Kenneth D. Bowersox
(Captain, USN, Ret.)
NASA Astronaut (former)
Kenneth D. Bowersox is an Eagle Scout, a retired Captain in the U. S. Navy, and former astronaut.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University.
Kenneth Bowersox received his Naval commission in 1978. As a Naval Aviator, he was assigned to Attack Squadron 22 aboard the USS Enterprise, where he served as a Fleet A-7E pilot, logging over 300 carrier arrested landings. Following graduation from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, he served as a test pilot on A-7E and F/A 18 aircraft. Bowersox retired from the U. S. Navy as a Captain.
As an astronaut Ken Bowersox is a veteran of five space shuttle missions. He first flew as a pilot on the space shuttle missions STS-50, the first extended duration orbitor flight, and STS-61, the Hubble Space Telescope servicing and repair mission. He commanded missions STS-73, a microgravity research mission and STS-82, a second Hubble Space Telescope repair mission. Bowersox then launched on STS-113 for an extended stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as the Commander of ISS Expedition 6. After 5 ½ months, he returned aboard Soyuz TMA-1 rather than the space shuttle as a result of the fleet’s grounding following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, which occurred during his tour aboard the Station. Captain Bowersox logged over 211 days in space, including 2 EVAs totaling 13 hours and 17 minutes.
