NASA Astronaut Steve Smith
STS-82 Mission Specialist

BIRTH DATE/PLACE:

Born December 30, 1958, in Phoenix, Arizona, but considers San Jose, California, to be his hometown. His parents, Robert & Lillian Smith, reside in San Jose, California. His sister, Paula Wendell, resides in Oakton, Virginia.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:

Brown hair; blue eyes; 6 feet 3 inches; 180 pounds.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from Leland High School, San Jose, California, in 1977; received a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1981; a master of science degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1982; and a master's degree in business administration from Stanford University in 1987.

MARITAL STATUS:

Married.

RECREATIONAL INTERESTS:

Enjoys flying, scuba diving, basketball, camping, and traveling.

ORGANIZATIONS:

Member, Association of Space Explorers, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Lindbergh Foundation Grants Technical Review Panel, and the Houston Metropolitan Special Olympics Management Board.

SPECIAL HONORS:

NASA Space Flight Medal, NASA Performance Award for Excellence, IBM Outstanding Technical Achievement Award, IBM Outstanding Community Service Award. Seven-time high school and collegiate All-American in swimming and water polo. Two-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion at Stanford in water polo. Captain of the 1980 NCAA Championship team.

EXPERIENCE:

Steve Smith worked for IBM in the Large Scale Integration (semiconductor) Technology Group in San Jose as a technical group lead from 1982 until 1985. During that time, he was responsible for the development of electron beam chemical and lithographic processes. Following a leave to pursue graduate studies, Smith returned to IBM's Hardware and Systems Management Group in Santa Clara as a product manager for voice and telephony products until 1989.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

Smith joined NASA in 1989 in the Payload Operations Branch, Mission Operations Directorate. As a payload officer, his duties included preflight payload integration and real-time flight controller support in Mission Control. Preflight integration activities included Shuttle/payload integrated operations development, crew procedures development, and spacecraft design review. Smith supported STS-31, STS-37, STS-48, and STS-49 from Mission Control. He was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in March 1992 and reported for training in August 1992.

In August 1993, Smith completed one year of astronaut candidate training. He served as the Astronaut Office representative for the Space Shuttle main engines, the solid rocket boosters, the external tank, and Shuttle safety from April to November 1993. In September 1993, Smith became the first member of the 1992 astronaut class to receive a flight assignment.

Smith served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on Mission STS-68. STS-68 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on September 30, 1994, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base on October 11, 1994. Smith's responsibilities during the 11-day flight were split between Shuttle systems, Space Radar Lab 2 (SRL-2, the flight's primary payload), and several experiments located in the crew cabin. Smith was one of two crewmen trained to perform a space walk had one been required. As part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth, SRL-2 studied the Earth's surface and atmosphere, creating radar images of the Earth's surface environment and mapping global carbon monoxide pollution. The mission was a highly successful test of technology intended for long-term environmental and geological monitoring of planet Earth. Endeavour circled Earth 183 times and traveled 4.7 million miles during the 269 hour and 46 minute flight.

From November 1994 until March 1996, Smith was one of three astronauts assigned to duties at the Kennedy Space Center as members of the astronaut support team. The team was responsible for Space Shuttle prelaunch vehicle checkout, crew ingress and strap-in prior to launch, and crew egress post landing.

CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:

Steve Smith is assigned as a mission specialist on the STS-82 mission scheduled for the Spring of 1997. During the mission the crew will retrieve, service, and re-deploy the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Smith will perform two spacewalks as part of the HST servicing work.