Kevin R. Kregel logged over 5,000 flight hours across 30 distinct aircraft before accruing more than 52 days of experience in space. Throughout a career spanning military aviation and orbital flight, he transitioned from performing carrier landings in the Pacific to serving as a spacecraft commander for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Military Aviation and Training
Born in 1956 in Amityville, New York, Kregel attended Amityville Memorial High School before earning a Bachelor of Science in Astronautical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy in 1978. After receiving his pilot wings in 1979 at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona, he flew F-111 aircraft at RAF Lakenheath. As an exchange officer with the United States Navy, he completed 66 carrier landings while stationed aboard the USS Kitty Hawk. Following his time at the United States Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, he conducted systems testing on F-111, F-15, and F-15E aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base before resigning from active duty in 1990.
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Kregel joined NASA in April 1990 as an aerospace engineer and instructor pilot based at Ellington Field. Selected for the astronaut program in March 1992, he completed training at the Johnson Space Center. His flight log includes four missions: STS-70, STS-78, STS-87, and STS-99. During STS-70 in 1995, he served as pilot for the deployment of a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite. He returned to orbit in 1996 for the STS-78 Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission. In 1997, he commanded STS-87, which involved EVA procedures and Spartan satellite operations, followed by the 2000 STS-99 mission, where the crew executed the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission.
Post-Astronaut Activity
Beyond his flight duties, Kregel served as a CAPCOM in Mission Control and provided support for launch and landing operations at the Kennedy Space Center. After his final shuttle flight, he worked within the Engineering Directorate on the Space Launch Initiative Project at the Johnson Space Center until 2003. Upon leaving NASA, he transitioned to commercial aviation, flying for Southwest Airlines until his retirement on December 7, 2018. His professional contributions have been recognized with several awards, including the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 2001, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, and various military commendations.
Fast facts
- Born: 1956, Amityville, New York
- Military Rank: Colonel
- Education: United States Air Force Academy, Troy University
- Time in space: 52 days, 17 hours, 20 minutes, 5 seconds
- Total space flights: 4
- NASA Distinguished Service Medal: 2001
- Commercial aviation retirement: December 7, 2018
Questions readers ask
How many carrier landings did Kregel complete during his military service?
He completed 66 carrier landings during a cruise of the Western Pacific while serving as an exchange officer with the United States Navy.
Which shuttle missions did Kregel command?
He served as the spacecraft commander for STS-87 in 1997 and STS-99 in 2000.
Achievements
- NASA Distinguished Service Medal
- Recorded as military officer and astronaut
