Searfoss graduated from the United States Air Force Academy and later earned a master's degree in aeronautics from Caltech. His Air Force career included flight-test work before NASA selected him in 1990.

He piloted STS-58 and STS-76, then commanded STS-90. Those missions covered Spacelab life sciences, Shuttle-Mir docking, and the Neurolab research mission.

After NASA, Searfoss continued in aerospace flight-test and commercial spaceflight work.

Richard A. Searfoss flew on STS-58; STS-76; STS-90. The birthplace listed as Mount Clemens, Michigan, United States gives the profile geographic context, but the career is best understood through the training, mission role, and program responsibilities described above.