Richard Douglas Husband
Richard Douglas "Rick" Husband was an American Air Force officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. He flew twice, first as shuttle pilot and then as of STS-107.
- Born
- July 12, 1957
- Died
- February 1, 2003
- Birthplace
- Amarillo, Texas,United States
Flights
2
Spacewalks
0
EVA time
N/A
In space
25 days, 17 hours, 33 minutes
Bio
Husband grew up in Amarillo, Texas, studied mechanical engineering, and entered the Air Force test-pilot track before NASA selected him with Astronaut Group 15 in 1994. His background was the classic military pilot-to-shuttle command path.
He piloted STS-96 in 1999, the first shuttle mission to dock with the International . He later commanded STS-107, a dedicated science mission aboard Columbia in 2003.
Husband and the six other STS-107 crew members died when Columbia disintegrated during on February 1, 2003. The accident reshaped shuttle inspection, repair, risk management, and return-to-flight procedures.