Loren James Shriver (born September 23, 1944) is a former NASA

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they ...

, and a retired

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signa ...

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

Career

Shriver graduated from Paton High School in 1962. He received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree in

Aeronautical Engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

from the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and U ...

in 1967, and a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

degree in

Astronautical Engineering Astronautics (or cosmonautics) is the theory and practice of travel beyond Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Spaceflight is one of its main applications and space science its overarching field. The term ''astronautics'' (originally ''astrona ...

from

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mon ...

in 1968. Shriver was commissioned in 1967, and served from 1969 to 1973 as a T-38 academic instructor pilot at

Vance Air Force Base Vance Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in southern Enid, Oklahoma, about north northwest of Oklahoma City. The base is named after local World War II hero and Medal of Honor recipient, Lieutenant Colonel Leon Robert V ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. In 1973 he was then assigned to an overseas tour in Thailand until October 1974. Beginning in 1975, he attended the United States Air Force Test Pilot School at

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...

. He was later assigned to the 6512th Test Squadron, and in 1976, he began serving as a test pilot for the F-15 Joint Test Force. Shriver was selected as an astronaut by NASA in January 1978, participated in three space flights, and logged over 386 hours in space. In September 1982, he was selected as pilot of

STS-10 During NASA's Space Shuttle program, several missions were canceled. Many were canceled as a result of the ''Challenger'' and the ''Columbia'' disasters or due to delays in the development of the shuttle. Others were canceled because of change ...

, the first Department of Defense mission for the Space Shuttle, but the mission was cancelled. He was pilot of

STS-51-C STS-51-C (formerly STS-10) was the 15th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the third flight of Space Shuttle ''Discovery''. It launched on January 24, 1985, and made the fourth shuttle landing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on Janu ...

, launched from Kennedy Space Center on January 24, 1985. He commanded a crew of five on his second mission,

STS-31 STS-31 was the 35th mission of the NASA Space Shuttle program. The primary purpose of this mission was the deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) into low Earth orbit. The mission used the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' (the tenth mi ...

which launched on April 24, 1990. This five-day flight deployed the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most vers ...

. He also commanded mission

STS-46 STS-46 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission using and was launched on July 31, 1992, and landed on August 8, 1992. Crew Backup crew Crew seating arrangements Mission highlights The mission's primary objectives were the deployment o ...

in 1992. Before his retirement, Shriver was of Deputy Director for Launch and Payload Processing at Kennedy Space Center,

Florida Florida is a U.S. state, state located in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia (U.S. state), Geo ...

. Before taking this position in 1997, he served as the

Space Shuttle program The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. It ...

Manager for Launch Integration. He was the vice-president of engineering and integration and chief technology officer with United Space Alliance until his retirement from NASA in 2011.

Personal life

The son of Darrell and Jessie (Drayer) Shriver, he was born in

Jefferson, Iowa Jefferson is a city in, and the county seat of Greene County, Iowa, United States, along the North Raccoon River. The population was 4,182 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the home of the Mahanay Memorial Bell Tower, tall, located on th ...

and is a native of nearby Paton. He and his wife, Susan Diane (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Hane), have three daughters, Camilla, Melinda, and Rebecca, and one son, Jered. They reside in

Estes Park, Colorado Estes Park is a statutory town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 5,904 at the 2020 United States Census. Estes Park is a part of the Fort Collins, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Co ...

. He has served as Commander of American Legion Post 119 in Estes Park from 2018 until the present time.

Awards and honors

*United States Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross *

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

Defense Meritorious Service Medal The Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM) is an award bestowed upon members of the United States military by the United States Department of Defense. In the order of precedence of the United States Armed Forces, it is worn between the Purple ...

* Meritorious Service Medal *

Air Force Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

NASA Distinguished Service Medal The NASA Distinguished Service Medal is the highest award that can be bestowed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States. The medal may be presented to any member of the federal government, including both militar ...

* NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal *

NASA Space Flight Medal The NASA Space Flight Medal is a decoration of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. According to its statutes, it is awarded "for significant achievement or service during individual participation as a civilian or military astronau ...

s *

American Astronautical Society Formed in 1954, the American Astronautical Society (AAS) is an independent scientific and technical group in the United States dedicated to the advancement of space science and space exploration. AAS supports NASA's Vision for Space Exploratio ...

Flight Achievement Award, 1990 *

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...

Haley Space Flight Award, 1990 * Astronaut Hall of Fame, May 3, 2008.2007 U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction
, retrieved March 25, 2008 Unveiled on October 27, 2016, Col. Shriver's image along with Lt. Col.

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

and Capt. Darrell Lindsey were featured on Greene County's Freedom Rock which is located in front of the grain elevator in Jefferson. His image was painted by Ray "Bubba" Sorensen of Greenfield.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shriver, Loren 1944 births Living people American astronauts People from Brevard County, Florida People from Jefferson, Iowa Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics alumni United States Air Force Academy alumni United States Air Force colonels United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Space Shuttle program astronauts Military personnel from Iowa