- Robert Curbeam
Infobox Astronaut
name = Robert Lee Curbeam, Jr.
type = Astronaut
status = Retired
nationality = American
date_birth =March 5 ,1962
place_birth =Baltimore, Maryland
occupation =Engineer
rank =Captain , USN
selection = 1994 NASA Group
time = 37d 14h 33m 23s
mission =STS-85 ,STS-98 ,STS-116
insignia =Robert Lee Curbeam, Jr. (b.
March 5 ,1962 ) is a former Americanastronaut , and Captain in theUnited States Navy .Cite web|url=http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/curbeam.html|title=Robert L. Curbeam, Jr., (Captain, USN)|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=December 7|publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration|year=2007|author=NASA ]Curbeam graduated from Woodlawn High School, Baltimore County, Maryland in 1980. He earned a
bachelor of science degree inaerospace engineering from theUnited States Naval Academy in 1984 and amaster of science degree inaeronautical engineering from theNaval Postgraduate School in 1990.He is a member of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and the
Association of Old Crows .Curbeam was named Fighter Wing One Radar Intercept Officer of the Year in 1989 and received the
U.S. Naval Test Pilot School Best Developmental Thesis (DT-II) Award.He currently holds the record for the most spacewalks during single spaceflight. During the STS-116 mission, Curbeam completed four spacewalks.
Naval career
Upon graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy, Curbeam commenced Naval Flight Officer training in 1984. In 1986 he reported to Fighter Squadron 11 (VF-11) and made overseas deployments to the
Mediterranean andCaribbean Seas, and the Arctic andIndian Ocean s on board theUSS Forrestal (CV-59) . During his tour in VF-11, he also attendedNavy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN ).Upon completion of
United States Naval Test Pilot School in December 1991, he reported to the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate where he was the project officer for theF-14 A/B Air-to-Ground Weapons Separation Program. In August 1994, he returned to the U.S. Naval Academy as an instructor in the Weapons and Systems Engineering Department.NASA career
Selected by NASA in December 1994, Curbeam reported to the
Johnson Space Center in March 1995. After completing a year of training and evaluation, he was assigned to the Computer Support Branch in the Astronaut Office. He is a veteran of three space flights,STS-85 in 1997,STS-98 in 2001,STS-116 in 2006, and has logged over 901 hours in space, including over 45 hours during three spacewalks.Between the first two flights, Curbeam served as a spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) responsible for relaying all voice communication between Mission Control and crews aboard the
space shuttle andInternational Space Station . After his second flight, he also served as the CAPCOM Branch Chief. During the spring of 2002, he served as Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety and Mission Assurance, at NASA Headquarters,Washington, D.C. paceflight experience
STS-85 (August 7-19, 1997) was a 12-day mission during which the crew deployed and retrieved theCRISTA-SPAS payload, operated the JapaneseManipulator Flight Demonstration (MFD) robotic arm, studied changes in theEarth's atmosphere and tested technology destined for use on the futureInternational Space Station . The mission was accomplished in 189Earth orbit s, traveling 4.7 millionmile s in 284 hours and 27 minutes.STS-98 (February 7-20, 2001) continued the task of building and enhancing theInternational Space Station by delivering the U.S. laboratory module Destiny. The Shuttle spent seven days docked to the station while Destiny was attached. In helping to complete its assembly Curbeam logged over 19 EVA hours in 3 space walks. The crew also relocated a docking port, and delivered supplies and equipment to the residentExpedition-1 crew. Mission duration was 12 days, 21 hours, 20 minutes.STS-116 (December 9-22, 2006), launched December 9, 2006 at 8:47 p.m. EST, was a mission to the International Space Station. The mission involved the installation of a new truss segment, and the rewiring of the station's electrical system. They also returned ISS Flight EngineerThomas Reiter to Earth after six months in space. AstronautSunita Williams will remain onboard the space station. During the mission astronaut Curbeam was the EVA crewmember for the record-breaking four spacewalks, three of which were conducted along with astronautChrister Fuglesang (Sweden), and one along with astronaut Sunita Williams. Along with rewiring the station's electrical system, Curbeam and Fuglesang aided in the retraction of a sticking solar array onDecember 18 ,2006 . In performing this unexpected fourth EVA to aid in the retraction of the array, Curbeam became the first person to perform four spacewalks on a single mission.After NASA
On December 7, 2007, NASA announced that Curbeam had chosen to leave NASA after 13 years, to pursue a job in the private sector.Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/dec/HQ_07268_Curbeam_Leaves_NASA.html|title=Veteran Astronaut and Spacewalker Robert Curbeam Leaves NASA|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=December 7|publisher=NASA|year=2007|author=NASA]
ee also
*
List of ISS spacewalks
*List of cumulative spacewalk records References
External links
* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/curbeam_robert.htm Spacefacts biography of Robert Curbeam]
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