William S. McArthur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Astronaut | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born | 26 July 1951 Laurinburg, North Carolina |
| Occupation1 | Test pilot |
| Rank | Colonel, United States Army |
| Space time | 224d 22h 19m |
| Selection | 1990 NASA Group |
| Mission(s) | STS-58, STS-74, STS-92, Soyuz TMA-7, Expedition 12 |
| Mission insignia |      |
| 1 previous or current | |
William Surles McArthur, Jr. (Colonel, USA, Ret.) (born 26 July 1951) is an American astronaut and a veteran of three space shuttle missions and one mission to the International Space Station via the Russian Soyuz capsule.
Born and raised in North Carolina, McArthur was active in the Boy Scouts of America where he achieved its second highest rank, Life Scout. He attended the United States Military Academy and earned his commission in the United States Army. After serving with the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, McArthur attended the U.S. Army Aviation School and served tours of duty in Korea and Georgia (where he earned a degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology). In 1987, McArthur attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and was trained an experimental test pilot. He was assigned to a post as a test engineer at NASA and was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1990. McArthur's first spaceflight was in 1993 aboard STS-58. Subsequent missions included STS-74 in 1995 and STS-92 in 2000.
A Master Army Aviator, he has logged over 4500 flight hours in 39 different aircraft and spacecraft McArthur is the recipient of a number of prestigious awards and honors including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (First Oak Leaf Cluster), the NASA Space Flight Medal, and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal. He has been retired form the US Army since 2001.
William McArthur was onboard the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 12, having been launched on Soyuz TMA-7. He was on the ISS from October 3, 2005 until April 8, 2006.
In April 2006 McArthur and Expedition 13 flight officer Jeffrey Williams tested a new method of preparing for spacewalks by "camping out" or spending the night in the Quest airlock, the decompression capsule through which astronauts enter and exit space. In the chamber the pressure was reduced from the normal 14.7 pounds per square inch (psi) to 10.2 psi. The more commonly used method of preparing for spacewalks involves breathing pure oxygen for many hours to purge the body of nitrogen and avoid the bends. The "camp out" method is intended to shorten that lengthy preparation time. Four hours into their sleep an error tone prompted mission controllers to cut short the activity, though it was still deemed a success.
