John M. Fabian
Encyclopedia
John McCreary Fabian is a former NASA
Astronaut
and Air Force officer who flew two space shuttle
missions and on the development of the shuttle's robotic arm. He later led the Air Force's space operations.
Colonel Fabian retired from the USAF in June 1987 and joined Analytic Services Inc
(ANSER), a non-profit aerospace public service research institute in Arlington, Virginia, where he retired as President and Chief Executive Officer in 1998. He currently lives in Port Ludlow, Washington. Fabian continues to serve as an independent consultant and public speaker on the NASA space program and environmental stewardship.
, which launched from Kennedy Space Center
, Florida, on June 18, 1983. This was the second flight for the Orbiter Challenger
and for the first mission with a 5-person crew. During the mission, the crew deployed satellites for Canada (ANIK C-2) and Indonesia (PALAPA B-1); operated the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System (RMS) to perform the first deployment and retrieval exercise with the Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS-01); conducted the first formation flying of the Orbiter with a free-flying satellite (SPAS-01); carried and operated the first U.S./German cooperative materials science payload (OSTA-2): and operated the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES) and the Monodisperse Latex Reactor (MLR) experiments, in addition to activating seven Getaway Specials, Mission duration was 147 hours before landing at Edwards Air Force Base
, California, on June 24, 1983.
Fabian was the first person to deploy and subsequently retrieve a free-flying satellite. In doing so, he used the Canadian-built robotic arm to release and later recapture the SPAS-01 satellite.
On his second mission, Fabian flew on STS-51-G
which launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on June 17, 1985, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on June 24, 1985, after completing approximately 170 hours of space flight. This international crew deployed communications satellites for Mexico (Morelos), the Arab League
(Arabsat), and the United States (AT&T
Telstar
). They used the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) to deploy and later retrieve the SPARTAN satellite which performed 17 hours of x-ray astronomy experiments while separated from the Space Shuttle. In addition, the crew activated the Automated Directional Solidification Furnace (ADSF), six Getaway Specials, participated in biomedical experiments, and conducted a laser tracking experiment as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative
.
, was commissioned upon graduation in 1962. After an assignment at the Air Force Institute of Technology
at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
, Ohio, he was assigned as an aeronautics engineer in the service engineering division, San Antonio Air Material Area, Kelly Air Force Base
, Texas. He then attended flight training at Williams Air Force Base
, Arizona, and subsequently spent 5 years as a KC-135 co-pilot, aircraft commander, and instructor pilot at Wurtsmith Air Force Base
, Michigan. He saw action in Southeast Asia, flying 90 combat missions. Following additional graduate work at the University of Washington
, he served 4 years on the faculty of the Aeronautics Department at the USAF Academy
in Colorado where he was a tenured associate professor. He has logged 4,000 hours flying time, including 3,400 hours in jet aircraft.
, to be his hometown. He was active in the Boy Scouts of America
where he achieved its second highest rank, Life Scout. Recreational interests include politics and environmental advocacy.
In 1998 he retired to Port Ludlow, Washington
, bordered by Hood Canal
and the Olympic Mountains
on northwest Washington's Olympic Peninsula
. In 2002 he helped form the Hood Canal Coalition, an environmental watchdog group opposing a new industrial harbor comples and a gravel mine's shipping operation slated to transverse the Hood Canal Bridge
.
From 2000 to 2011, he participated in the "Lunch with an Astronaut" and "Astronaut Encounter" programs at Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center.
in 1964; and a doctorate in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Washington in 1974. While at Washington State University he was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa
fraternity. Member of Tau Beta Pi
and Sigma Tau engineering honor societies.
WSU Commander of Arnold Air Society
1960-61.
; Fellow, American Astronautical Society; President, Association of Space Explorers - USA; Member, International Academy of Astronautics; Vice President, International Astronautical Federation; Served 4 terms as International Co-President of the Association of Space Explorers. Trustee, Washington State University Foundation. Trustee, Phi Sigma Kappa Foundation. Served with the Presidential Commission Investigating the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident and the Presidential Commission on Design of the International Space Station. Member of NASA Advisory Committees on the Joint US-Russian Space Shuttle - MIR Program and the International Space Station. Member, Advisory Committee, Georgia Tech Research Insitute.
Founder of Hood Canal Coalition, a state-wide organization of nearly 4000 members with the support of more than 60 other, independent environmental, political, recreational, tribal, and community groups. The coalition opposes the industrialization of Hood Canal and the development of a harbor complex intended to load strip-mined gravel onto ships the size of aircraft carriers and barges the size of football fields. Major national, state, regional and local elected officials support the work of the coalition.
See www.hoodcanalcoalition.org
; NASA Space Flight Medal
with one Oak Leaf Cluster
; NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal; Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
- Komarov Diploma; Defense Superior Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster
, Legion of Merit
, Defense Meritorious Service Medal
, Air Force Meritorious Service Medal; French Legion of Honor
, Saudi Arabian King Abdul Aziz Medal; Air Medal
with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters; Air Force Commendation Medal; Washington State University Sloan Engineering Award (1961); Air Training Command Academic Training Award (1966); Squadron Officer School Commandant's Trophy (1968); Squadron Officer School Chief of Staff Award (1968); Washington State University Distinguished Alumnus Award (1983); University of Washington Distinguished Alumnus Award, Aeronautics and Astronautics, (1984); Washington State Service to Humanity Award (1983); Distinguished Alumnus Award (1985); Medallion of Merit (1987); Phi Sigma Kappa; Leonov Medal (Association of Space Explorers)(1992); Magnuson Puget Sound Legacy Award (People for Puget Sound)(2010). Distinguished Member, Association of Space Explorers (2010).
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
and Air Force officer who flew two space shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
missions and on the development of the shuttle's robotic arm. He later led the Air Force's space operations.
NASA experience
Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978, and became an astronaut in August 1979. During the following years, he worked extensively on satellite deployment and retrieval activities, including development of the Canadian Remote Manipulator System. A veteran of two space flights, he has logged over 316 hours in space. He served as a mission specialist on STS-7 (June 18-June 24, 1983) and STS-51G (June 17–24, 1985). He was scheduled to fly next in May 1986 on STS-61G, and was also in training for space shuttle life science mission SLS-1. Fabian instead left NASA on January 1, 1986 to become Director of Space, Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Operations, Headquarters USAF.Colonel Fabian retired from the USAF in June 1987 and joined Analytic Services Inc
Analytic Services
Analytic Services is a not-for-profit institute based in Arlington, Virginia which provides analysis and studies in the areas of national security, homeland security, and public safety...
(ANSER), a non-profit aerospace public service research institute in Arlington, Virginia, where he retired as President and Chief Executive Officer in 1998. He currently lives in Port Ludlow, Washington. Fabian continues to serve as an independent consultant and public speaker on the NASA space program and environmental stewardship.
Space flight experience
Fabian first flew as a mission specialist on STS-7STS-7
STS-7 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission, during which Space Shuttle Challenger deployed several satellites into orbit. The shuttle launched from Kennedy Space Center on 18 June 1983, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base on 24 June. STS-7 was the seventh shuttle mission, and was Challengers second...
, which launched from Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
, Florida, on June 18, 1983. This was the second flight for the Orbiter Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California...
and for the first mission with a 5-person crew. During the mission, the crew deployed satellites for Canada (ANIK C-2) and Indonesia (PALAPA B-1); operated the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System (RMS) to perform the first deployment and retrieval exercise with the Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS-01); conducted the first formation flying of the Orbiter with a free-flying satellite (SPAS-01); carried and operated the first U.S./German cooperative materials science payload (OSTA-2): and operated the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES) and the Monodisperse Latex Reactor (MLR) experiments, in addition to activating seven Getaway Specials, Mission duration was 147 hours before landing at Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
, California, on June 24, 1983.
Fabian was the first person to deploy and subsequently retrieve a free-flying satellite. In doing so, he used the Canadian-built robotic arm to release and later recapture the SPAS-01 satellite.
On his second mission, Fabian flew on STS-51-G
STS-51-G
STS-51-G was the eighteenth flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the fifth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 17 June 1985...
which launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on June 17, 1985, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on June 24, 1985, after completing approximately 170 hours of space flight. This international crew deployed communications satellites for Mexico (Morelos), the Arab League
Arab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
(Arabsat), and the United States (AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
Telstar
Telstar
Telstar is the name of various communications satellites, including the first such satellite to relay television signals.The first two Telstar satellites were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 was launched on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962...
). They used the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) to deploy and later retrieve the SPARTAN satellite which performed 17 hours of x-ray astronomy experiments while separated from the Space Shuttle. In addition, the crew activated the Automated Directional Solidification Furnace (ADSF), six Getaway Specials, participated in biomedical experiments, and conducted a laser tracking experiment as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative
Strategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic...
.
Military experience
Fabian, an Air Force ROTC student at Washington State UniversityWashington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
, was commissioned upon graduation in 1962. After an assignment at the Air Force Institute of Technology
Air Force Institute of Technology
The Air Force Institute of Technology is a graduate school and provider of professional and continuing education that is part of the United States Air Force. It is located on Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. A component of Air University and Air Education and Training Command, AFIT has been...
at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...
, Ohio, he was assigned as an aeronautics engineer in the service engineering division, San Antonio Air Material Area, Kelly Air Force Base
Kelly Air Force Base
Kelly Field Annex and is a former United States Air Force facility located in San Antonio, Texas. In 2001, the runway and land west of the runway became "Kelly Field Annex" and control of it was transferred to the adjacent Lackland Air Force Base, part of Joint Base San Antonio...
, Texas. He then attended flight training at Williams Air Force Base
Williams Air Force Base
Williams Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base, located in Mesa, and about southeast of Phoenix, Arizona.It was active as a training base for both the United States Army Air Forces, as well as the USAF from 1941 until its closure in 1993...
, Arizona, and subsequently spent 5 years as a KC-135 co-pilot, aircraft commander, and instructor pilot at Wurtsmith Air Force Base
Wurtsmith Air Force Base
Wurtsmith Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force base in northeastern Iosco County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The former base includes located approximately two miles west of Lake Huron in the Charter Township of Oscoda, bordered by Van Ettan Lake, the Au Sable State...
, Michigan. He saw action in Southeast Asia, flying 90 combat missions. Following additional graduate work at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, he served 4 years on the faculty of the Aeronautics Department at the USAF Academy
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
in Colorado where he was a tenured associate professor. He has logged 4,000 hours flying time, including 3,400 hours in jet aircraft.
Personal data
Born January 28, 1939, in Goosecreek, Texas, but considers Pullman, WashingtonPullman, Washington
Pullman is the largest city in Whitman County, Washington, United States. The population was 24,675 at the 2000 census and 29,799 according to the 2010 census...
, to be his hometown. He was active in the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
where he achieved its second highest rank, Life Scout. Recreational interests include politics and environmental advocacy.
In 1998 he retired to Port Ludlow, Washington
Port Ludlow, Washington
Port Ludlow is a census-designated place in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. It is also the name of the marine inlet on which the CDP is located. The CDP's population was 1,968 at the 2000 census. Originally a logging and sawmill community, its economy declined during the first half of...
, bordered by Hood Canal
Hood Canal
Hood Canal is a fjord forming the western lobe, and one of the four main basins, of Puget Sound in the state of Washington. Hood Canal is not a canal in the sense of being a man-made waterway—it is a natural waterway.-Geography:...
and the Olympic Mountains
Olympic Mountains
The Olympic Mountains is a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington in the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high - Mount Olympus is the highest at - but the western slopes of the Olympics rise directly out of the Pacific...
on northwest Washington's Olympic Peninsula
Olympic Peninsula
The Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state of the USA, that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound. Cape Alava, the westernmost point in the contiguous...
. In 2002 he helped form the Hood Canal Coalition, an environmental watchdog group opposing a new industrial harbor comples and a gravel mine's shipping operation slated to transverse the Hood Canal Bridge
Hood Canal Bridge
The Hood Canal Bridge is a floating bridge located in the U.S. state of Washington that carries Washington State Route 104 across Hood Canal and connects the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas. At long, The Hood Canal Bridge (officially William A. Bugge Bridge) is a floating bridge located in the U.S....
.
From 2000 to 2011, he participated in the "Lunch with an Astronaut" and "Astronaut Encounter" programs at Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center.
Education
Graduated from Pullman High School, Pullman, Washington, in 1957; received a bachelor of science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Washington State University in 1962; a master of science in Aerospace Engineering from the Air Force Institute of TechnologyAir Force Institute of Technology
The Air Force Institute of Technology is a graduate school and provider of professional and continuing education that is part of the United States Air Force. It is located on Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. A component of Air University and Air Education and Training Command, AFIT has been...
in 1964; and a doctorate in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Washington in 1974. While at Washington State University he was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa
Phi Sigma Kappa
-Phi Sigma Kappa's Creed and Cardinal Principles:The 1934 Convention in Ann Arbor brought more changes for the fraternity. Brother Stewart W. Herman of Gettysburg wrote and presented the Creed, and Brother Ralph Watts of Massachusetts drafted and presented the Cardinal Principles.-World War II:The...
fraternity. Member of Tau Beta Pi
Tau Beta Pi
The Tau Beta Pi Association is the oldest engineering honor society in the United States and the second oldest collegiate honor society in America. It honors engineering students who have shown a history of academic achievement as well as a commitment to personal and professional integrity...
and Sigma Tau engineering honor societies.
WSU Commander of Arnold Air Society
Arnold Air Society
The Arnold Air Society is a professional, honorary, service organization advocating the support of aerospace power. AAS is open to officer candidates in Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps and at the United States Air Force Academy , and is formally affiliated with the Air Force Association...
1960-61.
Associations
Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and AstronauticsAmerican Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics is the professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA was founded in 1963 from the merger of two earlier societies: the American Rocket Society , founded in 1930 as the American Interplanetary Society , and the Institute...
; Fellow, American Astronautical Society; President, Association of Space Explorers - USA; Member, International Academy of Astronautics; Vice President, International Astronautical Federation; Served 4 terms as International Co-President of the Association of Space Explorers. Trustee, Washington State University Foundation. Trustee, Phi Sigma Kappa Foundation. Served with the Presidential Commission Investigating the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident and the Presidential Commission on Design of the International Space Station. Member of NASA Advisory Committees on the Joint US-Russian Space Shuttle - MIR Program and the International Space Station. Member, Advisory Committee, Georgia Tech Research Insitute.
Founder of Hood Canal Coalition, a state-wide organization of nearly 4000 members with the support of more than 60 other, independent environmental, political, recreational, tribal, and community groups. The coalition opposes the industrialization of Hood Canal and the development of a harbor complex intended to load strip-mined gravel onto ships the size of aircraft carriers and barges the size of football fields. Major national, state, regional and local elected officials support the work of the coalition.
See www.hoodcanalcoalition.org
Honors
Air Force Astronaut WingsAstronaut Badge
The Astronaut Badge is a badge of the United States, awarded to military and civilian pilots who have completed training and performed a successful spaceflight...
; NASA Space Flight Medal
NASA Space Flight Medal
The NASA Space Flight Medal is a decoration of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. According to its statutes, it is awarded "for significant achievement or service during individual participation as a civilian or military astronaut, pilot, mission specialist, payload specialist, or...
with one Oak Leaf Cluster
Oak leaf cluster
An oak leaf cluster is a common device which is placed on U.S. Army and Air Force awards and decorations to denote those who have received more than one bestowal of a particular decoration. The number of oak leaf clusters typically indicates the number of subsequent awards of the decoration...
; NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal; Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
- Komarov Diploma; Defense Superior Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster
Defense Superior Service Medal
The Defense Superior Service Medal is a senior United States military decoration of the Department of Defense, awarded to members of the United States armed forces who perform "superior meritorious service in a position of significant responsibility."...
, Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
, Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
The Defense Meritorious Service Medal is the third-highest award bestowed upon members of the United States military by the United States Department of Defense...
, Air Force Meritorious Service Medal; French Legion of Honor
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, Saudi Arabian King Abdul Aziz Medal; Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters; Air Force Commendation Medal; Washington State University Sloan Engineering Award (1961); Air Training Command Academic Training Award (1966); Squadron Officer School Commandant's Trophy (1968); Squadron Officer School Chief of Staff Award (1968); Washington State University Distinguished Alumnus Award (1983); University of Washington Distinguished Alumnus Award, Aeronautics and Astronautics, (1984); Washington State Service to Humanity Award (1983); Distinguished Alumnus Award (1985); Medallion of Merit (1987); Phi Sigma Kappa; Leonov Medal (Association of Space Explorers)(1992); Magnuson Puget Sound Legacy Award (People for Puget Sound)(2010). Distinguished Member, Association of Space Explorers (2010).