Charles J. Precourt
Charles Joseph Precourt is a retired Air Force colonel and NASA astronaut who flew four shuttle missions and became closely associated with Shuttle-Mir cooperation. He flew first as a , then as pilot, and finally as .
- Born
- June 29, 1955
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- Waltham, Massachusetts,United States
Flights
4
Spacewalks
0
EVA time
N/A
In space
38 days, 20 hours, 16 minutes
Bio
Precourt graduated from the Air Force Academy, flew as a test pilot, and studied systems management and national security strategy before NASA selected him in 1990. His Air Force and test background fit the shuttle's increasingly international docking era.
His four missions began with STS-55, a German Spacelab science mission. He then piloted STS-71, the first shuttle docking with Mir, and commanded STS-84 and STS-91, two later Shuttle-Mir docking flights.
Precourt later served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1998 to 2002. His career links the shuttle science era, Shuttle-Mir operations, and the management of astronaut assignments during early ISS transition.