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Kenneth Cockrell
Kenneth Dale "Taco" Cockrell (born April 9, 1950) is a retired American astronaut, engineer and a veteran of five Space Shuttle missions. He served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1997 to 1998. Pre-NASA career Cockrell was born in Austin, Texas to Buford Dale Cockrell and Jewell Moorman. He graduated from Rockdale High School in nearby Rockdale, Texas in 1968. He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1972 and received his commission in the United States Navy that same year. He also earned a master's in aeronautical systems from the University of West Florida in 1974. He was trained as a pilot and was stationed from 1975 to 1978 aboard the aircraft carrier . Cockrell then became a test pilot for several years before serving two tours of duty aboard . In 1987, Cockrell resigned from the Navy and joined the Aircraft Operations Division of Johnson Space Center as a research pilot. NASA experience Selected by NASA in Janua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), to give the U.S. space development effort a distinctly civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science. NASA has since led most American space exploration, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968-1972 Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. NASA supports the International Space Station and oversees the development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System for the crewed lunar Artemis program, Commercial Crew spacecraft, and the planned Lunar Gateway space station. The agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program, which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limitations imposed by practicality, regulation, safety and cost. "Science is knowledge based on our observed facts and tested truths arranged in an orderly system that can be validated and communicated to other people. Engineering is the creative application of scientific principles used to plan, build, direct, guide, manage, or work on systems to maintain and improve our daily lives." The word ''engineer'' (Latin ) is derived from the Latin words ("to contrive, devise") and ("cleverness"). The foundational qualifications of an engineer typically include a four-year bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline, or in some jurisdictions, a master's degree in an engineering discipline plus four to six years of peer-reviewed professiona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base
Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is a joint installation shared by various active component and reserve component military units, as well as aircraft flight operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under the aegis of the nearby Johnson Space Center. The host wing for the installation is the Texas Air National Guard's 147th Attack Wing (147 ATKW). Opened in 1917, Ellington Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I. It is named for First Lieutenant Eric Ellington, a U.S. Army aviator who was killed in a plane crash in San Diego, California in 1913. Overview The United States Air Force's 147th Attack Wing (147 ATKW) is an Air National Guard (ANG) unit operationally-gained by the Air Combat Command (ACC). The 147 ATKW provides a 24/7 capability with MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Aerial Systems. In its conduct of combat support sorties, the 147 ATKW provides theater and national-level l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northrop T-38 Talon
The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first, and the most produced, supersonic trainer. The T-38 remains in service in several air forces. The United States Air Force (USAF) operates the most T-38s. In addition to training USAF pilots, the T-38 is used by NASA. The U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland, is the principal US Navy operator (other T-38s were previously used as USN for dissimilar air combat training until replaced by the similar Northrop F-5 Tiger II). Pilots of other NATO nations fly the T-38 in joint training programs with USAF pilots. , the T-38 has been in service for over 60 years with its original operator, the United States Air Force. In September 2018, USAF announced the replacement of the Talon by the Boeing-Saab T-7 Red Hawk with phaseout to begin in 2023. Design and development In 1952 Northrop began work on a fighter project, the '' N-102 Fang'', with shoulder-mounted d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center
The Yuri A. Gagarin State Scientific Research-and-Testing Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC; Russian: Центр подготовки космонавтов имени Ю. А. Гагарина) is a Russian training facility responsible for training cosmonauts for their space missions. It is in Star City of Moscow Oblast, a name which may refer to the facility itself or to its grounds. Formation The facility was originally known only as Military Unit 26266 or в/ч 26266, and was a secret training base for Soviet Cosmonaut candidates. The site was chosen for its proximity to Moscow and other infrastructure that would be essential for its function: Chkalovsky Airport, and the Yaroslavl railroad. The densely forested area was originally a radar range with some existing infrastructure. Military doctor Colonel Yevgeny Karpov was appointed as the first chief of the cosmonaut training centre or ''Tsentr Podgotovki Kosmonavtov'' (TsPK) on 24 February 1960. The centre was home to appr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Star City, Russia
Star City (russian: Звёздный городо́к, ''Zvyozdny gorodok''The name "Zvyozdny gorodok" literally means "starry townlet".) is a common name of an area in Zvyozdny gorodok, Moscow Oblast, Russia, which has since the 1960s been home to the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC). Officially, the area was known as " closed military townlet No. 1" and at various times had also been designated as Shchyolkovo-14 () and Zvyozdny (). Overview Cosmonauts of the Russian Federal Space Agency, and the Soviet space program before it, have lived and trained in Star City since the 1960s. In the Soviet era the location was a highly secret and guarded military installation, access to which was severely restricted. Many Russian cosmonauts, past and present, and Training Centre's personnel, live in Star City with their families. The facility has its own post office, high school, shops, child day care/kindergarten, movie theater, sports and recreation facilities, rai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eighth of Earth's inhabitable landmass. Russia extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones and shares Borders of Russia, land boundaries with fourteen countries, more than List of countries and territories by land borders, any other country but China. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, world's ninth-most populous country and List of European countries by population, Europe's most populous country, with a population of 146 million people. The country's capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city is Moscow, the List of European cities by population within city limits, largest city entirely within E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnson Space Center
The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late US president and Texas native, Lyndon B. Johnson, by an act of the United States Senate on February 19, 1973. It consists of a complex of 100 buildings constructed on in the Clear Lake Area of Houston, which acquired the official nickname "Space City" in 1967. The center is home to NASA's astronaut corps, and is responsible for training astronauts from both the US and its international partners. It houses the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center, which has provided the flight control function for every NASA human spaceflight since Gemini 4 (including Apollo, Skylab, Apollo–Soyuz, and Space Shuttle). It is popularly known by its radio call signs "Mission Control" and "Houston". The original Manned Spacecraft Center grew out ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aircraft Carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a naval force to project air power worldwide without depending on local bases for staging aircraft operations. Carriers have evolved since their inception in the early twentieth century from wooden vessels used to deploy balloons to nuclear-powered warships that carry numerous fighters, strike aircraft, helicopters, and other types of aircraft. While heavier aircraft such as fixed-wing gunships and bombers have been launched from aircraft carriers, these aircraft have not successfully landed on a carrier. By its diplomatic and tactical power, its mobility, its autonomy and the variety of its means, the aircraft carrier is often the centerpiece of modern combat fleets. Tactically or even strategically, it replaced the battleship in the ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of West Florida
The University of West Florida (West Florida or UWF) is a public university in Pensacola, Florida. Established in 1963 as part of the State University System of Florida, the university sits on the third largest campus in the State University System, at . The university's mascot is Argie the Argonaut and its logo is the chambered nautilus. History In 1962, the Florida Legislature authorized the State Board of Education to locate a state university in Escambia County. Harold Crosby was appointed the first president in July 1964. UWF became the sixth institution of the State University System of Florida, which today consists of twelve public universities. Ground was broken on April 16, 1965, and in the same year the chambered nautilus was adopted as the official UWF emblem. UWF was originally an upper-level institution, enrolling juniors, seniors and graduate students. The first students began classes in the fall of 1967, and in June 1968, 58 students received degrees in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of Texas At Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 graduate students and 3,133 teaching faculty as of Fall 2021, it is also the largest institution in the system. It is ranked among the top universities in the world by major college and university rankings, and admission to its programs is considered highly selective. UT Austin is considered one of the United States's Public Ivies. The university is a major center for academic research, with research expenditures totaling $679.8 million for fiscal year 2018. It joined the Association of American Universities in 1929. The university houses seven museums and seventeen libraries, including the LBJ Presidential Library and the Blanton Museum of Art, and operates various auxiliary research facilities, such as the J. J. Pickle Research Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rockdale, Texas
Rockdale is a city in Milam County, Texas, United States. Its population was 5,323 at the 2020 census. It is about 41 miles west of College Station. History In 1873, the town developed as the International-Great Northern Railroad came through the area. Rockdale was named for a nearby rock that stood 12 feet high and had a circumference of 20 feet. Rockdale was incorporated in 1878. Geography Rockdale is located at (30.654674, –97.007439). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. Climate The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification, Rockdale has a humid subtropical climate, ''Cfa'' on climate maps. Demographics As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,323 people, 2,026 households, and 1,154 families residing in the city. As of the census of 2017, 5,605 people, 2,088 households, and 1,395 families we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
