Circle Image

Don L. Lind

American - (NASA)

Retired

Date of Birth: May 18, 1930
Age: 94


Don Leslie Lind, Ph.D. is an American scientist and a former naval officer and aviator, and NASA astronaut. He graduated from the University of Utah with an undergraduate degree in physics in 1953. Following his military service obligation, he earned a Ph.D. in high-energy nuclear physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1964. Lind was a naval aviator and attained the rank of Commander in the United States Naval Reserve. He had active duty in San Diego and aboard the carrier USS Hancock. After completing his doctorate, Lind worked at NASA's Goddard Research Center from 1964 to 1966. During this period, he applied for the third group of astronauts but did not have enough flight hours. He applied for the fourth group, but was denied for being too old. The age restriction was raised for the fifth group, and he was selected with the Original Nineteen in 1966. Lind helped to develop the Apollo 11 EVA activities, and served as CAPCOM for the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 missions. He was then assigned as backup Pilot for Skylab 3 and Skylab 4 and nearly flew on the proposed Skylab Rescue mission. Lind was the Payload Commander on his only flight, STS-51-B, launched April 29, 1985. He designed an experiment to capture the Earth's aurora. The payload experiments consisted primarily of microgravity research and atmospheric measurement. The Orbiter Challenger completed 110 orbits before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Space Shuttle Challenger / OV-099 | STS-51-B

National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of America
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
April 29, 1985, 4:02 p.m.
Status: Success
Mission:

STS-51-B was the seventeenth flight of the shuttle program and the seventh for Space Shuttle Challenger. It was the second flight for SpaceLab.

Low Earth Orbit
Explore Share

Administrator: Bill Nelson

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.


Soyuz 2.1b
Success
19 hours, 20 minutes ago
Resurs-P No.5
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Resurs-P is a series of Russian commercial Earth observation satellites capable of acquiring high-resolution imagery (resolution up to 1.0 m).


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 21 hours ago
Starlink Group 12-2
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Electron
Success
4 days, 12 hours ago
StriX Launch 6
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar satellites for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.


Falcon 9
Success
4 days, 15 hours ago
Bandwagon 2 (Dedicated Mid-Inclination Rideshare)
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Dedicated rideshare flight to a mid-inclination orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers…


Long March 3
Success
5 days, 11 hours ago
TJSW-12
Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Chinese classified satellite claimed to be for communication technology test purposes. Actual mission not known.