Frederick W. Sturckow
Frederick Wilford "Rick" Sturckow is a retired United States Marine Corps officer, former NASA astronaut, and Virgin Galactic pilot. He earned a mechanical-engineering degree from California Polytechnic State University, became a Marine aviator and test pilot, and joined NASA's 1994 astronaut class.
- Born
- August 11, 1961
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- La Mesa, California,United States
Flights
10
Spacewalks
0
EVA time
N/A
In space
51 days, 9 hours, 36 minutes
Bio
Sturckow piloted STS-88, the first International assembly mission, and STS-105. He later commanded STS-117 and STS-128, supporting station construction and logistics during four orbital Space Shuttle flights.
After leaving NASA, Sturckow joined Virgin Galactic's flight-test program. He piloted VSS Unity's first spaceflight in December 2018 and later flew Unity 21 and Unity 25. He commanded Galactic 02 and Galactic 06 and piloted Galactic 04 during the vehicle's commercial-service period.
The combined chronology gives Sturckow ten completed spaceflights: four orbital Shuttle missions and six suborbital SpaceShipTwo missions. His separate STS-134 backup assignment is not included in that flown total.