Donald Herod Peterson is a retired
United States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the U.S. armed forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947 - 80 P.L....
officer and a former USAF and
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
astronautAn astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
. He was born in
WinonaWinona is a city in Montgomery County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,482 at the 2000 census. The name of the city comes from a Sioux word meaning "first-born daughter." It is the county seat of Montgomery County....
,
MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
, on October 22, 1933. Peterson is married, and has three children and four grandchildren.
He graduated from Winona High School, Winona, Mississippi; received a
bachelor of scienceA Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years ....
degree from the
United States Military AcademyThe United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. Established in 1802, USMA is the oldest of the United States's five service academies. The military garrison at West Point was occupied in 1778 and played a key...
at
West PointWest Point is a federal military reservation located North of the Village of Highland Falls in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, in 1955, and a master's degree in
Nuclear EngineeringNuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of the breakdown of atomic nuclei and/or other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear physics. It includes, but is not limited to, the interaction and maintenance of nuclear fission systems and...
from the
Air Force Institute of TechnologyThe 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. Considered a component of Air University, AFIT has been offering degrees since 1956 and was...
,
Wright-Patterson Air Force BaseWright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Greene and Montgomery counties, eight miles northeast of the central business district of Dayton, Ohio, United States. Part of the base is located along the city limits of Riverside and is also adjacent to Fairborn and...
,
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
, in 1962.
Peterson graduated from West Point in 1955.
Donald Herod Peterson is a retired
United States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the U.S. armed forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947 - 80 P.L....
officer and a former USAF and
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
astronautAn astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
. He was born in
WinonaWinona is a city in Montgomery County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,482 at the 2000 census. The name of the city comes from a Sioux word meaning "first-born daughter." It is the county seat of Montgomery County....
,
MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
, on October 22, 1933. Peterson is married, and has three children and four grandchildren.
Education
He graduated from Winona High School, Winona, Mississippi; received a
bachelor of scienceA Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years ....
degree from the
United States Military AcademyThe United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. Established in 1802, USMA is the oldest of the United States's five service academies. The military garrison at West Point was occupied in 1778 and played a key...
at
West PointWest Point is a federal military reservation located North of the Village of Highland Falls in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, in 1955, and a master's degree in
Nuclear EngineeringNuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of the breakdown of atomic nuclei and/or other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear physics. It includes, but is not limited to, the interaction and maintenance of nuclear fission systems and...
from the
Air Force Institute of TechnologyThe 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. Considered a component of Air University, AFIT has been offering degrees since 1956 and was...
,
Wright-Patterson Air Force BaseWright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Greene and Montgomery counties, eight miles northeast of the central business district of Dayton, Ohio, United States. Part of the base is located along the city limits of Riverside and is also adjacent to Fairborn and...
,
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
, in 1962.
USAF career
Peterson graduated from West Point in 1955. His assignments included four years as a
flight instructorA flight instructor is a person who teaches others to fly aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate the knowledge and skill level of an aviator in pursuit...
and military training officer with the
Air Training CommandAir Training Command is a former major command of the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force. ATC came into being as a redesignation of the Army Air Forces Training Command on July 1, 1946...
, three years as a nuclear systems analyst with the
Air Force Systems CommandAir Force Systems Command is a former United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. On July 1, 1992, AFSC and Air Force Logistics Command were merged to form the Air Force Materiel Command, located at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio....
, and one year as a
fighter pilotA fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...
with
Tactical Air CommandTactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on March 21, 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
, including 3 months combat weapons training.
He is a graduate of the Aerospace Research Pilot School at
Edwards Air Force BaseEdwards 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...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, and was one of the third group of astronauts assigned to the USAF
Manned Orbiting LaboratoryThe Manned Orbital Laboratory was part of the United States Air Force's manned spaceflight program, a successor to the cancelled X-20 Dyna-Soar project. It was announced to the public on the same day that the Dyna-Soar program was cancelled, December 10, 1963. The program was supposedly intended...
(MOL) program.
He has logged over 5,300 hours flying time—including more than 5,000 hours in
jet aircraftA jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes — as high as 10,000 to 15,000 meters . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances...
.
NASA career
Peterson became a
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
astronaut in September 1969 after the MOL program was cancelled. He served on the astronaut support crew for
Apollo 16Apollo 16 was the tenth manned mission in the Apollo program, the fifth mission to land on the Moon and the first to land in a highlands area. The mission was launched on April 16, 1972, and concluded on April 27. It was a J-class mission, featuring a Lunar Rover and it brought back 94.7 kg of...
.
Peterson retired from the
United States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the U.S. armed forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947 - 80 P.L....
with the rank of
colonelColonel is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country in the world. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
after having completed more than 24 years of active service, but continued his assignment as a NASA astronaut in a civilian capacity. His areas of responsibility have included engineering support, man/machine interface, and safety assessment.
Peterson was a
mission specialistA Mission Specialist is a position held by certain NASA astronauts during Space Shuttle missions. A Mission Specialist is assigned to a limited field of the mission, such as for medical expirements or technical quests....
on
STS-6STS-6 was a Space Shuttle mission conducted by NASA using Space Shuttle Challenger. Launched April 4, 1983, STS-6 was the sixth space shuttle mission and the first of the ten missions flown on Challenger...
, which launched from
Kennedy Space CenterThe John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA space vehicle launch facility and Launch Control Center on Merritt Island, Brevard County, Florida, United States. The site is near Cape Canaveral, midway between Miami and Jacksonville, Florida. It is long and around wide, covering . A total of...
,
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
, on April 4, 1983. He was accompanied by
Paul J. WeitzPaul Joseph Weitz is an American former astronaut who flew in space twice.-Personal data:Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, on July 25, 1932. Married to the former Suzanne M. Berry of Harborcreek, Pennsylvania. Two children: Matthew and Cynthia. Hunting and fishing are among his hobbies. His mother, Mrs...
(spacecraft commander), Col.
Karol J. BobkoKarol Joseph "Bo" Bobko is an engineer, retired United States Air Force officer and a former USAF and NASA astronaut.-Personal:Bobko was born in New York City, New York to a Polish-American family...
(pilot), and Dr. F. Story Musgrave (mission specialist). During this maiden voyage of the spacecraft
ChallengerSpace Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia being the first. Its maiden flight was on April 4, 1983, and it completed nine missions before breaking apart 73 seconds after the launch of its tenth mission, STS-51-L on January 28, 1986, resulting...
, the STS-6 crew conducted numerous experiments in materials processing, recorded lightning activities, deployed the first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-A), and activated three Getaway Specials. Peterson and Musgrave conducted an extravehicular activity (EVA), commonly called a "spacewalk," to test the new suit, the Shuttle
airlockAn airlock is a device which permits the passage of people and objects between a pressure vessel and its surroundings while minimizing the change of pressure in the vessel and loss of air from it...
, and new tools and techniques for construction and repair outside a
spacecraftA spacecraft is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters space then returns to the Earth. For an orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters a closed orbit around the planetary body. Spacecraft used for human spaceflight carry people on board as...
. After 120 hours of orbital operations STS-6 landed on the concrete runway at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on April 9, 1983. With the completion of this flight Don Peterson has logged 4 hours 15 minutes in extravehicular activity, and a total of 120 hours in space.
Post-NASA career
Peterson resigned from the NASA Astronaut Corps in November 1984, and since that time has worked as a
consultantA consultant is a professional who provides advice in a particular area of expertise such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, medicine, finance, life management, economics,...
in the area of manned aerospace operations.
Honors
He was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal, the
Meritorious Service MedalThe Meritorious Service Medal is a military award presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguished themselves by outstanding non-combat meritorious achievement or service to the United States subsequent to January 16, 1969. Effective 11 September, 2001, this award also may...
, and the JSC Group Achievement Award (1972).