Richard Oswalt Covey (born August 1, 1946) is a retired

United States 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 Signal ...

officer, former

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 t ...

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 ...

, and a member of the

United States Astronaut Hall of Fame The United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, located inside the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Heroes & Legends building on Merritt Island, Florida, honors American astronauts and features the world's largest collection of their personal memora ...

Early life

Born August 1, 1946, in

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville () is the second-largest city in Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the biggest city in Northwest Arkansas. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. Known as Washington until ...

, he considers

Fort Walton Beach, Florida Fort Walton Beach is a city in southern Okaloosa County, Florida. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 20,922, up from 19,507 in 2010. It is the principal city of the Fort Walton Beach− Crestview− Destin Metropolitan Statistical Area ...

, to be his hometown. He graduated from

Choctawhatchee High School Choctawhatchee High School is a high school in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. It is the only school in Okaloosa County to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. It also offers the Advanced Placement Program and honors classes, AFJROT ...

, in 1964; 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 of ...

degree in

Engineering Science Engineering physics, or engineering science, refers to the study of the combined disciplines of physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, particularly computer, nuclear, electrical, electronic, aerospace, materials or mechanical en ...

with a major in Astronautical Engineering 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 Uni ...

in 1968, 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 to ...

degree in

Aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...

and

Astronautics 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 ''astronaut ...

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 money ...

in 1969.

Military career

As a member of the

U.S. 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 Signal ...

, Covey was an operational

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

from 1970 to 1974, flying the

F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...

A-37 Dragonfly The Cessna A-37 Dragonfly, or Super Tweet, is an American light attack aircraft developed from the T-37 Tweet basic trainer in the 1960s and 1970s by Cessna Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Avia ...

and

A-7 Corsair II The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...

. He flew 339 combat missions during two tours in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. At

Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the 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, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, between 1975 and 1978, he was an

F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bow ...

and

A-7D The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...

weapons system

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...

and joint test force director for

electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...

testing of the

F-15 Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...

. He has flown over 5,700 hours in more than 30 different types of aircraft.

NASA career

Selected as an astronaut candidate by

in January 1978, Covey became an astronaut in August 1979. A veteran of four space flights,

STS-51-I STS-51-I was the 20th mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the sixth flight of Space Shuttle ''Discovery''. During the mission, ''Discovery'' deployed three communications satellites into orbit. The mission launched from Kennedy Space C ...

in 1985,

STS-26 STS-26 was the 26th NASA Space Shuttle mission and the seventh flight of the orbiter ''Discovery''. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on September 29, 1988, and landed four days later on October 3, 1988. STS-26 was decla ...

in 1988,

STS-38 STS-38 was a Space Shuttle mission by NASA using the Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''. It was the 37th shuttle mission, and carried a classified payload for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). It was the seventh flight for ''Atlantis'' and the se ...

in 1990, and

STS-61 STS-61 was the first NASA Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, and the fifth flight of the Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. The mission launched on 2 December 1993 from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The mission restored the spacebor ...

in 1993, Covey has logged over 646 hours in

space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...

. Prior to the first flight of the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...

, he provided astronaut support in

Orbiter A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, pl ...

engineering development and testing. He was a

T-38 T38 or T-38 may refer to: * T38 (classification), a disability sport classification for disability athletics * T.38, a standard for fax over IP * T-38 tank, a Soviet light tank * Allison T38, a turboprop aircraft engine * Northrop T-38 Talon, a U.S ...

chase pilot for the second and third Shuttle flights and support crewman for the first operational Shuttle flight,

STS-5 STS-5 was the fifth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the fifth flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia, Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. It launched on November 11, 1982, and landed five days later on November 16, 1982. STS-5 was the first Space Shuttle ...

. Covey also served as Mission Control spacecraft communicator (

CAPCOM is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...

) for Shuttle Missions STS-5, 6, 61-B, 61-C, and 51-L (it was his voice that said the now infamous words, " ''Challenger'', go at throttle up" shortly before the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster). During 1989, he was Chairman of NASA's Space Flight Safety Panel. He has held additional technical assignments within the NASA

Astronaut Office The NASA Astronaut Corps is a unit of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members for U.S. and international space missions. It is based at Johnson Space Ce ...

, and has also served as Acting Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office, and Acting Deputy Director of Flight Crew Operations.

Space flights

On his first mission, Covey was on the five-man crew of

, which launched from

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...

, Florida, on August 27, 1985. During this seven-day mission, crew members deployed three communications satellites: the Navy SYNCOM IV-4, the Australian AUSSAT, and American Satellite Corporation's ASC-1. The crew also performed the successful on-orbit rendezvous and repair of the ailing 15,000 pound (6.8 t) SYNCOM IV-3 satellite. This repair activity involved the first manual grapple and manual deployment of a satellite by a spacewalking crew member. Mission duration was 170 hours. The Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' completed 112 orbits before landing 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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, on September 3, 1985. He next served as pilot on

, the first flight to be flown after the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster. The five-man crew launched from the

, Florida, on September 29, 1988, aboard the Space Shuttle ''Discovery''. Mission duration was 97 hours during which crew members successfully deployed the TDRS-C satellite and operated eleven secondary payloads which included two student experiments. ''Discovery'' completed 64 orbits of the Earth before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on October 3, 1988. On

Covey was the spacecraft commander of a five-man crew that launched at night from the

, Florida, on November 15, 1990. During the five-day mission crew members conducted

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

operations. After 80 orbits of the Earth in 117 hours, Covey piloted the Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' to a landing on the runway at the Kennedy Space Center on November 20, 1990. This was the first Shuttle recovery in Florida since 1985. On his fourth flight, Covey commanded a crew of seven aboard the Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'' on 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 versa ...

(HST) servicing and repair mission. STS-61 launched at night from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on December 2, 1993. During the 11-day flight, the HST was captured and restored to full capacity through a record five

space walk Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmental support. EVA inc ...

s by four astronauts. After having traveled 4,433,772 miles (7,135,464 km) in 163 orbits of the Earth, Covey landed the ''Endeavour'' at night on the runway at the

on December 13, 1993.

Post-NASA career

On August 1, 1994, Covey retired from NASA and the Air Force. Covey is married and has two grown daughters. After the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster in 2003, Covey, along with retired Air Force

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Thomas Patten Stafford Thomas Patten Stafford (born September 17, 1930) is an American former United States Air Force, Air Force officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, and one of List of Apollo astronauts#Apollo astronauts who flew to the Moon without landing, 24 p ...

, headed the Stafford-Covey Commission in returning the Space Shuttle fleet to space, starting with the

STS-114 STS-114 was the first "Return to Flight" Space Shuttle mission following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster. Space Shuttle Discovery, ''Discovery'' launched at 10:39 Eastern Time Zone, EDT (14:39 Coordinated ...

mission. In 2005, Covey received the

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout for distinguished service in his profession and to his community for a period of at least 25 years aft ...

from the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

—he became an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

in 1960 when his father was stationed at an Air Force base in Florida. Covey was featured in a 2005 issue of ''Eagletter'', a magazine for members of the

National Eagle Scout Association National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. In January 2006, Covey was selected for the position of

Chief Operating Officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...

United Space Alliance :''In this article, USA refers to the United Space Alliance, not the United States.'' United Space Alliance (USA) was a spaceflight operations company. USA was a joint venture which was established in August 1995 as a Limited Liability Company ...

. In September 2007, Covey succeeded fellow astronaut

Michael J. McCulley Michael James "Mike" McCulley (born August 4, 1943), ( Capt, USN, Ret.), is a retired American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, metallurgical engineer, and former NASA astronaut, and was the first submariner in space. He served as pilo ...

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of United Space Alliance. Covey retired from United Space Alliance in March 2010. He served on the Board of Directors of Re/Max Holdings, LLC from 2005 until 2019. Covey also appeared in an episode of the American TV show ''

Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), ...

''. Series 3, Episode 24, titled "Reality Bytes", aired May 18, 1994. The Hubble repair crew appeared on the fictional show Tool Time, where they showed some of the tools they used in space. During the closing credits, Covey also presented the cast and crew of Home Improvement with a frame containing a flag, crew patch and some photos. The flag and patch had flown around four million miles in space.

Special honors

Covey has been awarded 2

Defense Distinguished Service Medal The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to the ...

s, the

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 ...

, the Legion of Merit, 5 Air Force Distinguished Flying Crosses, 16

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

s, the

Air Force Meritorious Service Medal __NOTOC__ The Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguished themselves by outstanding meritorious achievement or s ...

, the

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 ...

, the

National Intelligence Medal of Achievement The National Intelligence Medal of Achievement is an award that was presented to members of the United States Intelligence Community, both civilian and military, to recognize significant acts of service to the community as a whole. The National Int ...

, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the

NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal The NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal is awarded to US government employees only for notably outstanding leadership which affects technical or administrative programs of NASA. The leadership award may be given for an act of leadership, for sustain ...

, the

NASA Exceptional Service Medal The NASA Exceptional Service Medal is an award granted to U.S. government employees for significant sustained performance characterized by unusual initiative or creative ability that clearly demonstrates substantial improvement in engineering, ae ...

, 4

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, the NASA Public Service Medal, the

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 U ...

Certificate of Commendation, the

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 ...

(AIAA) Haley Space Flight Award for 1988, and the

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 Exploration ...

(AAS) Flight Achievement Award for 1988. He is a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, received the Liethen-Tittle Award as the Outstanding Graduate of

U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (USAF TPS) is the Air Force's advanced flight training school that trains experimental test pilots, flight test engineers, and flight test flight officer, navigators to carry out tests and evaluations of new ...

Class 74B, and is a Distinguished Astronaut Engineering Alumnus of Purdue University. He has been inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame, the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame, and the Choctawhatchee High School Hall of Fame. Additionally, he is a Fellow of both the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. Covey and his crew of STS-61 received the National Space Club's 1994 Goddard Trophy and the National Aeronautics Association's Collier Trophy for 1993. Arkansas Aviation Historical Society inducted Covey into the

Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from ...

in 1995.

References

External links

*
Spacefacts biography of Richard O. Covey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Covey, Richard O. 1946 births Living people United States Air Force astronauts United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees People from Fayetteville, Arkansas People from Fort Walton Beach, Florida Choctawhatchee High School alumni United States Air Force Academy alumni Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics alumni U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni United States Air Force colonels American test pilots Aviators from Arkansas United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Space Shuttle Challenger disaster American chief operating officers Space Shuttle program astronauts