Kimbrough (original) (raw)


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Kimbrough, Robert Shane

American engineer mission specialist astronaut 2004-on. US Army

Status: Active 2004-on. Born: 1967-06-04. Spaceflights: 2 . Total time in space: 188.99 days. Birth Place: Killeen, Texas.

Educated West Point.

Official NASA Biography as of June 2016: ROBERT S. KIMBROUGH (COLONEL, U.S. ARMY) NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA: Born June 4, 1967, in Killeen, Texas. Married to the former Robbie Lynn Nickels of Marietta, Georgia. They have three children. He enjoys baseball, golf, weightlifting and running. His father, Lt. Col. (ret.) Robert W. Kimbrough, resides in Hudson, Florida. His mother, DeAnn Johnson, resides in Fernandina Beach, Florida. Her parents, Robert and Carol Nickels, reside in Savannah, Georgia.

EDUCATION: Graduated from The Lovett School, Atlanta, Georgia in 1985; received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aerospace Engineering from the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, in 1989, and a Master of Science Degree in Operations Research from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1998.

ORGANIZATIONS: Army Aviation Association of America; United States Military Academy Association of Graduates; Army Athletic Association; West Point Society of Greater Houston, Association of the United States Army.

SPECIAL HONORS: Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award - Georgia Institute of Technology; Captain of the West Point baseball team; First Team All-Conference Pitcher; Distinguished Graduate from U.S. Army flight school; Defense Meritorious Service Medal; two Meritorious Service Medals; NASA Space Flight Medal; Army Commendation Medal; Army Achievement Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Southwest Asia Service Medal; Kuwaiti Liberation Medal; Saudi Arabian Kuwaiti Liberation Medal; Valorous Unit Award; and Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal.

EXPERIENCE: Kimbrough graduated from West Point in May 1989 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He entered the U.S. Army Aviation School in 1989 and was designated an Army aviator in 1990. In late 1990, he was assigned to the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart, Georgia, and was deployed to Southwest Asia, where he served in Operation Desert Storm. He served in the 24th Infantry Division as an attack helicopter platoon leader, aviation liaison officer, and attack helicopter battalion operations officer. In 1994, he was assigned to the 229th Aviation Regiment (Attack) (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he commanded an Apache helicopter company as well as the Regimental headquarters company. After completing a Masters of Science Degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1998, he was assigned as an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the United States Military Academy. Other military schools include the Army Parachutist Course, Army Jumpmaster Course, German Airborne Course, the Combined Arms Services Staff School and the Command and General Staff College. Kimbrough has logged more than 3000 hours in numerous aircraft and spacecraft.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Kimbrough joined the NASA team at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in September 2000. He was assigned to NASA's Aircraft Operations Division at Ellington Field in Houston, where he served as a Flight Simulation Engineer (FSE) on the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA).

Kimbrough was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in May 2004. In February 2006, he completed Astronaut Candidate Training that included scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training, T-38 flight training and water and wilderness survival training. Completion of this initial training qualified him for various technical assignments within the Astronaut Office and future flight assignment. Kimbrough completed his first spaceflight in 2008, logging a total of 15 days, 20 hours, 29 minutes and 37 seconds in space and 12 hours and 52 minutes of Extravehicular Activity (EVA) in two spacewalks. Kimbrough currently serves as the Vehicle Integration Test Office Chief for the Flight Crew Operations Directorate.

SPACEFLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-126 Endeavour (November 14 to November 30, 2008) launched at night from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California. It was NASA's 4th shuttle flight in 2008 and the 27th shuttle/station assembly mission. Highlights of the almost 16-day mission included expanding the living quarters of the space station to eventually house six-member crews by delivering a new bathroom, kitchenette, two bedrooms, an exercise machine and a water recycling system. During the mission, Kimbrough performed two spacewalks, logging a total of 12 hours and 52 minutes of EVA. STS-126 also delivered a new resident to the station, replacing Greg Chamitoff, Expedition 17/18 with Sandy Magnus, Expedition 18. STS-126 returned to Earth after completing 250 orbits in more than 6 million miles.

APRIL 2014

Official NASA Biography - May 2004

Shane Kimbrough, Mission Specialist

AGE: 36

BORN: Killeen, Texas

EDUCATION: BS, Aerospace Engineering, U.S. Military Academy, 1989; MS, Operations Research, Georgia Tech, 1998

CURRENT JOB: Flight Simulation Engineer on the Shuttle Training Aircraft, Johnson Space Center

QUICK FACT: Was captain of the baseball team at West Point and served as an Apache platoon leader during Desert Storm

QUOTE: "I have been fascinated by space travel since I was a kid. I want to explore the unknown."

Many people associate an astronaut career with adventure and glory, but for Shane Kimbrough, it's all about service.

"Service to this nation has always been important to me," Kimbrough says. "The benefits to society as a result of NASA's discoveries are phenomenal. That's what motivated me to want to work here."

Kimbrough, 36, has been selected to begin training this summer as a mission specialist in NASA's 2004 astronaut candidate class. It's a new job that won't take him far from home. He already works for NASA in Houston, as an engineer helping to train astronauts how to land the Space Shuttle.

"My family is ecstatic about my selection," he says. "It is especially nice to be in one place for a while."

Kimbrough has moved around a lot, first as the son of a soldier and now as a U.S. Army officer. He graduated high school at The Lovett School in Atlanta and is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he majored in mechanical engineering and was captain of the baseball team. He earned a Master's degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

As an Army pilot, Kimbrough trained to fly both airplanes and helicopters and was assigned to fly Apache helicopters. He served in the first Gulf War, Desert Storm in 1991, as a platoon leader in an Apache company. "It was one of the most interesting experiences of my life," he says. "It truly opened my eyes to how fortunate we are as a country."

In his Army career, he also taught math at West Point, including courses such as calculus and statistics. "What an incredibly rewarding experience to interact with the cadets who are now Army officers, defending our country overseas."

Kimbrough, now an Army major, is now married and a father of three. He says his hero is his 90-year-old grandfather.

Kimbrough is setting his sights on the new Vision for Space Exploration. "Once I finish my first year of astronaut training," he says, "I hope to be assigned to several technical jobs so I can improve myself, professionally. But then I'd be thrilled to take on any space mission -- even to the moon or Mars.

"I have been fascinated by space travel since I was a kid," he says. "I want to explore the unknown."

More at: Kimbrough.

Family: Astronaut. Country: USA. Spacecraft: ISS. Flights: STS-126, Soyuz MS-02. Agency: US Army. Bibliography: 12, 5622.

1967 June 4 - .

2004 May 6 - .

2008 November 15 - . 00:55 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.

2008 November 20 - .

2008 November 22 - .

2016 March 18 - . 21:26 GMT - . Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Complex: Baikonur LC1. LV Family: R-7. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz-FG.

2016 October 19 - . 08:05 GMT - . Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Complex: Baikonur LC31. LV Family: R-7. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz-FG.

2017 January 6 - .

2017 January 13 - .

2017 March 4 - .

2017 March 30 - .

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