Richard Hieb

Richard (Rick) Hieb was selected as a NASA astronaut in June 1985 and flew on STS-39 in 1991, STS-49 in 1992, and STS-65 in 1994. He has logged more than 750 hours in space, including more than 17 hours of extra-vehicular activity (spacewalk), traveling more than 13 million miles.

Born and raised in Jamestown, North Dakota, Hieb received a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics and math from Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho, in 1977, graduating with highest honors, and a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado in 1979.

Hieb began his career as an aerospace engineer with NASA at Johnson Space Center, working in Mission Operations. He was in Mission Control for the first Space Shuttle launch in 1981, and was involved in many shuttle missions thereafter in various roles, becoming an expert in rendezvous and satellite deploy and retrieve missions. He was the author of the Rendezvous Checklist used on STS-41C, the first Space Shuttle rendezvous mission, which was also the first to repair an orbiting satellite. He received an Aviation Week “Laurels” award for his activities during that mission.

In 1985 he was selected to be a Mission Specialist Astronaut. Hieb first flew on the crew of STS-39, an unclassified Department of Defense mission which launched on April 28, 1991, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During the mission, he was responsible for operating the Infrared Background Signature Satellite and used the Remote Manipulator System to release the satellite into space as a free flyer, and then to retrieve the satellite a day and a half later after concluding remote data collection. After 134 orbits of the Earth which covered 3.5 million miles (5.6 million kilometers) and lasted just over 199 hours, the crew landed at California, on May 6, 1991.

Hieb was also a mission specialist on the crew of STS-49, the maiden voyage of the new Space Shuttle Endeavour, which launched from the Kennedy Space Center on May 7, 1992. During that mission, Hieb along with astronaut Pierre Thuot, performed three spacewalks which resulted in the capture and repair of the stranded Intelsat VI F3 communications satellite. The third spacewalk, which also included astronaut Tom Akers, was the first ever (and to date only) three-person spacewalk. This 8 hour and 29 minute spacewalk, then the longest in history, broke a twenty-year-old record that was held by Apollo 17 astronauts. The mission concluded on May 16, 1992 with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base after orbiting the Earth 141 times in 213 hours and traveling 3.7 million miles (5.9 million kilometers).

For his third and final space mission Hieb was the payload commander on the International Microgravity Laboratory on Space Shuttle Mission STS-65. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 8, 1994, and returned there on July 23, 1994, setting a new flight duration record for the Space Shuttle program. During the 15-day flight the crew conducted more than 80 experiments focusing on materials and life sciences research in microgravity. The mission was accomplished in 236 orbits of the Earth, traveling 6.1 million miles (9.8 million kilometers).

In 1995 Rick left NASA to enter private industry, where he spent 20 years as an aerospace executive, managing a wide array of activities. As an executive he managed a large workforce distributed from Alaska to Antarctica, involved in nearly every aspect of space flight and a number of other highly technical endeavors. After retiring from his industry position, Rick spent several years as a Scholar in Residence instructor at the University of Colorado in Boulder, recognizing the importance of this opportunity to help develop the next generation of engineering talent.

Hieb is a lifetime member of the Association of Space Explorers, the professional association open to individuals from any nation who have orbited the earth. Hieb has been on the Board of Directors of the US branch of the Association for a number of years and currently serves as President. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the international association, which comprises over 400 space fliers from more than 40 countries.