Stephen Bowen (astronaut)
U.S. Navy submariner and NASA astronaut on four spaceflights.
Stephen Gerard Bowen, a US Navy submariner and NASA astronaut, is the second submariner in space. He has completed four spaceflights: three Space Shuttle missions to the ISS and the SpaceX Crew-6 mission in March 2023. Bowen remains the only astronaut to fly on back-to-back shuttle missions.
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Stephen Gerard Bowen
- Born
- 13 February 1964
- Birthplace
- Cohasset, Massachusetts, U.S.
- Education
- United States Naval Academy (BS); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS)
- Rank
- Captain, USN
- Time
- 226d 8h 43 m / 141 ft
- Selection
- NASA Group 18 (2000)
- Missions
- STS-126
- STS-132
- STS-133
- SpaceX Crew-6 (Expedition 68/69)
Facts from the source article.
Personal life and early education
Bowen lives in Friendswood, Texas, with his wife Deborah Alden and their three children. He graduated from Cohasset High School in 1982, earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the United States Naval Academy in 1986, and a Master of Science in ocean engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1993. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi, and Sigma Pi Sigma. Through the organization ISSET, he has served as resident astronaut during Mission Discovery programs, sharing his experiences with students.
Military career
After submarine training, Bowen served on USS Parche SSN-683 and qualified on USS Pogy SSN-647. Following the MIT/WHOI Joint Program, he became Engineering Officer on USS Augusta SSN-710 and qualified for command of nuclear submarines. In 1997 he worked at USSOCOM's Office of Plans and Policy, and in 1999 served as Reactor and Propulsion inspector for INSURV. In May 2000 he became the first Executive Officer of Pre-Commissioning Unit USS Virginia SSN-774.
NASA career
Bowen, the first Submarine Officer selected by NASA, became an astronaut candidate in July 2000 as part of Astronaut Group 18. After training, he worked in the Astronaut Office Station Operations Branch. Originally assigned to STS-124, he was moved to a later flight. His first mission, STS-126 aboard Endeavour, launched November 14, 2008, carrying supplies and equipment to the ISS; he performed three spacewalks totaling 19 hours, 56 minutes. His second mission, STS-132 on Atlantis, launched May 14, 2010, and included two spacewalks of 14 hours, 34 minutes. On January 19, 2011, Bowen replaced the injured Timothy L. Kopra on STS-133, becoming the first astronaut to fly consecutive shuttle missions; he conducted two spacewalks totaling 12 hours, 48 minutes. On December 16, 2021, he was named commander of SpaceX Crew-6, which launched March 2, 2023, to the ISS aboard Crew Dragon Endeavour.
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