Robert L. Crippen is an American astronaut who served as the pilot for the historic first mission of the space shuttle Columbia (STS-1) in April 1981. Together with Commander John Young, he performed the first manned orbital flight without prior unmanned testing. Crippen was also the commander of three subsequent shuttle missions (STS-7, 41-C, 41-G).
Key Information about Robert Crippen and the Columbia Mission:
Role in STS-1: He piloted Columbia during its debut flight, operating the computers, electrical systems, and cargo bay doors.
STS-1 Mission: The flight lasted from April 12 to 14, 1981, and the shuttle landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Experience: He spent a total of over 565 hours in space.
Career: After concluding his astronaut career, he served as the Director of the Kennedy Space Center (1992–1995).
Crippen participated in key tests, including the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) of the shuttle.
Astronaut Career
1966 – On June 17, he became one of five experimental pilots selected for the Air Force MOL (Manned Orbiting Laboratory) program. In this second group of pilots qualified for this program, later astronauts of the Space Shuttle program were also found: Karol Bobko, Charles Fullerton, Henry Hartsfield, and Robert Overmyer. The team of astronauts prepared for the MOL program was disbanded in August 1969.
1969 – On August 13, he was accepted into the 7th group of NASA astronauts (NASA-7) and began basic training.
1972 – He commanded a three-person team that conducted the SMETA experiment (Skylab Medical Experiments Altitude Test), consisting of a 56-day simulation of a planned flight to the Skylab space station. In addition to Crippen, Karol Bobko and William E. Thornton also participated. The test allowed for the development of certain equipment elements, the establishment of crew work methodology, and the acquisition of several significant medical data points.
1973–1975 – He was a member of the ground support crews for all three manned missions to the Skylab station. He worked in a similar capacity in July 1975 during the Soviet-American ASTP mission (Apollo-Soyuz Test Project).
1978 – On March 17, he was named the pilot of the STS-1 experimental flight, the first manned mission of the Space Shuttle program.
1981–1984 – He participated in four spaceflights: as the pilot in STS-1 (April 12–14, 1981) and as the commander of missions STS-7 (June 18–24, 1983), STS-41-C (April 6–13, 1984), and STS-41-G (October 5–13, 1984).
1986–1989 – He was intended to be the commander of mission STS-62-A planned for the summer of 1986, but after the Challenger disaster, the flight was canceled. Shortly thereafter, he became the Deputy Director of Shuttle Operations at NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC). He was responsible for preparing them for flight and transporting shuttles from Edwards Air Force Base in California to KSC.
1990–1992 – He served as the Director of the Space Shuttle Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. On December 31, 1991, he left the NASA astronaut corps.
1992–1995 – He was the Director of KSC. He was responsible for the execution of the shuttle flight program.
