XCOR Aerospace, Inc. announced
today that former NASA Astronaut Richard A. Searfoss, Col. USAF Ret., has
joined XCOR’s Board of Directors. As a former shuttle commander, Searfoss’
space flight experience brings a unique technical background to the company’s
Board.
“As an experienced test-pilot and as someone who has been to space three
times, he provides an exceptional perspective to our effort,” said XCOR’s
President & CEO Jeff Greason. “We are very pleased to have Searfoss join our
team. As XCOR moves forward on our suborbital vehicle, his direct space
flight experience will be an invaluable asset to design and engineering
decisions.”
Searfoss graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1978 with a
degree in aeronautical engineering and holds a Masters of Science degree in
aeronautics from the California Institute of Technology. His military career
included flight training at Williams AFB, AZ, and tours in Lakenheath,
England, Mountain Home AFB, ID, and the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in
Patuxent River, MD. He was an instructor at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot
School at Edwards AFB, CA, when he was selected for the NASA astronaut
program.
Searfoss piloted two Space Shuttle missions, STS-58 and STS-76, and was
the mission commander on his third space flight, STS-90. In 1996, during
STS-76, he piloted Atlantis to the Russian space station Mir where the crew
performed the third docking with Mir. The STS-90 Neurolab mission was the
last and most complex of the twenty-five Spacelab missions. Searfoss has
logged 939 hours in space and over 5400 hours flying time in 61 different
types of aircraft.
XCOR Aerospace is a California corporation located in Mojave, California.
The company is in the business of developing and producing safe, reliable and
reusable rocket engines and rocket powered vehicles.
