| Rick Sturckow | |
|---|---|
| NASA Astronaut | |
| Nationality | American |
| Status | Active |
| Born | August 11, 1961 La Mesa, California |
| Other occupation | Test pilot |
| Rank | Colonel, USMC |
| Time in space | 51d 09h 36m |
| Selection | 1994 NASA Group |
| Missions | STS-88, STS-105, STS-117, STS-128 |
| Mission insignia | |
Frederick Wilford "Rick" Sturckow (born August 11, 1961) is a United States Marine Corps officer and a NASA astronaut. Sturckow is a veteran of four shuttle missions. He flew STS-88 and STS-105 as a pilot and STS-117 and STS-128 as a commander. All four missions docked with the International Space Station, making Sturckow one of two people to visit the station four times. Sturckow is currently assigned to the Johnson Space Center as a CAPCOM.
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Sturckow was born La Mesa, California, but considers Lakeside, California, to be his hometown. He is married to the former Michele A. Street of Great Mills, Maryland. He enjoys flying and physical training (PT). His father, Karl H. Sturckow, resides in Lakeside and his mother, Janette R. Sturckow, resides in La Mesa. He was a member of the Marine Corps Association (MCA) and a former member of Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP).
Sturckow has the nickname "CJ", which stands for "Caustic Junior". It was given to him when he was a young Marine because he resembled a squadron commander who was appropriately called “Caustic”.[1]
Sturckow graduated from Grossmont High School, La Mesa, California, in 1978. He received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from California Polytechnic State University in 1984.
Defense Superior Service Medal, Single Mission Air Medal with Combat “V”, Strike/Flight Air Medals (4), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, NASA Space Flight Medals (4).
Sturckow was commissioned in December 1984. An honor graduate of The Basic School, he earned his wings in April 1987. Following initial F/A-18 training at VFA-125, he reported to VMFA-333, MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina. While assigned to VMFA-333 he made an overseas deployment to Japan, Korea, and the Philippines and was then selected to attend the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) in March 1990. In August 1990, he deployed to Sheik Isa Air Base, Bahrain for a period of eight months. Sturckow flew a total of forty-one combat missions during Operation Desert Storm. In January 1992 he attended the United States Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, California. In 1993 he reported to the Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, for duty as the F/A-18 E/F Project Pilot. Sturckow also flew a wide variety of projects and classified programs as an F/A-18 test pilot.
He has logged over 4,000 flight hours and has flown over 50 different aircraft.
Selected by NASA in December 1994, Sturckow reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995. He completed a year of training and evaluation and was assigned to work technical issues for the Vehicle Systems and Operations Branch of the Astronaut Office. He currently serves as Deputy for the Shuttle Operations Branch of the Astronaut Office, and also serves as Lead for Kennedy Space Center Operations Support. Before STS-128 Sturckow was a veteran of three space flights and has logged over 904 hours in space. He served as pilot on STS-88 in 1998 (the first International Space Station assembly mission), and most recently on STS-105 in 2001. Sturckow was the commander of the STS-117 mission. Sturckow was the commander of the STS-128 mission launched on August 28, 2009.[2] In February 2010, Sturckow was the launch CAPCOM for STS-130[3] and in April 2010 for STS-131.[4] On January 13, 2011, NASA named Sturckow as the backup commander for STS-134.[5] The appointment allows the current commander, Mark Kelly, to continue to support his wife, U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, while she recovers from an attempted assassination.
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