Former NASA astronaut Rick Hauck, who flew on three Space Shuttle missions, including the Return to Flight in 1988, died on 8 November. He was 84 years old.
Hauck received a bachelor’s degree in physics from Tufts University in 1962 and a master’s in nuclear engineering from MIT in 1966. He earned his wings in 1968 and graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1971, before flying 114 combat and combat support missions in Southeast Asia off the carrier USS Coral Sea and later becoming the Navy’s lead test pilot for the carrier suitability of the F-14 Tomcat. Hauck was also the operations officer of a carrier wing flying the A-6, A-7 and F-14 from the deck of the USS Enterprise.
Hauck was chosen to become a NASA astronaut in 1978 with the first 35 candidates selected for the Space Shuttle program. He devised the layout for the emergency procedures checklist used on the shuttle and was on the support crews for STS-1 and STS-2, serving in Mission Control as a reentry capcom for both.
His first Space Shuttle mission assignment was as pilot of STS-7, with Bob Crippen, John Fabian, Sally Ride, and Norm Thagard. His second mission was as commander for the second mission of Discovery on mission STS-51-A.
Before his third Space Shuttle mission, Hauck worked at NASA Headquarters, where he was appointed associate administrator for external relations, advising NASA Administrator James Fletcher on congressional, public, international, intergovernmental and educational affairs.
At the time of the Challenger tragedy, Hauck was training for his third spaceflight. He supported the Return to Flight preparations by reviewing requirements at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. In 1988, he and crewmates Richard Covey, Mike Lounge, David Hilmers, and George Nelson lifted off on Discovery, which had redesigned solid rocket boosters and other safety-driven improvements. During the four-day STS-26 mission, the astronauts deployed a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite and paid tribute to Challenger‘s fallen crew.
Hauck logged over 18 days on his three spaceflights, completing 288 orbits around Earth. In March 1989, he resigned from NASA and became director of the Navy space systems division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations before leaving military active duty in June 1990 with the rank of captain.
In October 1990, Hauck became president and chief operating officer of AXA Space, assuming specializing in underwriting insurance for the risk of launching and operating satellites. From 1993 until his retirement in March 2005, he was the company’s CEO.
Hauck served on numerous boards and panels, including the Association of Space Explorers, the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation and Space Foundation. He was a Fellow of AIAA and the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. Besides receiving NASA’s distinguished service, outstanding leadership, and space flight medals, he was also recognized with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale’s (FAI) Yuri Gagarin Gold Medal and the 1989 AIAA Haley Space Flight Award.
