Frank L. Culbertson Jr.
American - (NASA)
Retired
Date of Birth: May 15, 1949
Age: 75
Frank Lee Culbertson Jr. is an American former naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, and NASA astronaut. He served as the Commander of the International Space Station for almost four months in 2001 and was the only American not on Earth when the September 11 attacks occurred. He is currently President of the Space Systems Group at Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. Mr. Culbertson is responsible for the execution, business development and financial performance of the company’s human spaceflight, science, commercial communications, and national security satellite activities, as well as technical services to various government customers. These include some of Northrop Grumman's largest and most important programs such as NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) initiatives to the International Space Station (ISS) as well as various national security-related programs.
Space Shuttle Atlantis / OV-104 | STS-38
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Nov. 15, 1990, 11:48 p.m.
Space Shuttle Discovery / OV-103 | STS-51
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Sept. 12, 1993, 11:45 a.m.
Status: Success
Mission:
STS-51 was a Space Shuttle Discovery mission that launched the Advanced 10 Technology Satellite (ACTS) in September 1993. The flight also featured the deployment and retrieval of the SPAS-ORFEUS satellite and its IMAX camera, which captured spectacular footage of Discovery in space. A spacewalk was also performed during the mission to evaluate tools and techniques for the STS-61 Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission later that year.
Low Earth OrbitSpace Shuttle Discovery / OV-103 | STS-105
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Aug. 10, 2001, 9:10 p.m.
Status: Success
Mission:
STS-105 was a mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station, launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, 10 August 2001. This mission was Discovery's final mission until STS-114, because Discovery was grounded for a refit, and then all Shuttles were grounded in the wake of the Columbia disaster. The refit included an update of the flight deck to the glass cockpit layout, which was already installed on Atlantis and Columbia.
Low Earth OrbitSpace Shuttle Endeavour / OV-105 | STS-108
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Dec. 5, 2001, 10:19 p.m.
Status: Success
Mission:
STS-108 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. Its primary objective was to deliver supplies to and help maintain the ISS. It was the 12th shuttle flight to visit the International Space Station and the first since the installation of the Russian airlock called Pirs on the station. Endeavour delivered the Expedition 4 crew to the orbital outpost. The Expedition 3 crew returned to Earth on Endeavour.
Low Earth OrbitThe 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.
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 12-2
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USAA batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Electron
StriX Launch 6
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New ZealandSynthetic aperture radar satellites for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.
Falcon 9
Bandwagon 2 (Dedicated Mid-Inclination Rideshare)
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USADedicated rideshare flight to a mid-inclination orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers…
Long March 3
TJSW-12
Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaChinese classified satellite claimed to be for communication technology test purposes. Actual mission not known.
Ceres-1S
Tianqi 33-36
Oriental Spaceport mobile launch ship - Sea Launch4 small satellites for LEO Internet of Things (IoT) communication purposes.
