William S. McArthur

Infobox Astronaut
name =William Surles McArthur, Jr.

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type =NASA Astronaut
status =Active
nationality =American
date_birth =26 July 1951
place_birth =Laurinburg, North Carolina
occupation =Test pilot
rank =Colonel, United States Army
selection =1990 NASA Group
time =224d 22h 19m
mission =STS-58, STS-74, STS-92, Soyuz TMA-7, Expedition 12
insignia =

William Surles McArthur, Jr. (born 26 July 1951) is a retired U.S. Army Colonel, a NASA astronaut, and a veteran of three space shuttle missions and one expedition to the International Space Station via the Russian Soyuz capsule.Cite web|url=http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/mcarthur.html|title=William S. McArthur Biography|accessyear=2008|accessmonthday=October 6|publisher=NASA|year=2006|author=NASA]

Air Force career

Born and raised in North Carolina, McArthur was active in the Boy Scouts of America where he achieved its second highest rank, Life Scout. He attended the United States Military Academy and earned his commission in the United States Army. After serving with the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, McArthur attended the U.S. Army Aviation School and served tours of duty in Korea and Georgia (where he earned a degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology).

NASA career

In 1987, McArthur attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and was trained an experimental test pilot. He was assigned to a post as a test engineer at NASA and was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1990. McArthur's first spaceflight was in 1993 aboard STS-58. Subsequent missions included STS-74 in 1995 and STS-92 in 2000.

A Master Army Aviator, McArthur has logged over 4500 flight hours in 39 different aircraft and spacecraft McArthur is the recipient of a number of prestigious awards and honors including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (First Oak Leaf Cluster), the NASA Space Flight Medal, and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal. He retired from the US Army in 2001.

McArthur was onboard the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 12, having been launched on Soyuz TMA-7. He lived aboard the station from October 3, 2005 until April 8, 2006.

McArthur currently serves as Manager, Safety and Mission Assurance, Space Shuttle Program, Johnson Space Center.

Expedition 12

In April 2006, McArthur and Expedition 13 flight officer Jeffrey Williams tested a new method of preparing for spacewalks by "camping out" or spending the night in the Quest airlock, the decompression capsule through which astronauts enter and exit space. In the chamber the pressure was reduced from the normal 14.7 pounds per square inch (psi) to 10.2 psi. The more commonly used method of preparing for spacewalks involves breathing pure oxygen for several hours to purge the body of nitrogen and avoid the bends. The "campout" method was intended to shorten that lengthy preparation time. Four hours into their sleep an error tone prompted mission controllers to cut short the activity, though it was still deemed a success.Cite web|url=http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/060404_iss_campout.html|title=ISS Airlock Camp Out Cut Short by Alarm Glitch, NASA Says |accessyear=2008|accessmonthday=October 7|publisher=Space.com|year=2006|author=Tariq Malik]

Personal life

McArthur is married with two daughters, and enjoys running, photography, and working with personal computers.

References

External links

* [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition13/index.html NASA's Expedition 13 page]
* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/mcarthur_william.htm Spacefacts biography of William S. McArthur]