Ford Credit: www.spacefacts.de |
Status: Inactive; Active 2000-2014. Born: 1960-07-07. Spaceflights: 2 . Total time in space: 157.55 days. Birth Place: Portland, Indiana.
Educated Notre Dame; Troy State; Florida; AFIT; Edwards.
Official NASA Biography as of June 2016:Kevin A. Ford (Colonel, U.S. AIR FORCE, Ret.)
NASA Astronaut
PERSONAL DATA: Born July 7, 1960 in Portland, Indiana. Montpelier, Indiana, is his hometown.
EDUCATION: Graduated from Blackford High School, Hartford City, Indiana, in 1978. He received his Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1982, a Master of Science in International Relations from Troy State University in 1989, a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Florida in 1994, and a Ph.D. in Astronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1997. Graduate of Squadron Officer School, the Air Command and Staff College Associate Program and Air War College.
EXPERIENCE: Commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program in 1982 and completed primary Air Force jet training at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, in 1984. Trained in the F-15 Eagle and was assigned to the 22nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Bitburg Air Base, Germany, from 1984 to 1987, and then to the 57th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Keflavik Naval Air Station, Iceland, until 1989. Student at the United States Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards Air Force Base, California, 1990. Ford flew flight test missions in the F-16 Fighting Falcon at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, from 1991 to 1994. Test experience at Eglin included multiple F-16 flutter missions, development of the ALE-47 Countermeasures Dispenser System, and multiple safe separation, ballistics, and air-to-air missile development testing, including the first AMRAAM shot from the F-16 Air Defense Fighter variant. Served as Director of Plans and Programs, as well as a flight and academic instructor at the Air Force Test Pilot School, 1997-2000. Retired from active duty military service in June 2008. Ford has over 4900 flying hours and holds FAA instructor ratings for airplanes and gliders, a commercial rating for helicopters, and a private rating for hot air balloons.
NASA EXPERIENCE: Ford reported for duty to NASA JSC in August 2000. After completing two years of astronaut candidate training in 2002, he was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office at the Johnson Space Center. He worked advanced exploration issues and the development and testing of the Shuttle Cockpit Avionics Upgrade. He served as Director of Operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, from January to December of 2004. From January 2005 until July of 2008, Ford served as a space shuttle and International Space Station Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM) in the Mission Control Center, working shuttle missions STS-115, STS-116, STS-117, STS-120, STS-122 and STS-123, as well as International Space Station expeditionary stage operations.
SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: Ford served as pilot for space shuttle mission STS-128 to the International Space Station (Construction Mission 17A), which launched on August 28, 2009 from the Kennedy Space Center and landed on September 11, 2009 at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The space shuttle Discovery carried the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module €śLeonardo€ť filled with 15,000 pounds of science and storage racks to the space station, delivered a new Ammonia Tank Assembly. STS-128 returned the depleted tank, the EuTEF and MISSE experiments, and exchanged Expedition crew members. Discovery and her crew completed 219 Earth orbits in 13 days, 21 hours. Ford launched aboard Soyuz TMA-06M €śKazbek€ť as flight engineer 2 on October 23, 2012 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. After docking with the station on October 25, Ford served as flight engineer for Expedition 33, and then on November 17, assumed duties as commander of Expedition 34. Kazbek landed safely in Kazakhstan on March 16, 2013, having completed 2233 Earth orbits in 143 days, 16 hours.
AUGUST 2014
OFFICIAL NASA BIOGRAPHY
NAME: Kevin A. Ford, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF, Pilot
BIRTHDATE/PLACE: July 7, 1960 - Portland, IN
RESIDENCE WHEN RECRUITED: Lancaster, CA
EDUCATION: Blackford High School, Hartford City, IN, 1978 B.S., Aerospace Engineering, University of Notre Dame, 1982; M.S., International Relations, Troy State University, 1989; M.S., Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, 1994; Ph.D., Astronautical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, 1997.
POSITION WHEN RECRUITED: Director, Plans and Programs U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School Edwards AFB, CA
The group was selected to provide pilot, engineer, and scientist astronauts for space shuttle flights.. Qualifications: Pilots: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Advanced degree desirable. At least 1,000 flight-hours of pilot-in-command time. Flight test experience desirable. Excellent health. Vision minimum 20/50 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 vision; maximum sitting blood pressure 140/90. Height between 163 and 193 cm.
Mission Specialists: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics and minimum three years of related experience or an advanced degree. Vision minimum 20/150 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20. Maximum sitting blood pressure of 140/90. Height between 150 and 193 cm.. Seven pilots and ten mission specialists; 14 men and 3 women.
Crew: Sturckow, Ford, Forrester, Hernandez, Fuglesang, Olivas. Deliver to the ISS and install the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM); Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (LMC); Three-crew quarters, galley, and second treadmill (TVIS2); and the Crew Health Care System 2 (CHeCS 2).
Docked at the station's Poisk module on 17 May at 04:36 GMT. On 16 September at 23:09 GMT undocked from the station to return the crew to earth. Soyuz TMA-04M flew for 2 hr 47 min in a 403 km x 426 km orbit, then fired its engines for the deorbit burn at 01:56 GMT on 17 September to enter a 13 kmx 425 km reentry orbit. The crew landed safely in Kazakhstan at 02:23 GMT.