Robert F. Overmyer
Robert Franklyn Overmyer was an American Marine Corps officer, test pilot, MOL astronaut, NASA astronaut, and shuttle . Selected for the Manned Orbiting Laboratory program in 1966, he transferred to NASA after MOL was canceled and became part of the early operational shuttle corps.
- Born
- July 14, 1936
- Died
- March 22, 1996
- Birthplace
- Lorain, Ohio,United States
Flights
2
Spacewalks
0
EVA time
N/A
In space
12 days, 2 hours, 22 minutes
Bio
Overmyer's first spaceflight was STS-5 in 1982, the first operational Space Shuttle mission. He flew as pilot with Vance Brand as Columbia carried commercial communications satellites, marking the program's shift beyond orbital flight testing.
He later commanded STS-51-B in 1985, a Challenger Spacelab mission focused on microgravity research, life sciences, and materials processing. That flight showed how the shuttle could serve as a reusable laboratory platform as well as a satellite carrier.
After NASA, Overmyer worked in aerospace industry and remained active in experimental aircraft. He died in 1996 while testing a Cirrus VK-30 prototype aircraft, a reminder of the continuing risks around flight-test work beyond astronaut service.
Overmyer's career sits squarely in the handoff from military spaceplane programs to shuttle operations: MOL selection, NASA transfer, operational shuttle piloting, and command of a Spacelab research mission.