United States Astronaut. He was a member of two Space Shuttle missions during the early 1980s. The oldest of 3 children, he was raised in Sherburn, Minnesota and Savanna, Illinois, he graduated as valedictorian of his class from Savanna Community High School, Savanna, Illinois in 1966. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and in 1970 he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering Physics. He entered the US Navy and was assigned to the Aviation Officer Candidate School at Pensacola, Florida and was commissioned an ensign after completion. In October 1970 he began Basic Naval Flight Officer training with the VT-10 squadron at Pensacola, graduating with the highest academic average ever achieved in the history of the squadron. His next assignment was to the Naval Air Technical Training Center at NAS Glynco, Georgia, for Advanced Naval Flight Officer training and was selected a Distinguished Naval Graduate and received his wings in May 1971. From May 1971 until July 1973 he was assigned to the Weapons Systems Test Division at the Naval Air Test Center at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Maryland, and was involved in initial F-14 Tomcat aircraft developmental test and evaluation as Project Officer for Inertial Navigation and Avionics Systems. He was then assigned to the first operational F-14 squadron (VF-1) at NAS Miramar, California, where he flew in the Tomcat and participated in two Western Pacific and Indian Ocean cruises while deployed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. From December 1976 until July 1978, he was assigned to Test and Evaluation Squadron 4 (VX-4) at NAS Point Mugu, California, involved in the operational test and evaluation of Navy fighter aircraft. In January 1978 he was selected as an Astronaut Candidate by NASA and reported to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, the following July. In August 1979 he completed a one year training and evaluation period, making him eligible for assignment as a Mission Specialist Astronaut. He subsequently served as the Astronaut Project Manager for the flight software in the Space Shuttle onboard computers leading up to the first flight in April 1981. He then served as a Support Crew Astronaut for the 4th Space Shuttle flight (STS-4) from June 27 to July 4, 1982. He flew as a mission specialist on the 8th Space Shuttle flight (STS-8) from August 30 to September 5, 1983, and again on the 14th flight (STS-51-A) from November 8 through 16, 1984. He logged a total of 337 hours in space and 225 orbits of the Earth on these two flights. He flew over 2,300 hours in over 20 different types of aircraft and spacecraft. Prior to the Challenger accident on January 28, 1986, he was chosen to be a member of the first Space Shuttle mission to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, which were canceled after the accident. In October 1986 he returned to his Navy duties and was assigned to US Space Command, Colorado Springs, Colorado, serving as the Deputy Chief, Space Control Operations Division in Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base and, after promotion to the rank of captain in June 1989, became the Command's Deputy Director for Space Control at Peterson Air Force Base. He retired from the US Navy in October 1990. Among his military decorations and awards include Defense Superior Service Medal with 2 oak leaf clusters, the NASA Space Flight Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, the Master Space Badge, and the Lloyd's of London Meritorious Service Medal, After his retirement from the US Navy, he accepted a position with TRW Inc. in Colorado Springs, being placed as a program manager in the Colorado Springs Engineering Operations of TRW's Space and Defense Sector. In that capacity, he was involved in the development of both civilian and military space and defense high technology programs. After leaving TRW, he became the manager of Northrup Grumman's operations in Colorado Springs and in 2003 became the Associate Director for Renewable Fuels Science and Technology at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, retiring in that position in January 2013. He died from a hemorrhagic stroke at his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the age of 65.