| Vance DeVoe Brand | |
|---|---|
| NASA Astronaut | |
| Nationality | American |
| Status | Retired |
| Born | May 9, 1931 Longmont, Colorado |
| Other occupation | Fighter Pilot |
| Time in space | 31d 02h 02m |
| Selection | 1966 NASA Group |
| Missions | Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, STS-5, STS-41-B, STS-35 |
| Mission insignia | |
Vance DeVoe Brand (born May 9, 1931) is an engineer and former test pilot and NASA astronaut. He served as command module pilot during the first U.S.-Soviet joint space flight in 1975, and as commander of three space shuttle missions.
His flight experience includes 9,669 flying hours, which includes 8,089 hours in jets, 391 hours in helicopters, 746 hours in spacecraft, and checkout in more than 30 types of military aircraft. Vance Brand Airport in Longmont, Colorado is named in his honor.
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Brand was born in Longmont, Colorado, May 9, 1931, and is the son of Rudolph William and Donna Mae Brand.[1] He was active in Troop 64 of the Boy Scouts of America in Longmont, where he achieved Life Scout. He was active in the International Order of DeMolay. He is married to the former Beverly Ann Whitnel, and has two daughters and four sons; Susan Nancy, Stephanie Brand Lowery, Patrick Richard, Kevin Stephen, Erik Ryan, and Dane Vance.
Graduated from Longmont High School, he received a bachelor of science degree in Business from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1953, a bachelor of science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from there in 1960, and a master's degree in Business Administration from UCLA in 1964. He was a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity while at University of Colorado at Boulder.
Brand was a commissioned officer and naval aviator with the United States Marine Corps from 1953 to 1957.[1] His military assignments included a 15-month tour in Japan as a jet fighter pilot. Following his release from active duty, Brand continued service in Marine Forces Reserve and Air National Guard jet fighter squadrons until 1966.
Employed as a civilian by the Lockheed Corporation from 1960 to 1966, he worked initially as a flight test engineer on the United States Navy's P-3 Orion aircraft. In 1963, Brand graduated from the United States Naval Test Pilot School and was assigned to Palmdale, California as an experimental test pilot on Canadian and German F-104 programs. Prior to selection to the astronaut program, Brand worked at the West German F-104G Flight Test Center at Istres, France as an experimental test pilot and leader of a Lockheed flight test advisory group.
One of the 19 pilot astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966, Brand initially was a crew member in the thermal vacuum chamber testing of the prototype Command Module and support crewman on Apollos 8 and 13. Later he was backup command module pilot for Apollo 15 and backup commander for Skylabs 3 and 4. When Skylab 3's CSM had problems with its Reaction Control System, Brand was put on standby to pilot a rescue mission, but was later stood down when it was decided that the problem did not require the rescue mission to be launched. As an astronaut, he held management positions relating to spacecraft development, acquisition, flight safety and mission operations. Brand flew on four space missions; Apollo-Soyuz, STS-5, STS-41-B, and STS-35. He has logged 746 hours in space and has commanded three missions.
Brand departed the Astronaut Office in 1992 to become Chief of Plans at the National Aerospace Plane (NASP) Joint Program Office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. In September 1994, he moved to California to become Assistant Chief of Flight Operations at the Dryden Flight Research Center, then Acting Chief Engineer, Deputy Director for Aerospace Projects, and Acting Associate Center Director for Programs. He retired from NASA in January 2008.
Brand was launched on his first space flight on July 15, 1975, as Apollo command module pilot on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission.[1] This flight resulted in the historic meeting in space between American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts. Other crewmen on this 9-day Earth-orbital mission were Thomas Stafford, Apollo commander, Deke Slayton, Apollo docking module pilot; cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, Soyuz commander; and cosmonaut Valery Kubasov, Soyuz flight engineer. The Soyuz spacecraft was launched at Baikonur Cosmodrome, and the Apollo was launched 7½ hours later at the Kennedy Space Center. Two days later, the two spacecraft docked successfully. The linkup tested a unique, new docking system and demonstrated international cooperation in space. There were 44 hours of docked joint activities which included 4 crew transfers between the Apollo and the Soyuz. Six records for docked and group flight were set on the mission and are recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Apollo splashed down in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii, on July 25, and was promptly recovered by the USS New Orleans, completing a 217-hour mission.
Brand was commander of Space Shuttle Columbia for STS-5, the first fully operational flight of the Shuttle Transportation System, which launched on November 11, 1982.[1] His crew comprised Colonel Robert Overmyer, pilot, and two mission specialists, Dr. Joseph P. Allen and Dr. William B. Lenoir. STS-5, the first mission with a four man crew, demonstrated the Shuttle as operational by the successful first deployment of two commercial communications satellites from the Orbiter's payload bay. The mission marked the Shuttle's first use of an upper stage rocket, the Payload Assist Module (PAM-D). The satellites were deployed for Satellite Business Systems Corporation of McLean, Virginia, and TELESAT of Ottawa, Canada. Two FAI records for mass to altitude were set on the mission. Numerous flight tests were performed to ascertain Shuttle performance. STS-5 was the last flight to carry the Development Flight Instrumentation package to support extensive flight testing. The STS-5 crew concluded the 5-day orbital flight of Columbia with the landing approach through a cloud deck to Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, California on November 16, 1982. Mission duration was 122 hours.
Brand commanded Challenger with a crew of five on the tenth flight of the Space Shuttle, STS-41-B.[1] The launch was on February 3, 1984. His crew included Commander Robert L. Gibson, pilot, and 3 mission specialists, Captain Bruce McCandless II, Dr. Ronald McNair, and Lt. Col. Robert L. Stewart. The flight accomplished the proper shuttle deployment of two Hughes 376 communications satellites which failed to reach desired geosynchronous orbits due to upper stage rocket failures. This mission marked the first flight checkout of the Manned Maneuvering Unit and the Manipulator Foot Restraint with McCandless and Stewart performing two untethered extravehicular activities. Shuttle rendezvous sensors and computer programs were flight tested for the first time. The 8-day flight of Challenger ended with the first landing to the runway at the Kennedy Space Center on February 11, 1984, ending a 191-hour mission.
Brand again commanded Columbia on the thirty-eighth flight of the Shuttle, this time with a crew of seven, on STS-35.[1] The spectacular night launch on December 2, 1990 started a 9-day mission devoted to round-the-clock observations of stars and other celestial objects. Crewmen included the pilot, Col. Guy Gardner; three mission specialists, John M. Lounge, Dr. Robert A. Parker and Dr. Jeffrey A. Hoffman; and two payload specialists, Dr. Samuel T. Durrance and Dr. Ronald A. Parise. The 13-ton payload consisted of the 3 ASTRO-1 Ultraviolet (UV) Telescopes and the Broad Band X-ray Telescope. More than 200 Orbiter maneuvers were required to point the telescopes. This Shuttle flight, the first dedicated to astronomy, provided a rich return of science data with emphasis on observation of very active celestial objects. A night landing was made on December 10, to Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base. Mission duration was 215 hours.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Government.
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