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![]() National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
Lyndon
B. Johnson Space Center Houston, Texas 77058 |
NAME:
Robert L. Stewart (Brigadier General, USA, Ret.)
NASA Astronaut (former)
PERSONAL DATA: Born August 13, 1942, in Washington D.C. Married. Two children. His interests include woodworking, photography and skiing.
EDUCATION: Graduated from Hattiesburg High School, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in 1960; received a bachelor of science degree in Mathematics from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1964, and a master of science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington, in 1972.
ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Association of Space Explorers past member of Phi Eta Sigma, and the Scabbard and Blade (military honor society).
SPECIAL HONORS: Awarded Army Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, 2 Legion of Merit, 4 Distinguished Flying Crossed, a Bronze Star, a Meritorious Service Medal, 33 Air Medals, the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster and "V" Device, 2 Purple Hearts, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the U.S. and Vietnamese Vietnam Service Medals, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry; also Army Aviation of the Year, 1984, AHS Feinberg Memorial Award, AIAA Oberth Award. Recipient of NASA Space Flight Medal (1984 & 1985).
EXPERIENCE: Stewart entered on active duty with the United
States Army in May 1964 and was assigned as an air defense artillery director
at the 32nd NORAD Region Headquarters (SAGE), Gunter Air Force Base, Alabama.
In July 1966, after completing rotary wing training at Ft. Wolters, Texas, and
Ft. Rucker, Alabama, he was designated an Army aviator. He flew 1,035 hours
combat time from August 1966 to 1967, primarily as a fire team leader in the
armed helicopter platoon of "A" Company, 101st Aviation Battalion
(redesignated 336th Assault Helicopter Company). He was an instructor pilot
at the U.S. Army Primary Helicopter School -- serving 1 year in the pre- solo/primary-1
phase of instruction and about 6 months as commander of methods of instruction
flight III, training rated aviators to become instructor pilots. He is a graduate
of the U.S. Army's Air Defense School's Air Defense Officers Advanced Course
and Guided Missile Systems Officers Course. Stewart served in Seoul, Korea,
from 1972 to 1973, with the 309th Aviation Battalion (Combat) as a battalion
operations officer and battalion executive officer. He next attended the U.S.
Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland, completing the Rotary Wing
Test Pilot Course in 1974, and was then assigned as an experimental test pilot
to the U.S. Army Aviation Engineering Flight Activity at Edwards Air Force Base,
California. His duties there included being chief of the integrated systems
test division, as well as participating in engineering flight tests of UH-1
and AH-1 helicopters and U-21 and OV-1 fixed wing aircraft, serving as project
officer and senior test pilot on the Hughes YAH-64 advanced attack helicopter
during government competitive testing; and participation with Sikorsky Aircraft
test pilots in developing an electronic automatic flight control system for
the new Army transport helicopter -- the UH-60A Black Hawk.
He has military and civilian experience in 38 types of airplanes and helicopters
and logged approximately 6,000 hours total flight time.
NASA EXPERIENCE: Stewart became a NASA Astronaut in August
1979. His technical duties in the astronaut office have included testing and
evaluation of the entry flight control systems for STS-1 (the first Space Shuttle
orbital mission), ascent abort procedures development, and payload coordination.
He also served as support crewman for STS-4, and Ascent/Orbit CAPCOM for STS-5.
He served as a mission specialist on STS-41B in 1984 and STS-51J in 1985, and
has logged a total of 289 hours in space, including approximately 12 hours of
EVA operations.
In 1986, while in training for his scheduled third flight to be know as 61-K,
Col Stewart was selected by the Army for promotion to Brigadier General. Upon
accepting this promotion General Stewart was reassigned from NASA to be the
Deputy Commanding General, US Army Strategic Defense Command, in Huntsville,
Alabama. In this capacity General Stewart managed research efforts in developing
ballistic missile defense technology. In 1989, he was reassigned as the Director
of Plans, US Space Command, Colorado Springs, CO. General Stewart retired from
the Army in 1992 and currently makes his home in Woodland Park, Co. He is presently
employed as Director, Advanced Programs, Nichols Research Corporation, Colorado
Springs, CO.
SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-41B Challenger (February
3-11, 1984) was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and returned to
land there 8-days later. During the mission, Stewart and McCandless participated
in two extravehicular activities (EVA's) to conduct first flight evaluations
of the Manned Maneuvering Units (MMU's). These EVA's represented man's first
untethered operations from a spacecraft in flight.
STS-51J Atlantis (October 3-7, 1985) was launched from Kennedy Space
Center, Florida, and after 98 hours of orbital operations returned to land at
Edwards Air Force Base, California. It was the second Space Shuttle Department
of Defense mission, and the maiden voyage of Atlantis, the final Orbiter
in the Shuttle fleet. During the mission he was responsible for a number of
on-orbit activities.
DECEMBER 1993
This is the only version available from NASA. Updates must be sought direct from the above named individual.