American test pilot and astronaut (1961?2012)
Alan Goodwin "Dex" Poindexter
(November 5, 1961 ? July 1, 2012) was an American naval officer and a
NASA
astronaut
. Poindexter was selected in the
1998 NASA Group
(G17) and went into orbit aboard Space Shuttle missions
STS-122
and
STS-131
.
Personal life
[
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]
Poindexter was born to
John Poindexter
and Linda Poindexter in
Pasadena, California
, and grew up in
Rockville, Maryland
, which he considered to be his hometown. He was married to Lisa A. Pfeiffer of
Gulf Breeze, Florida
. They had two children. His recreational interests included motorcycling, running, weight lifting, water skiing, boating, hunting and fishing.
Education
[
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]
Poindexter attended high school at
Coronado High School
in
Coronado, California
, graduating in 1979. He received an
associate degree
in
engineering
from
Pensacola Junior College
in
Pensacola, Florida
, in 1983,
[1]
before transferring to
Georgia Institute of Technology
. He graduated in 1986 with
highest honors
with a
bachelor's degree
of
aerospace engineering
. In 1995, he received a
Master of Science
degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S.
Naval Postgraduate School
.
Military career
[
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]
Poindexter was commissioned in the
United States Navy
following graduation from the
Georgia Institute of Technology
in 1986. After a short period of service at the Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel Facility,
Naval Surface Weapons Center, White Oak
, Maryland, Poindexter reported for flight training in
Pensacola, Florida
. He was designated a
Naval Aviator
in 1988 and reported to Fighter Squadron 124 (
VF-124
),
Naval Air Station Miramar
, California, for transition to the
F-14 Tomcat
. Following his initial training, Poindexter was assigned to Fighter Squadron 211 (
VF-211
), also at Miramar, and made two deployments to the
Persian Gulf
, including
Operation Southern Watch
. During his second deployment in 1993, he was selected to attend the
Naval Postgraduate School
/
U.S. Naval Test Pilot School
Cooperative Program. Following graduation in December 1995, Poindexter was assigned as a
test pilot
and Project Officer at
VX-23
, the Naval Strike Aircraft Test Squadron (NSATS) at
Naval Air Station Patuxent River
, Maryland. While at Naval Strike Aircraft Test Squadron, Poindexter was assigned as the lead test pilot for the F-14 Digital Flight Control System where he logged the first carrier landing and catapult launch of an F-14 with the upgraded flight controls. He also flew numerous high angle of attack/departure tests, weapons separation tests and carrier suitability trials. Following his tour at Patuxent River, Poindexter reported to Fighter Squadron 32 (
VF-32
) at
Naval Air Station Oceana
, Virginia, where he was serving as a department head when he was selected for astronaut training.
Poindexter had more than 4,000 hours in over 30 aircraft types and logged over 450
carrier
landings.
Following his retirement from the
NASA Astronaut Corps
in 2010, Poindexter returned to serve in the U.S. Navy as dean of students and executive director of programs at the
Naval Postgraduate School
.
[2]
NASA career
[
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]
Selected by NASA in June 1998, he reported for training in August 1998. Initially, Poindexter served in the Astronaut Office Shuttle Operations Branch performing duties as the lead support astronaut at
Kennedy Space Center
. In December 2002, he was named as pilot on
STS-120
mission to deliver the Harmony connecting node to the
International Space Station
; an assignment which abruptly ended with the
Space Shuttle
Columbia
disaster
just two months later. In July 2006, Poindexter was assigned as pilot on the
STS-122
mission that delivered the
European Space Agency
's Columbus Laboratory to the International Space Station in February 2008.
Poindexter served as a lead
CAPCOM
for the
STS-125
mission to service the
Hubble Space Telescope
in May 2009, as well as the launch CAPCOM for the
STS-127
mission in July 2009. He was the commander of
STS-131
, which launched in April 2010. The mission's primary payload was the
Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
.
On his retirement from NASA service in December 2010,
Peggy Whitson
,
Chief of the Astronaut Office
at NASA's
Johnson Space Center
in
Houston
said that: "Dex was a well-respected leader within our office, We will miss him being part of our team and wish him the best in his new role as he continues his service to the Navy and the country."
Spaceflights
[
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]
STS-122
aboard
Atlantis
(February 7?20, 2008) was the 24th
Space Shuttle
mission to visit the International Space Station. Mission highlight was the delivery and installation of the European Space Agency's
Columbus Laboratory
. It took three
spacewalks
by crewmembers to prepare the Columbus Laboratory for its scientific work, and to replace an expended nitrogen tank on the Station's P-1 Truss. STS-122 was also a crew replacement mission, delivering
Expedition 16
flight engineer, ESA astronaut
Leopold Eyharts
, and returning home with Expedition 16 flight engineer, NASA astronaut
Daniel M. Tani
. The STS-122 mission was accomplished in 12 days, 18 hours, 21 minutes and 40 seconds, and traveled 5,296,832 statute miles in 203 Earth orbits.
STS-131
aboard
Discovery
(April 5?20, 2010), a resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS), launched just before dawn from the Kennedy Space Center. Upon arrival at the station,
Discovery
'
s crew performed three spacewalks to replace an empty ammonia tank for the ISS Thermal Control System. They also transferred more than 13,000 pounds of hardware, supplies and equipment. Included in the transfer, were a new crew sleeping quarters, and three scientific experiment racks. On the return journey, the MPLM (Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module) inside
Discovery
'
s payload bay was packed with more than 6,000 pounds of hardware, and scientific and technical research return samples. The STS-131 mission lasted 15 days, 02 hours, 47 minutes, 10 seconds, and traveled 6,232,235 statute miles in 238 Earth orbits.
Navy
[
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]
After NASA he returned to the U.S. Navy.
[3]
In the Navy, he had the position of
dean of students
at the
Naval Postgraduate School
.
[3]
Death
[
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]
On July 1, 2012, Poindexter died due to injuries he received from a
water scooter
accident in Little Sabine Bay in
Pensacola Beach, Florida
. Poindexter had stopped his jet ski while riding with his son and was hit by another jet ski driven by his other son.
[3]
After being thrown in the water, he lost consciousness while being taken to shore. CPR was attempted, and he was airlifted to
Baptist Hospital
, where he was pronounced dead. NASA released a statement after he died, stating "The NASA family was sad to learn of the passing of our former friend, and colleague Alan Poindexter who was killed today during a jet ski accident in Florida. Our thoughts and hearts are with his family."
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
Organizations
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]
Awards and honors
[
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]
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
"He reached the stars"
.
Pensacola News Journal
. Archived from
the original
on June 30, 2013
. Retrieved
June 19,
2008
.
- ^
"Astronaut Alan Poindexter Leaves NASA"
.
NASA
. December 10, 2010.
Archived
from the original on December 15, 2010
. Retrieved
December 10,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Alan G. Poindexter (1961?2012)"
.
National Air and Space Museum
. August 8, 2012.
- ^
"Retired NASA Astronaut Alan Poindexter Killed in Jet Ski Accident"
.
AmericaSpace
. July 2, 2012.
- ^
"NASA Extends Sympathy to Poindexter Family on Death of Former Astronaut"
. NASA
. Retrieved
July 3,
2012
.
- ^
Spaceflight, Robert Z. Pearlman 2012-07-02T11:23:22Z Human (2 July 2012).
"Former NASA Astronaut Alan Poindexter, 50, Dies in Jet Ski Accident"
.
Space.com
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
"S.S. Alan Poindexter: Orbital ATK freighter named for late shuttle astronaut"
. collectSPACE. 7 June 2015.
External links
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