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Bob Behnken
Behnken in 2022
Born	Robert Louis Behnken (1970-07-28) July 28, 1970 (age 54) St. Ann, Missouri, U.S.
Education	Washington University (BS) California Institute of Technology (MS, PhD)
Spouse	Megan McArthur
Space career
NASA astronaut
Rank	Colonel, USAF
Time in space	93d 11h 42m
Selection	NASA Group 18 (2000)
Total EVAs	10
Total EVA time	61h 10m
Missions	STS-123 STS-130 SpX-DM2 (Expedition 63)
Mission insignia

Robert Louis Behnken (/ˈbɛnkən/; born July 28, 1970) is an American engineer, a former NASA astronaut, and former Chief of the Astronaut Office.

Behnken holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and the rank of colonel in the U.S. Air Force, where he served before joining NASA in 2000. He flew aboard Space Shuttle missions STS-123 (2008) and STS-130 (2010) as a mission specialist, accumulating over 708 hours in space, including 55 hours of spacewalk time. He is married to fellow astronaut Megan McArthur.

Following retirement of the Space Shuttle, Behnken was Chief of the Astronaut Office from 2012 to 2015. Assigned to the SpaceX Dragon 2 in 2018 as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, Behnken launched aboard the spacecraft's first crewed mission with fellow astronaut Doug Hurley on May 30, 2020, and became one of the first two astronauts launching aboard a commercial orbital spacecraft in spaceflight history. The mission, Crew Dragon Demo-2, took Behnken and Hurley to the International Space Station (ISS), where they docked and stayed aboard for 62 days. Behnken completed four spacewalks with NASA Astronaut Christopher Cassidy.

Education

Behnken attended Pattonville High School in Maryland Heights, Missouri (in St. Louis County), and went on to earn Bachelor of Science degrees in mechanical engineering and physics from Washington University in St. Louis in 1992. He then attended the California Institute of Technology, where he earned an MS degree in 1993 and a PhD in 1997, both in mechanical engineering. While at Caltech he shared a doctoral advisor, Christopher E. Brennen, with another future NASA astronaut, Garrett Reisman.

Behnken's graduate thesis research was in the area of nonlinear control applied to stabilizing rotating stall and surge in axial-flow compressors. The research included nonlinear analysis, real-time software implementation development, and extensive hardware construction. During his first two years of graduate study, Behnken developed and implemented real-time control algorithms and hardware for flexible robotic manipulators.

Air Force career

Before entering graduate school, Behnken was an Air Force ROTC student at Washington University in St. Louis, and after graduate school was assigned to enter Air Force active duty at Eglin AFB, Florida. While at Eglin, he worked as a technical manager and developmental engineer for new munitions systems. Behnken was next assigned to attend the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School Flight Test Engineer's course at Edwards AFB, California. After graduating, he was assigned to the F-22 Combined Test Force (CTF) and remained at Edwards. While assigned to the F-22 program, Behnken was the lead flight test engineer for Raptor 4004 and a special projects test director. These responsibilities included flight test sortie planning, control room configuration development, and test conduct. Behnken also flew in both the F-15 and F-16 aircraft in support of the F-22 flight test program.

NASA career

Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in July 2000, Behnken reported for training in August 2000. Following the completion of 18 months of training and evaluation, he was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Shuttle Operations Branch supporting launch and landing operations at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

In September 2006, Behnken served as an aquanaut during the NEEMO 11 mission aboard the Aquarius underwater laboratory, living and working underwater for seven days.

STS-123

Behnken was a crew member of the STS-123 mission that delivered the Japanese Experiment Module and the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator to the International Space Station in March 2008. Behnken took part in three spacewalks during the mission.

STS-130

Behnken flew to space for the second time as a mission specialist on STS-130, which launched at 04:14 EST (09:14 UTC) February 8, 2010. This mission delivered the Tranquility module and Cupola to the International Space Station. Behnken again took part in three spacewalks during this mission.

Chief of the Astronaut Office

In July 2012, Behnken was named Chief of the Astronaut Office, succeeding Peggy Whitson. He held the job until July 2015, when he was succeeded by Chris Cassidy, after being selected as one of four astronauts training to fly spacecraft contracted under NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

SpX-DM2

In August 2018, Behnken was assigned to the first test flight SpX-DM2 of the SpaceX Crew Dragon. Behnken and fellow crewmember Douglas Hurley were humorously compared in news and social media to the fictional brothers Bob and Doug McKenzie because of their friendship when they participated in the first commercial astronaut launch on SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-2. It successfully launched on May 30, 2020. The spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station on May 31, 2020. Behnken and Doug Hurley joined the ISS Expedition 63 crew, which also consisted of NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Ivan Vagner and Anatoli Ivanishin. They returned to Earth in the same capsule on August 2, 2020. His seat of the SpaceX Endeavour was later used by his wife, K. Megan McArthur in SpaceX Crew-2 mission, which was the second flight of Endeavour.

• Robert Behnken departing the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building before Demo-2 launch.
• ISS and Demo 2 crews after hatch opening
• Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley are seen inside Endeavour onboard GO Navigator after splashdown.
• Robert Behnken prepare to depart their helicopter at Naval Air Station Pensacola
• Robert Behnken gives a thumbs up to onlookers as he boards a plane at Naval Air Station Pensacola

Behnken retired from NASA on November 11, 2022.

Personal life

Behnken is married to fellow astronaut Megan McArthur and they have one son. Behnken holds an amateur radio license with the call sign KE5GGX. His wife flew on the Crew-2 mission, using the same Dragon capsule and the same seat that Behnken himself used during the Demo-2 mission. She returned from the International Space Station on November 8, 2021.

Awards and honors

• Outstanding Mechanical Engineering Senior, Washington University (1992)
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow (1993–1996)
• Air Force Research Laboratory Munitions Directorate, Eglin AFB, Company Grade Officer of the Year (1997)
• Air Force Achievement Medal (1997); Air Force Commendation Medal (1998, 2000)
• Distinguished graduate from the USAF Test Pilot School Program (1999)
• Recipient of the USAF Test Pilot School Colonel Ray Jones Award as the top Flight Test Engineer/Flight Test Navigator in class 98B.
• SpaceX purchased two ships for towing and supporting autonomous spaceport drone ship and fairing recovery operations on the east coast in May 2021. These two ships were named in honour of Behnken and his Demo-2, crewmate, Doug Hurley as Doug and Bob. The earlier names of the ships were Ella G and Ingrid respectively.
• On January 31, 2023, Behnken was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor for NASA's SpaceX Demonstration Mission-2 (Demo-2) to the International Space Station in 2020.

References

1. "This is Bob Behnken" on YouTube
2. "NASA Astronauts Conclude Today's Spacewalk – Space Station". blogs.nasa.gov. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
3. ^ "Robert L. Behnken (Colonel, USAF, PH.D.) NASA Astronaut". NASA. August 3, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
4. Malik, Tariq (May 4, 2009). "Astronauts eager for last Hubble visit: Final telescope servicing mission brings veterans and rookies together". Space.com. NBC News. Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
5. "NASA Selects Astronauts for First U.S. Commercial Spaceflights". NASA. July 9, 2015.
6. "NASA TV Coverage Set for Final Space Station Spacewalk Power Upgrades". NASA. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
7. Caltech Alumnus Robert Behnken Heads to Space - website of Caltech
8. Brennen, Christopher E. "Former Graduate Students". Caltech. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
9. Behnken, Robert L. (1997). Nonlinear Control and Modeling of Rotating Stall in an Axial Flow Compressor (PhD). Caltech. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.57.4604.
10. "STS-123/ISS-16 Crew Members". CBS News. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
11. NASA (May 11, 2010). "NASA – NEEMO 11". NASA. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
12. NASA (February 2010). "STS-130 Mission Summary" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
13. Bergin, Chris (July 9, 2015). "Captain Cassidy – From Navy SEAL to Chief of the Astronaut Office". nasaspaceflight.com.
14. "NASA Assigns Crews to First Test Flights, Missions on Commercial Spacecraft". NASA. August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
15. Chang, Kenneth (May 27, 2020). "Meet Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, SpaceX's First NASA Astronauts". The New York Times.
16. Ivan Couronne (May 30, 2020). "Bob and Doug: best friends on historic SpaceX-NASA mission". CTV News. AFP.
17. Yeung, Lisa (May 30, 2020). "Bob And Doug, SpaceX Astronauts, Remind Canadians Of Iconic SCTV Duo". Huffington Post. Canada.
18. Chad Pawson (May 30, 2020). "Canada's Bob and Doug take off — eh! — on social media with SpaceX rocket launch". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
19. "SpaceX and Nasa set to launch astronauts after weather all-clear". Express & Star. May 30, 2020.
20. Foust, Jeff (August 2, 2020). "Crew Dragon splashes down to end successful test flight". spacenews.com. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
21. "Megan to reuse Bob's demo-2 seat in crew-2 mission". aljazeera.com. April 20, 2020.
22. "Pioneering Astronaut Bob Behnken Retires from NASA". November 10, 2022.
23. "Astronaut Bob Behnken will be one of two-person crew on Crew Dragon Demo-2 launch". SpaceFlight Insider. May 6, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
24. "Radio Amateur, Fellow Astronaut Headed to Space Station after Historic Launch". ARRL.org. American Radio Relay League. May 31, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
25. "Astronauts Bob Behnken, KE5GGX, and Doug Hurley Settling in after Historic Flight". ARRL.org. American Radio Relay League. June 1, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
26. "Scoop: SpaceX purchases and outfits two ships, potentially for fairing recovery". Space Explored. August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
27. Pearlman, Robert Z. (January 31, 2023). "SpaceX crewmates Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken awarded Space Medal of Honor". Space.com. Retrieved February 1, 2023.

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

External links

• NASA biography of Robert L. Behnken
• Spacefacts biography of Robert L. Behnken
• Bob Behnken on Twitter

v t e NASA Astronaut Group 18, "The Bugs", 2000
NASA Astronaut Group 17 ← NASA Astronaut Group 18 → NASA Astronaut Group 19
Pilots	Dominic A. Antonelli Eric Boe Kevin A. Ford Ronald J. Garan Jr. Douglas G. Hurley Terry W. Virts Barry E. Wilmore
Mission specialists	Michael Barratt Robert L. Behnken Stephen Bowen Alvin Drew Andrew J. Feustel Michael T. Good Timothy Kopra K. Megan McArthur Karen Nyberg Nicole Stott
v t e NASA Astronaut Groups NASA Astronaut Corps Groups 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Related List of astronauts by year of selection Astronaut ranks and positions List of United States Marine Corps astronauts List of United States Space Force astronauts

v t e SpaceX
History
Launch vehicles	Current Falcon 9 Block 5 boosters Falcon Heavy In development Starship Super Heavy booster upper stage lunar lander Retired Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 "Full Thrust" v1.2 Block 4 Cancelled Falcon 1e* Falcon 5* Falcon 9 Air* BFR and ITS*
Spacecraft	Cargo Dragon 1 Cargo Dragon 2 Cargo Dragon XL* Starship* Crewed Dragon 2 Crew C206 Endeavour C207 Resilience C210 Endurance C212 Freedom Starship*
Test vehicles	Current Starship prototypes first stage booster upper stage Retired Grasshopper F9R Dev1† DragonFly Starhopper Unflown F9R Dev2*
Rocket engines	Merlin 1A 1B* 1C 1D Vacuum Kestrel Draco SuperDraco Raptor 1 2 3 Vacuum
Lists of missions	Falcon 1 Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy 2010–2019 2020–2021 SpaceBEE Starlink launches in the Russo-Ukrainian War Starship
Launch facilities	Orbital CCSFS SLC-40 KSC LC-39A VSFB SLC-4E VSFB SLC-6* Omelek Island† Atmospheric McGregor New Mexico† Starbase Boca Chica
Landing sites	Autonomous spaceport drone ships Landing Zones LZ-1 and LZ-2 LZ-4
Other facilities	Headquarters and factory Hawthorne, California Rocket development and test facility McGregor, Texas Satellite development facility Redmond, Washington Regional offices Chantilly, Houston, Seattle, Washington DC STARGATE
Support	Megan (recovery ship) Shannon (recovery ship) SpaceX fairing recovery program
Contracts	Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Commercial Resupply Services Commercial Crew Program Commercial Lunar Payload Services Gateway Logistics Services Human Landing System Polaris Rocket Cargo Starshield
R&D programs	Reusability Falcon 9 landing tests Red Dragon (canceled) Mars transport
Key people	Elon Musk (CEO, CTO) Gwynne Shotwell (President and COO) Tom Mueller (former VP of Propulsion Development)
Related	Blue Origin Federation, LLC v. United States Commercial astronaut Billionaire space race Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space (2021 docuseries) Return to Space (2022)
* denotes unflown vehicles or engines, and future missions or sites. † denotes failed missions, destroyed vehicles, and abandoned sites. Category

• 1970 births
• Living people
• Aquanauts
• United States Air Force astronauts
• People from St. Louis County, Missouri
• Washington University in St. Louis physicists
• McKelvey School of Engineering alumni
• California Institute of Technology alumni
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• United States Air Force officers
• 21st-century American engineers
• Space Shuttle program astronauts
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• SpaceX astronauts
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