Alvin Drew

  • STS- 118 (2007)
  • STS- 133 (2011)

Benjamin Alvin " Al " Drew, Jr. ( born November 5, 1962 in Washington, DC, USA ) is an American astronaut.

Training

Drew graduated in 1980 from high school and then studied at the United States Air Force Academy ( USAFA ) in Colorado Springs (Colorado). With two undergraduate diplomas he left in 1984 the USAF - one in aerospace engineering and one in physics. Nine years later, he earned a master's degree in aeronautics and aerospace engineering from Embry -Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. The Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama in 2006 gave him another master as a political scientist.

Military career

After completing his bachelor's examination, he was trained by the U.S. Air Force for helicopter pilots and received his license in March 1985 for the next seven years, he took on behalf of the Air Force Special Operations Command participated in numerous combat missions. U.S. invasion of Panama ( operation Just Cause ) in December 1989, the second Gulf War with the operations Desert Shield (from August 1990) and Desert Storm ( January 1991) and with the helped in Operation Provide Comfort, the U.S. troops from April 1991 refugees in the Kurdish regions.

Back in the U.S., Drew was trained as aircraft and from 1992 as a test pilot. Prior to joining NASA, he explored new types of aircraft and worked at the Air Combat Command in Virginia.

Astronauts activity

Drew was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in July 2000. Following the two-year basic training, he worked in the Department of Space Station operation of the Astronaut Office.

STS -118

In August 2007 Drew graduated with STS -118 his first space flight. For this mission, he was named shortly after Clayton Anderson, who was originally supposed to fly this mission to the ISS, a flight took off earlier ( STS -117). This space in the Endeavour for Drew was free.

STS -133

On September 18, Drew was nominated as a Mission Specialist for mission STS -133 to the ISS. The launch took place on 24 February 2011, landing on March 9, 2011. Drew undertook together with Stephen Bowen two spacewalks.

Pictures of Alvin Drew

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