Rex J. Walheim

Infobox Astronaut
name =Rex J. Walheim


type =NASA Astronaut
status =Active
nationality =American
date_birth =birth date and age|mf=yes|1962|10|10
date_death =
place_birth =Redwood City, California
place_death =
occupation =Test Pilot
rank =Colonel, USAF
selection =1996 NASA Group
time =23d 14h 04m
mission =STS-110, STS-122
insignia = |

Rex Joseph Walheim is a United States Air Force officer and a NASA astronaut.

Born October 10, 1962, in Redwood City, California, Walheim considers San Carlos, California, his hometown. He is married to the former Margie Dotson of Villa Park, California. They have two children. He enjoys snow skiing, hiking, softball and football. His father, Lawrence M. Walheim, Jr., resides in Roseville, California. His mother, Avis L. Walheim is deceased.

Education

Walheim graduated from [http://sequoiaalumni.net/schools/san_carlos/index.html San Carlos High School] in 1980 and received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1984, and a master of science degree in industrial engineering from the University of Houston in 1989.

Awards and honors

* Distinguished Graduate, Reserve Officers Training Corps, University of California, Berkeley
* Distinguished Graduate and top flight test engineer in USAF Test Pilot School Class 92A.
*Meritorious Service Medal
*Air Force Commendation Medals (2)
*Aerial Achievement Medal

Military career

Walheim was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force in May 1984. In April 1985 he was assigned to Cavalier Air Force Station in Cavalier, North Dakota, where he worked as a missile warning operations crew commander. In October 1986, he was reassigned to the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, where he worked as a mechanical systems flight controller and was the lead operations engineer for the Space Shuttle landing gear, brakes, and emergency runway barrier. Walheim was transferred to Headquarters Air Force Space Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in August 1989, where he was manager of a program upgrading missile warning radars. He was selected for USAF Test Pilot School in 1991, and attended the course at Edwards AFB in California in 1992. Following his graduation, he was assigned to the F-16 Combined Test Force at Edwards where he was a project manager, and then commander of the avionics and armament flight. In January 1996, Walheim became an instructor at USAF Test Pilot School, where he served until he commenced astronaut training.

NASA career

Walheim served as a flight controller and operations engineer at the Johnson Space Center from October 1986 to January 1989. He was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in March 1996 and reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996. Having completed two years of training and evaluation, he is qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. Initially, Walheim was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Space Station Operations Branch. He served on the EVA crew of STS-110 in 2002 and has logged over 259 hours in space, including over 14 EVA hours. After his first flight, he was assigned to the EVA branch, where he served as the astronaut office representative for the Extra Vehicular Mobility Unit, (the EVA spacesuit). Walheim is currently assigned to the STS-122 mission that will deliver the European Space Agency’s Columbus Laboratory to the International Space Station.

paceflight experience

STS-110 Atlantis (April 8-19, 2002) was the 13th Shuttle mission to visit the International Space Station. Walheim performed two EVAs totaling 14 hours and 5 minutes. The crew prepared the station for future spacewalks and spent a week in joint operations with the station’s Expedition 4 crew. Mission duration was 10 days, 19 hours and 42 minutes.

Mission milestones

* The delivery and installation of the S0 (S-Zero) Truss
* The inaugural use of the station’s robotic arm to maneuver spacewalkers around the station
* The shuttle crew's inaugural spacewalks from the station’s Quest Joint Airlock.

External links

* [http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/walheim.html NASA bio of Walheim]
* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/walheim_rex.htm Spacefacts biography of Rex J. Walheim]