog in the Stephen King novel.

External links

* [http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/cockrell.html NASA Biography]
* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/cockrell_kenneth.htm Spacefacts biography of Kenneth Cockrell]
* [http://www.thespacestore.com/dogcrewiipatch.html Dog Crew II patch]

s-ttl|title=Chief of the Astronaut Office
years=1997–1998