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Robert Laurel Crippen (born September 11, 1937) is an American retired naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, and retired astronaut. He traveled into space four times: as Pilot of STS-1 in April 1981, the first Space Shuttle mission; and as Commander of STS-7 in June 1983, STS-41-C in April 1984, and STS-41-G in October 1984. In 1986, Crippen participated in the recovery operations for the remains of crew members after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Crippen received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 2006.

Early life and education
Robert Crippen was born September 11, 1937, in Beaumont, Texas. After graduating from New Caney High School in New Caney, Texas in 1955, Crippen received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1960. He was selected as a member of the Texas Alpha chapter of Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Gamma Tau.

Crippen became interested in flying and computers at a very early age. He attended the first computer programming class held at the University of Texas. Throughout his career in the military and at NASA, he worked on computer programming, including programs such as the Manned Orbiting Laboratory, Skylab and the Space Shuttle.

Military career
Crippen was commissioned through the United States Navy's Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) Program at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. He continued his flight training at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Florida, and went from there to Naval Air Station Chase Field in Beeville, Texas, where he received his wings. As a Naval Aviator from June 1962 to November 1964, he made two deployments aboard the aircraft carrier USS Independence, flying the A-4 Skyhawk in Attack Squadron 72 (VA-72). He later attended the U.S. Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Upon graduation, he remained at Edwards as an instructor until he was picked for the USAF Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) spaceflight program in October 1966.

He has logged more than 6,500 hours flying time, which includes more than 5,500 hours in jet aircraft.

Manned Orbiting Laboratory
The Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program was a follow-on to the X-20 Dyna-Soar program. A joint program between the United States Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the MOL program would send humans into space.

Publicly, the MOL program was designed to determine the usefulness of man in space. Crews would be in orbit for about a month and they would be able to freely move about the laboratory. The secret and primary mission was to perform reconnaissance missions on Russia and China. The pilots were not told of this true mission, though they were later informed.

When Crippen was selected for astronaut training in October 1966, he had to choose between the military and NASA, deciding to stay in the military to work on the MOL program. He felt that he would get lost at NASA due to the number of astronauts already in programs at the agency. There was an uncrewed flight on November 3, 1966. There were no crewed flights. After the MOL program was cancelled, Crippen transferred to NASA to continue his career.

The program was cancelled in June of 1969.

NASA career
After the MOL program was cancelled, Crippen became part of NASA Astronaut Group 7 in September 1969. He served on the astronaut support crew for the Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4 missions, and for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission.

Skylab Medical Experiment Altitude Test (SMEAT)
The Skylab Medical Experiment Altitude Test (SMEAT) was a 56-day mission (July 26 through September 19, 1972), where astronauts Crippen, Karol J. Bobko and William E. Thornton were housed in a vacuum chamber to conduct medical experiments. The goal was to ensure that crews in space could handle minor medical emergencies, including dentistry.

SMEAT also was able to discover and fix the design flaws in the urine handling system for Skylab. Crippen and the team worked to enlarge the original collection system design, which was too small, the collection system of which had burst at one point.

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
The Apollo-Soyuz test project was a joint effort between the United States and the Soviet Union, designed to test rendezvous and docking capabilities if there were ever an emergency in space.

Crippen was the capsule communicator (CAPCOM) for the Apollo-Soyuz project (as well as Skylab), during which time he developed a close association with Mission Ops and Flight Control.

On July 15, 1975, the United States launched a Saturn IB rocket in an Apollo configuration into space. Two days later, it docked with a Soyuz spacecraft.

Approach and Landing Test (ALT)
The Approach and Landing tests for the Space Shuttle were critical to the overall program, in which a crew tested the maneuverability and landing capabilities of the spacecraft. Launched from a 747 aircraft, the prototype Space Shuttle Enterprise was first tested on August 12, 1977. Astronauts Fred Haise and C. Gordon Fullerton piloted the Enterprise from about 24,000 feet to the ground and landed at Edwards Air Force Base. A second crew of astronauts Joe Engle and Richard H. Truly alternated with Haise and Fullerton to test the Enterprise’s capabilities.

Crippen was first assigned to family support with the testing, then progressed to being a chase pilot in a T-38.

The ALT program lasted about a year, testing all aspects of approach and touchdown from aerodynamics to maneuverability, gliding and landing characteristics.

STS-1
Crippen was the pilot on STS-1, the first orbital test flight of the Space Shuttle. His job involved working with the Shuttle computers, electrical systems, and auxiliary power units. He was also responsible for the operating the payload bay doors.

STS-1 was also the first manned vehicle to be flown into orbit without previous unmanned orbital testing and the first winged manned vehicle to launch with solid rocket boosters. It was also the first winged reentry vehicle to return to a conventional runway landing. The mission lasted 54 hours, 20 minutes, 53 seconds. It launched April 12, 1981 and landed April 14, 1981.

STS-7
Crippen served as the commander of STS-7, which was the second flight for the Space Shuttle Challenger. This was also the first mission with a five-person crew. During the six-day flight, the crew deployed satellites for Canada (ANIK C-2) and Indonesia (PALAPA B-1), operated the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System (RMS) to perform the first deployment and retrieval exercise with the Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS-01); conducted the first formation flying of the orbiter with a free-flying satellite (SPAS-02); carried and operated the first U.S./German cooperative materials science payload (OSTA-2); and operated the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES) and the Monodisperse Latex Reactor (MLR) experiments, in addition to activating seven Getaway Specials. The mission duration was 146 hours, 23 minutes, 59 seconds. It launched June 18, 1983 and landed June 24, 1983.

STS-41-C
Crippen was the commander on STS-41-C, a seven-day mission during which the crew deployed the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF); retrieved the ailing Solar Maximum Satellite, repaired it aboard the orbiting Challenger, and replaced it in orbit using the robot arm called the Remote Manipulator System (RMS). The flight also tested the Manned Maneuvering Units (MMU's) in two extravehicular activities (EVA), as well as operating the Cinema 360 and IMAX Camera Systems. Finally, it ran a Bee Hive Honeycomb Structures student experiment. Mission duration was 167 hours, 40 minutes, 07 seconds. It launched April 6, 1984 and landed April 13, 1984.

STS-41-G
On his final spaceflight, Crippen served as the commander of STS-41-G. During the eight-day flight, the crew deployed the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, conducted scientific observations of the Earth with the OSTA-3 pallet and Large Format Camera, and demonstrated potential satellite refueling with an EVA and associated hydrazine transfer. Mission duration was 8 days, 5 hours, 23 minutes, 33 seconds and concluded with a landing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. It launched October 5, 1984 and landed October 13, 1984.

Post-spaceflight career
After STS-41-G, Crippen was named Commander of the STS-62-A mission which would have launched from the new SLC-6 facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. That mission was cancelled after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, and SLC-6 was closed when the Air Force went back to launching satellites on the Titan III and Titan IV rockets.

Crippen was a part of the Mishap Review Board to examine the cause of the Challenger accident, the recovery of the vehicle debris, and to find and return the remains of the crew. The Board became a sub-team for the Rogers Commission Report, the team put together by President Ronald Reagan to investigate the accident.

Crippen was stationed at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, from July 1987 to December 1989, as Deputy Director, Shuttle Operations for NASA Headquarters under George Abbey. He was responsible for final Shuttle preparation, mission execution and return of the orbiter to KSC after landings at Edwards Air Force Base. He was also responsible for handling any issues when George Abbey was not available.

From January 1990 to January 1992, Crippen served as Director, Space Shuttle, at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. As such, he was responsible for the overall Shuttle program requirements, performance, and total program control, including budget, schedule and program content. His primary responsibility was to take the recommendations of the Rogers Commission and implement as many of them as possible. He was also responsible for looking at the management structure of NASA and to see what restructuring needed to be done. He subsequently served as the Director of the Kennedy Space Center from January 1992 to January 1995.

Post-NASA career
After leaving NASA, Crippen served as a Vice President with Lockheed Martin Information Systems in Orlando, Florida, from April 1995 to November 1996. His main focus was simulation work supporting the military.

From December 1996 to April 2001, Crippen was President of Thiokol Propulsion, which produced the Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motors and other defense and commercial solid rocket motors. Crippen enjoyed continuing his connection with the Space Shuttle program. In particular, he appreciated his role in working to improve the design of the solid rocket boosters to prevent another Challenger disaster.

Organizations
Crippen is a fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Astronautical Society, and Society of Experimental Test Pilots. He served as President of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1999. He was selected to be a member of Naval Aviators Golden Eagles in 2009. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2012.

Awards and honors
Crippen's accomplishments have earned him many notable awards, including the 1981 SETP Iven C. Kincheloe Award and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1972. In 1981 after the inaugural Space Shuttle flight, he received the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Award, the American Astronautical Society's Flight Achievement Award, the National Geographic Society's Gardiner Greene Hubbard Medal, and the American Legion's Distinguished Service Medal. In 1982 he won the Federal Aviation Administration's Award for Distinguished Service, the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy and the Harmon Trophy. In 1984 he received the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal. In 1986, Crippen received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.

He also received NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1988, four NASA Space Flight Medals in 1981, 1983 and twice in 1984, and three NASA Distinguished Service Medals in 1985, 1988, and 1993. In 1996, Crippen became the tenth individual to receive the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement's National Space Trophy. He was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1991 and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2001. On April 6, 2006, he received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the highest award for spaceflight achievement.

On November 18, 2015, at the National Business Aviation Association convention in Las Vegas, Crippen was announced as a 2016 Inductee into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.

Personal life
Crippen was first married to Virginia Hill on September 8, 1959. They had three daughters together: Ellen Marie (born June 1962), Susan Lynn (born December 1964), and Linda Ruth (born May 1967). He later married Pandora Lee Puckett of Miami, Florida, NASA's first female lead Orbiter Project Engineer on the and  at the Kennedy Space Center. They were married on November 7, 1987.