Roy D. Bridges, Jr.

• STS -51 F ( 1985)

Roy Dunbard Bridges, Jr. ( born July 19, 1943 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States) is a former American astronaut and former director of the Kennedy Space Center and the Langley Research Center of NASA.

Training

Bridges received a bachelor's degree in 1965 from the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs in Engineering and a year later a master's in aerospace engineering from Purdue University. He also received an honorary doctorate in engineering from Purdue University in May 2001.

In the U.S. Air Force, he flew in 1968 during the Vietnam War 226 combat missions. After Bridges was used by the Air Force as a test pilot.

Astronauts activity

In May 1980, Bridges was selected for the ninth NASA group as astronaut candidate, after he had previously been applied in vain for the eighth NASA group.

STS -51- F

Bridges flew in July 1985 as a pilot of the space shuttle Challenger with the mission STS -51 -F into space. This flight, called Spacelab -2 was the first flight of the European space laboratory module without pressure - the experiments ( mainly in the disciplines of astronomy and astrophysics ) had been installed on three pallets in the cargo area of the Challenger. The crew worked in two shifts to maximize the utilization of the experiments.

STS -61- F

STS- 61F should bring in May 1986, the Ulysses solar probe with the Challenger space shuttle into space. The team would have made ​​Commander Frederick Hauck, pilot Roy Bridges and the two mission specialists John Lounge and David Hilmer passed (nominated in May 1985). After the Challenger disaster the flight was canceled.

Career with the U.S. Air Force

Bridges is a retired Major General of the Air Force. From June 1993 until his service time end on 1 July 1996, he was Director of the Procurement Office at the headquarters of the Air Force at Wright - Patterson Air Force Base. Previously, he was the commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Likewise, he was already commander of the Eastern Space and Missile Center at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida and the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base.

Management positions at NASA

On 2 March 1997, Bridges Director of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC ). In this role he was responsible for the operation and the start of the space shuttle fleet, their payloads and for the other rocket launches NASA KSC. In addition, the final tests and preparations of the modules of the International Space Station fell within its remit.

Bridges then moved on 10 August 2003 as the Director of the Langley Research Center of NASA. Here he was also responsible for the research programs of the Centre in the field of aerospace as for the plants, all the staff and the administration. On 3 October 2005 he gave up this position and retired permanently from the end of 2005 from NASA.

According to the NASA

Currently Bridges Manager at Northrop Grumman Technical Services.

Private

Roy Bridges and his wife Benita, have two grown children.