Robert Parker
Robert Allan Ridley Parker is an American physicist, astronomer, scientist-astronaut, and former NASA manager. Selected in NASA Astronaut Group 6 in 1967, he trained through the Apollo Applications era before flying during the Space Shuttle program.
- Born
- December 14, 1936
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- New York City, New York,United States
Flights
2
Spacewalks
0
EVA time
N/A
In space
19 days, 6 hours, 52 minutes
Bio
Parker entered NASA from an academic astronomy background, making him part of the scientist-astronaut track. Before flying, he supported Skylab and shuttle science operations and became involved in payload planning and mission support.
His first spaceflight was STS-9 in 1983, the first Spacelab mission. Parker served as aboard Columbia, helping operate a large international science laboratory in orbit during a ten-day flight.
He flew again on STS-35 in 1990, the ASTRO-1 mission, which used ultraviolet telescopes to conduct round-the-clock astronomical observations. That flight closely matched Parker's astronomy background.
After his flights, Parker held NASA management roles connected to space operations and policy. His career shows how the scientist-astronaut program fed into Spacelab, shuttle astronomy, and later NASA science-management work.