William Frederick Fisher

Infobox Astronaut
name =William Frederick Fisher


type =NASA Astronaut
nationality =American
date_birth =April 1, 1946
place_birth =Dallas, Texas
occupation =Medical Doctor
selection =1980 NASA Group
time =7d 02h 17m
mission =STS-51-I
insignia =|

William Frederick Fisher is American physician and a former NASA astronaut.

Personal

Born April 1, 1946, in Dallas, Texas. He was married to a fellow astronaut, the former Anna L. Tingle of St. Albans, New York. They have two daughters, Kristin Anne (b. July 29, 1983) and Kara Lynne (b.January 10, 1989). [http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/persons/astronauts/e-to-h/FisherWF.txt] He enjoys boating and gunsFact|date=August 2008.

Education

* 1964: Graduated from North Syracuse Central High School, North Syracuse, New York
* 1968: Received a bachelor of arts from Stanford University
* 1975: Received a doctorate in Medicine from the University of Florida
* 1969-1971: Performed graduate work in biology at the University of Florida
* 1978-1980: Performed graduate work in Engineering at the University of Houston

Organizations

* Diplomate of the American Board of Emergency Medicine
* Member of the American College of Emergency Physicians

Awards and honors

* American Astronautical Society Victor A. Prather Award for Outstanding Achievement in the field of Extravehicular Activity (1985)
* FAI Komarov Diploma (1985)
* NASA Space Flight Medal (1985)
* NASA Exceptional Service Medal (1988).
* Group Achievement Awards for EMU and MMU Development (1983)
* Group Achievement Awards for Payload Assist Module (PAM) Software Development and Vehicle Integration (1983)
* Named an ad hoc member of the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (1986)
* Appointed a member of the NASA Medicine Policy Board (1987)

Career

After medical school, Fisher completed a surgical residency from 1975 to 1977 at UCLA's Harbor General Hospital in Torrance, California. He entered private practice in emergency medicine from 1977 to 1980, while serving as an instructor in medicine at the University of South Florida.

He has logged over 2,000 hours in prop, rotary-wing, jet aircraft and spacecraft.

NASA career

Selected by NASA in May 1980, Fisher became an astronaut in August 1981. His technical assignments included: scientific equipment operator for high altitude research on the WB-57F aircraft (1980-1981); astronaut medical support for the first four Shuttle missions (1980-1982); astronaut office representative for Extravehicular Mobility Unit (spacesuit) and Extravehicular Activity (EVA) procedures and development, including thermal vacuum testing of the suit (1981-1984); astronaut office representative for the Payload Assist Module (PAM-D) procedures and development (1982-1983); astronaut office representative for Shuttle Mission Simulator (SMS) development (1983); support crewman for STS-8; CAPCOM for STS-8 and STS-9; Remote Manipulator System (RMS) hardware and software development team (1983); Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) development team (1983); Deputy Director of NASA Government-furnished and Contractor-furnished Equipment (1982-1983); Chief of Astronaut Public Appearances (1985-1987); Head, Astronaut Office Space Station Manned Systems Division, and Health Maintenance Facility (1987-1989); Astronaut Office representative on space crew selection and retention standards for Space Station (1989-1991). Fisher also practiced emergency medicine at a hospital in the greater Houston area in conjunction with his astronaut duties.

Fisher was a mission specialist on STS-51-I, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on August 27, 1985. STS-51-I was acknowledged as the most successful Space Shuttle mission yet flown. The crew aboard Space Shuttle "Space Shuttle Discovery" deployed three communications satellites, the Navy SYNCOM IV-4, the Australian AUSSAT, and American Satellite Company's ASC-1. They also performed a successful on-orbit rendezvous with the ailing 15,400 pound SYNCOM IV-3 satellite, and two EVAs (space walks) by Fisher and van Hoften to repair it, including the then longest space walk in history. "Discovery" completed 112 orbits of the Earth before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on September 3, 1985. Fisher logged over 170 hours in space, including 11 hours and 52 minutes of EVA.

Fisher left NASA in 1991 and is currently practicing full-time medicine at Humana Hospital in Webster, Texas.

External links

* [http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/fisher-wf.html NASA biography of Fisher]
* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/fisher_william.htm Spacefacts biography of William Frederick Fisher]