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Bulldog alumnus will command shuttle in July

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When Space Shuttle Columbia blasts off from Pad 39B at Cape Canaveral in July, a Bulldog alumnus, Col. Rick Douglas Husband, will be commanding the flight.

Husband received his master of science degree in mechanical engineering from California State University, Fresno, in 1990. Husband truly displays the "right stuff" in his role as astronaut.

He has served as an F-4E instructor pilot and academic instructor at George Air Force Base, California and attended test pilot school at Edwards AFB, California.

Husband served as a test pilot flying the F-4 and all five models of the F-15. He also served as the F-15's Aerial Demonstration Pilot.

In June 1992, Husband was assigned to the Aircraft and Armament Evaluation Establishment at Boscombe Down, England, as an exchange test pilot with the Royal Air Force.

At Boscombe Down, Husband was the Tornado GR1 and GR4 project pilot and served as a test pilot in the Hawk, Hunter, Buccaneer, Jet Provost, Tucano and Harvard projects. He has logged more than

3,800 hours of flight time in more than 40 different types of aircraft.

Husband was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in December 1994. He reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995 to begin a year of training and evaluation.

Upon completion of training, Husband was named the Astronaut Office representative for Advanced Projects at Johnson Space Center, working on Space Shuttle Upgrades, the Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) and studies to return to the Moon and travel to Mars.

Most recently, he served as Chief of Safety for the Astronaut Office. He flew as pilot on STS-96 in 1999, and has logged 235 hours and 13 minutes in space.

Husband is assigned to command the crew of STS-107 scheduled for launch in 2002. Husband isn't the only astronaut with a Fresno State connection.

Fresno State alumnus Col. Steven R. Nagel is also a former astronaut who is now a research pilot for NASA (M.S., Mechanical Engineering - 1978).

Keep up-to-date on this story at www.FresnoStateNews.com.

Back to University Journal, 05/20/02 Issue