John M. Fabian
- STS -7 ( 1983)
- STS -51- G (1985)
John McCreary Fabian ( born January 28, 1939 in Goose Creek, Texas ) is a former American astronaut.
Fabian received in 1962 a Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering from Washington State University in 1964 and a Master's in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Air Force Institute of Technology. In 1974 he received his doctorate in aerospace at the University of Washington.
1962 Fabian went to the United States Air Force and was employed there after his training as a pilot and later as a pilot instructor. He flew 90 combat missions in Southeast Asia.
Astronauts activity
In January 1978, Fabian was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate. After his education he worked on methods for launching and recovering of satellites. He was also involved in the development of the Canadian robot arm for the Space Shuttle.
STS -7
Fabian began on 18 June 1983, the Space Shuttle Challenger for the first time into space. It was the first mission with a crew of five. During the six-day flight, the satellite ANIK C-2 and PALAPA B-1 were exposed. It was also the first time with the robot arm, the research platform SPAS -01 exposed and captured again. STS -7 was the first flight of an American woman ( Sally Ride) into space. Fabian was the first to exposing a satellite with the robotic arm of the space shuttle and then caught again.
STS -51- G
On June 17, 1985 Fabian flew aboard the space shuttle Discovery into space. In this communication satellites for Mexico ( Morelos ), the Arab League ( Arabsat ) and the U.S. (AT & T Telstar ) exposed. In addition, the SPARTAN satellite was launched and collected after 17 hours on the robot arm again.
STS -61- G
Fabian was also planned for the mission STS -61- G in May 1986. It would have been a mission of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, but was canceled after the Challenger disaster. The Galileo spacecraft would have to be brought into space.
STS -71 -E
Also, the next scheduled flight was still canceled due to the Challenger disaster. The launch of the Atlantis mission would have been scheduled for April 1987. As crew members of the SLS - 1 mission alongside Fabian still Vance Brand, David Griggs, James Bagian, Rhea Seddon, Francis Gaffney and Robert Phillips were planned.
According to the NASA
After retiring from NASA in 1986, he went back to the Air Force. In 1987 he joined Analytic Services, Inc., a non-profit organization in the field of public research. When he retired in 1998, he was President and CEO of the company.
Private
Fabian and his wife Donna have two children.