William Shepherd

Education and training

Shepherd graduated from Arcadia High School in Phoenix, Arizona in 1967. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the United States Naval Academy in 1971. After completing Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training in 1972, he served as a Navy SEAL with Underwater Demolition Team ELEVEN, SEAL Teams ONE and TWO, and Special Boat Unit TWENTY. He obtained an Engineer's degree in Ocean Engineering and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 1978.

NASA career

Selected for NASA Astronaut Group 10 in 1984, Shepherd was the first military non-aviator in astronaut training, having unsuccessfully applied for Group 9 in 1980. A rumor that he answered an interview question by saying he was best at killing people with knives was neither confirmed nor denied by Shepherd, who called it too good a story. In 1986 his SEAL training proved useful when he helped direct underwater salvage operations for the Space Shuttle Challenger.

He flew as a mission specialist on STS-27 (1988), which carried Department of Defense payloads and sustained severe heat-tile damage; STS-41 (1990), which deployed the Ulysses probe; and STS-52 (1992), which deployed the Laser Geodynamic Satellite and conducted microgravity experiments. From 1993 to 1996 he worked on the International Space Station Program as Program Manager and Deputy Program Manager. In November 1995 he was selected to command the first ISS crew, though launch was delayed from 1997 by political, financial, and technical problems.

Expedition 1 launched from Baikonur on Soyuz TM 31 on October 31, 2000, with cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergey Krikalev; the crew returned on Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-102) on March 21, 2001.

Did You Know?

• Shepherd served as U.S. Special Operations Command's first Science Advisor from 2008 to 2011.
• After retiring from NASA, he was assigned to the staff of Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command to assist with developing new capabilities for SEAL and Special Boat units.