| Patrick Graham Forrester | |
|---|---|
| NASA Astronaut | |
| Nationality | American |
| Status | Active |
| Born | March 31, 1957 El Paso, Texas |
| Rank | Colonel, U.S. Army |
| Time in space | 39d 14h 18m |
| Selection | 1996 NASA Group |
| Missions | STS-105, STS-117, STS-128 |
| Mission insignia | |
Patrick Graham Forrester (born March 31, 1957, in El Paso, Texas) is a retired United States Army officer and a NASA astronaut. At the time of his retirement from the U.S. Army, Forrester had achieved the rank of colonel. He is married and has two children.
Forrester has received a number of awards and honors including a Defense Superior Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, and many others. In June 1992, Forrester graduated from the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School. As a Master Army Aviator, Forrester has logged over 4,400 hours in over 50 different aircraft. Forrester has flown 2 previous missions, STS-105 and STS-117. He has logged over 621 hours in space and is a veteran of 4 spacewalks, totaling 25 hours and 22 minutes. Forrester flew on STS-128 which launched on August 28, 2009.
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Born March 31, 1957, in El Paso, Texas. He is an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.[1] Married to the former Diana Lynn Morris of Springfield, Virginia. They have two sons, Patrick Forrester, Jr. and Andrew. His parents, Colonel (ret.) Redmond V. and Patsy L. Forrester, reside in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
Forrester graduated from West Point in June 1979 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He entered the U.S. Army Aviation School in 1979 and was designated an Army aviator in September 1980. He was subsequently assigned as an instructor pilot at the Aviation School and as the Aide-de-Camp to the Deputy Commanding General of the U.S. Army Aviation Center. In 1984, he was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division (Light), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, where he served as a platoon leader, aviation company operations officer, and an assault helicopter battalion operations officer. After completing a master of science degree at the University of Virginia in 1989, he was assigned as a flight test engineer and as the research and development coordinator with the Army Aviation Engineering Flight Activity at Edwards Air Force Base, California. In June 1992, he graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and was designated an experimental test pilot. In 1992, he was assigned as an engineering test pilot at the U.S. Army Aviation Technical Test Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama. Other military schools include the Army Parachutist Course, U.S. Army Ranger School, the Combined Arms Services Staff School, and the Command and General Staff College.
A Master Army Aviator, he has logged over 3700 hours in over 50 different aircraft.
Forrester retired from the Army in October 2005.
Forrester was assigned to NASA at the Johnson Space Center as an aerospace engineer in July 1993. His technical assignments within the Astronaut Office Operations Development Branch have included: flight software testing with the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL); astronaut office representative for Landing/Rollout issues, Multi-function Electronic Display System (MEDS) upgrade of the Orbiter fleet, and the Portable In-flight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT). He has also served as the crew representative for robotics development for the International Space Station.
Forrester was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in May 1996. Having completed two years of training and evaluation, he is qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. Initially, Forrester was assigned to duties at the Kennedy Space Center as a member of the astronaut support team, responsible for Shuttle prelaunch vehicle checkout, crew ingress and strap-in, and crew egress after landing. He next served as the technical assistant to the Director, Flight Crew Operations. Following that, Forrester served as the Shuttle training and on-board crew procedures representative. Forrester flew on STS-105 (2001). He has logged over 285 hours in space, including four spacewalks totaling 25 hours and 30 minutes of EVA time. In 2007 was assigned to the crew of STS-117. Forrester flew as a mission specialist on the STS-128 mission that launched August 28, 2009.
STS-105 Discovery (August 10–22, 2001) was the 11th mission to the International Space Station. While at the orbital outpost, the STS-105 crew delivered the Expedition 3 crew, attached the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), and transferred over 2.7 metric tons of supplies and equipment to the station. During the mission, Forrester and Dan Barry performed two spacewalks totaling 11 hours and 45 minutes of EVA time. Forrester served as the prime robotics operator to install the MPLM. STS-105 also brought home the Expedition 2 crew. The STS-105 mission was accomplished in 186 orbits of the Earth, traveling over 4.9 million miles in 285 hours and 13 minutes.
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