William Shepherd
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates {{#invoke:Other people|otherPeople}} Template:Infobox astronaut William McMichael "Bill" Shepherd (born July 26, 1949), (Capt, USN, Ret.), is an American former Navy SEAL, aerospace, ocean, and mechanical engineer, and NASA astronaut, who served as commander of Expedition 1,<ref name="NASA Bio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the first crew on the International Space Station. He is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.<ref name="spacemedal">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Education and trainingEdit
Shepherd was born on July 26, 1949, to George R. Shepherd and Barbara Shepherd in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, but he considers Babylon, New York, his hometown.<ref name="NASA Bio" /> He is married to Beth Stringham of Batavia, New York.<ref name="stringham-bio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He graduated from Arcadia High School in Phoenix, Arizona in 1967, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1971.<ref name="LookingBack">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training in 1972, then joined the United States Naval Special Warfare Command and qualified as a Navy SEAL. He served with the Navy's Underwater Demolition Team ELEVEN, SEAL Teams ONE and TWO, and Special Boat Unit TWENTY. He obtained an Engineer's degree in Ocean Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, both in 1978, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).<ref name="NASA Bio" /><ref name="LookingBack" />
NASA careerEdit
After Shepherd was selected for NASA Astronaut Group 10 in 1984,<ref name="1984release">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> rumors spread that he had answered a standard interview question about what he did best by saying, "kill people with knives"<ref name="Endurance">Template:Cite book</ref> but he later refused to confirm or deny the account, commenting "it's too good a story".<ref name="NYT2000">Template:Cite news</ref> He was the first military non-aviator in astronaut training, following his unsuccessful application for NASA Astronaut Group 9 in 1980.<ref name="preflightinterview">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1986, Shepherd's Navy SEAL training proved unexpectedly useful to NASA as he helped to direct the underwater salvage operations of the Space Shuttle Challenger after its destruction. Shepherd then served as a mission specialist on three Space Shuttle flights: mission STS-27 in 1988,<ref name="sts27" /> mission STS-41 in 1990,<ref name="sts41" /> which deployed the Ulysses probe, and mission STS-52 in 1992.<ref name="sts52" /> He was the first member of NASA Astronaut Group 10 to fly a space mission.
From March 1993 to January 1996, he was assigned to the International Space Station Program,<ref name="LookingBack" /> serving as Program Manager and Deputy Program Manager. In November 1995 he was selected to command the first crew of the International Space Station (ISS). The mission was supposed to launch in 1997,<ref name="outpost">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but a long series of political, financial, and technical problems caused significant delays. Although sixteen nations would participate in the ISS program, Russia, along with the United States would bear the majority of the station's costs.<ref name="NM Hall of Fame" />
Spaceflight experienceEdit
STS-27: Atlantis (December 2–6, 1988) Shepherd served with his crewmates on a mission that lasted 105 hours and carried Department of Defense payloads. The mission is noteworthy due to the severe damage Atlantis sustained to its critical heat-resistant tiles during ascent.<ref name="sts27atmos">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="87-043">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="sts27">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
STS-41: Discovery (October 6–10, 1990) during 66 orbits of the Earth, the crew aboard the Orbiter successfully deployed the Ulysses, starting it on a four-year journey (via Jupiter) to investigate the polar regions of the Sun.<ref name="sts41">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="sts41ssmr">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
STS-52: Columbia (October 22 to November 1, 1992) was the 10-day mission deployed the Laser Geodynamic Satellite (LAGEOS), and conducted U.S. microgravity payload experiments.<ref name="sts52ssmr">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="sts52">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Expedition 1: From October 31, 2000,<ref name="ISS00-43">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> to March 21, 2001,<ref name="STS-102-27">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> he and Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergey Krikalev launched from Baikonur on Soyuz TM 31 and served as Expedition 1, the first crew on board ISS. The crew returned to Earth on the Space Shuttle Discovery, STS 102.<ref name="STS-102-27" />
Shepherd has logged over 159 days in space.<ref name="NASA Bio" />
Post-NASA careerEdit
Shepherd was next assigned to the staff of Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command,<ref name="NM Hall of Fame" /> to assist with the development of new capabilities and programs for the Navy's SEAL and Special Boat units. He retired from the U.S. Navy in January 2002.<ref name="NM Hall of Fame" /> CAPT Shepherd also served as U.S. Special Operations Command's first Science Advisor from 2008–2011.<ref name="sercuarc">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
OrganizationsEdit
Awards and honorsEdit
- Congressional Space Medal of Honor<ref name="spacemedal" />
- NASA's "Steve Thorne" Aviation Award
- 2004 inductee into the International Space Hall of Fame<ref name="ep4">Template:Cite news</ref>
- 2009 inductee into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.<ref name="AHOF">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Honorary Naval Aviator<ref name="ihmc">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Fédération Aéronautique Internationale V. M. Komarov Diploma<ref name="CSER">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) Yuri Gagarin Gold Medal<ref name="spacefoundation">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Spirit of St Louis Medal<ref name="ASME">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- NDIA Lt. Col. George M. Chinn Award
- Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy<ref name="spaceclub">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration"<ref name="NHQ201612020003">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- International Space Station Program, which Capt. Shepherd led both on the ground, and in space, was awarded the 2009 Collier Trophy.<ref name="iss-collier">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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ReferencesEdit
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External linksEdit
- Shepherd's official NASA biography
- Astronautix biography of William M. Shepherd
- Spacefacts biography of William M. Shepherd
- Shepherd at Spaceacts Template:Webarchive
- Shepherd at International Space Hall of Fame
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