Steven R. Nagel belongs to the record of technology as a figure whose work outlasted the moment that produced it.
The record lists Steven R. Nagel as American astronaut (1946-2014).
Steven R. Nagel was born at Canton in 1946. His recorded nationality is the United States. He was educated at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School.
The twentieth century made work collective, expensive and political, with consequences that reached well beyond the people doing it.
He worked as military officer, astronaut and military flight engineer.
His affiliations include National Aeronautics and Space Administration and University of Missouri.
Technology is judged by adoption: an invention nobody uses is a curiosity.
His work was formally recognised with the Distinguished Flying Cross, NASA Distinguished Service Medal and Meritorious Service Medal.
That the work was done from the United States matters. Opportunity has never been evenly distributed, and where a person is based shapes which doors open and whose work gets seen.
Steven R. Nagel died in 2014, aged 68. What survives is the work, which is the only durable form of a reputation.
Achievements
- Affiliated with National Aeronautics and Space Administration and University of Missouri
- Educated at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and California State University, Fresno
- Worked as military officer, astronaut and military flight engineer
