Over 6,000 hours of flight time in 77 different aircraft types defined the career of Richard A. Searfoss, an American aviator who transitioned from military service to a central role in NASA's Space Shuttle program. A veteran of three space missions, he spent 39 days in orbit before moving into private aerospace development and testing.
Military and Academic Foundations
Born in 1956 in Mount Clemens, Michigan, Searfoss entered the United States Air Force Academy, graduating in 1978. He earned a Master of Science in aeronautics from the California Institute of Technology in 1979. His military career included flying the F-111F at RAF Lakenheath and serving as an instructor pilot at Mountain Home Air Force Base. By 1988, he attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland, later becoming a flight instructor at Edwards Air Force Base.
Twenty questions, eight minutes on the clock, and a percentile measured against everyone who has taken it. No sign-up.
Take the IQ test →NASA Astronaut Missions
Selected for the astronaut program in 1990, Searfoss completed three flights aboard the Space Shuttle. He piloted STS-58 in 1993, a life science research mission aboard Columbia that conducted extensive physiological experiments. In 1996, he piloted STS-76 on Atlantis, facilitating the third docking of an American spacecraft with the Russian space station Mir. He commanded his final mission, STS-90, in 1998, which utilized the Neurolab laboratory to investigate microgravity effects on the nervous system.
Post-NASA Aerospace Contributions
After leaving NASA in 1998, Searfoss worked with Southwest Airlines and United Space Alliance. He gained recognition for serving as a judge for the Ansari X-Prize, formally declaring SpaceShipOne the winner in 2004. As Chief Test Pilot at XCOR Aerospace, he became the world's only tri-qualified rocket pilot, having flown the Space Shuttle, the EZ-Rocket, and a rocket-powered prototype racing aircraft. He concluded his career as a T-38 instructor pilot before his death in 2018 in Bear Valley Springs.
Fast facts
- Born: 1956, Mount Clemens
- Died: 2018, Bear Valley Springs
- Military Rank: Colonel
- Space Flight Time: Over 939 hours
- Total Space Flights: 3
- Education: United States Air Force Academy, Caltech
- Awards: Eagle Scout, Distinguished Flying Cross
- Rocket-powered flights: 52
Questions readers ask
What record did Richard A. Searfoss hold as a pilot?
He was the world's only tri-qualified rocket pilot, having flown the Space Shuttle, the EZ-Rocket, and a rocket-powered prototype racing aircraft.
What was the scientific focus of the STS-90 mission?
The mission was a 16-day Spacelab flight that conducted 26 life science experiments to study the effects of microgravity on the human brain and nervous system.
Achievements
- Distinguished Flying Cross
- Eagle Scout
- Recorded as military officer, astronaut and aircraft pilot
.jpg)