Robert Crippen

Robert Crippen is an American astronaut who was born on September 11, 1937, in Texas. Before he became an astronaut, Crippen was an Air Force pilot. He logged over 6500 hours of flight time.

Crippen became an astronaut in 1969. He is the most experienced astronaut of the Space Shuttle Era. He has spent over 506 hours in space on 4 spaceflights.

Crippen's first spaceflight occurred in 1981, aboard the first space shuttle. The crew tested the shuttle Columbia during this mission. His second mission was aboard STS-7 in 1983. This mission included the first American woman in space, Sally Ride.

In 1984, Crippen made two spaceflights. During Mission 41-C, Crippen and crew rescued the Solar Max satellite from its troubling time in orbit. His fourth spaceflight was aboard Mission 41-G. It was the first spaceflight to carry seven astronauts.



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