Dale Gardner

Dale Allan Gardner (November 8, 1948 – February 19, 2014) was a NASA astronaut who flew two Space Shuttle missions during the early 1980s.

NASA experience

Gardner was selected as an Astronaut Candidate by NASA in January 1978, reporting to the Johnson Space Center in July 1978. 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 fourth flight (STS-4). He flew as a mission specialist on STS-8 (August 30 to September 5, 1983) and STS-51-A (November 8–16, 1984). Gardner logged a total of 337 hours in space and 225 orbits of the Earth on these two flights. He logged more than 2,300 hours flying time in over 20 different types of aircraft and spacecraft. Prior to the Challenger accident, Gardner was chosen to be a member of the first Shuttle mission to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. That flight and the Vandenberg launch capability itself were canceled after the accident.