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Not to be confused with the First Nations artist
Dempsey Bob
.
Robert "Dr. Bob" Dempsey
is a
NASA
flight director for the
International Space Station
,
[1]
selected in 2005. As astronomer he worked at the
Space Telescope Science Institute
(STScI) prior to joining the ISS project. For five years he worked in the
Onboard Data Interfaces and Networks (ODIN)
group and then as a
Communication and Tracking Officer
before being selected as a flight director in 2005.
[2]
He was the lead flight director for
Expedition 15
, worked several ISS assembly missions including
STS-122
(1E),
STS-123
(1J/A), and
STS-124
(1J), and was the lead for
STS-130
(20A) and for
ATV-2
(Johannes Kepler). He works with Boeing on the Commercial Crew Program's CST-100 (
Starliner
) vehicle.
He was an undergraduate at
University of Michigan
, and received his
Ph.D.
in
physics
and
astronomy
from the
University of Toledo
. He grew up in Michigan, is married to his wife Dorothea, and he enjoys cooking and traveling.
[3]
Dempsey is a member of the
International Astronomical Union
[4]
Expedition 15
[
edit
]
Dempsey oversaw the jettisoning of the 1,400-pound (640 kg), refrigerator-sized
Early Ammonia Servicer
(EAS), along with an unused stanchion which had previously held a camera, from the International Space Station during
Expedition 15
. What is left of the refrigerator after
re-entry
impacted Earth in the summer of 2008. Dempsey stated that the decision to jettison the equipment in this required some planning, saying "It's not a decision that's made lightly. Besides the fact that it might have some use in the future, it provides space debris that could later impact the space station," and further adding that this was necessary largely due to space and timing constraints on available
Space Shuttle
payloads.
[5]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
NASA press release
- ^
"The Ground"
.
Air & Space Magazine
. Retrieved
2016-11-12
.
- ^
James, Donald (January 9, 2007).
"Meet: Robert Dempsey, Ph.D."
NASA Quest
.
NASA
. Archived from
the original
on November 10, 2010
. Retrieved
February 4,
2010
.
- ^
"Robert C. Dempsey"
.
IAU
. Archived from
the original
on February 22, 2012
. Retrieved
February 4,
2010
.
- ^
Mosher, Dave (July 18, 2007).
"
'Refrigerator-Sized' Object to be Tossed From Space Station"
.
Space.com
.
Imaginova
. Retrieved
February 4,
2010
.