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Colonel Mark C. Lee USAF, (born August 14, 1952)
is a former NASA astronaut who flew as part as
four space shuttle missions. He retired from the
USAF|Air Force and NASA on July 1, 2001.

==Life prior to astronaut training==
Lee was born in Viroqua, Wisconsin|Viroqua,
Wisconsin and graduated from Viroqua High School
in 1970. He later attended the U.S. Air Force
Academy where he received a bachelor of science
degree in civil engineering from the  in 1974.
Following pilot training at Laughlin Air Force
Base, Texas, and F-4 upgrade at Luke Air Force
Base, Arizona, Lee spent 2-1/2 years at Okinawa
Air Base, Japan, flying F-4’s in the 25th
Tactical Fighter Squadron. In 1979, after this
assignment, he studied for a master of science
degree in mechanical engineering at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology where he specializd in
graphite/epoxy advanced composite materials.

After graduation from MIT in 1980, he was assigned
to Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, in the
Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS)
Program Office, as the operational support
manager. His responsibilities included resolving
mechanical and material deficiencies which
affected the mission readiness of the AWACS
aircraft. In 1982 he returned to flying, upgrading
in the F-16 and serving as executive officer for
the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing Deputy Commander
for Operations, and as flight commander in the 4th
Tactical Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base,
Utah, until his selection as an astronaut
candidate.

==Astronaut training and beyond==
Lee was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA
in May 1984. In June 1985, he completed a one-year
training and evaluation program, qualifying him
for assignment as a mission specialist on future
Space Shuttle flight crews. His technical
responsibilities within the Astronaut Office
included extravehicular activity (EVA), the
inertial upper stage, Spacelab and Space Station
systems. Lee also served as a Capsule
communicator|spacecraft communicator in the
Mission Control Center, as Lead Astronaut Support
Person at the Kennedy Space Center, Chief of
Astronaut Appearances, Chief of the Astronaut
Office Mission Development Branch, Chief of the
EVA Robotics Branch, and Chief of the EVA Branch.
He also worked Space Station assembly issues for
the Astronaut Office.

In total, during his four space flights, Lee
traveled over 13 million miles going around the
world 517 times and spending 33 days in orbit.
Lee's first shuttle mission was as a mission
specialist on STS-30 (May 4-May 8|8, 1989). This
mission involved the launch of the Magellan probe,
a Venus (planet)|Venus-exploration spacecraft and
experiments involving life sciences and crystals.
In his second flight, mission STS-47, running from
September 12 - September 20|20, 1992, Lee was
payload commander with overall crew responsibility
for the planning, integration, and on-orbit
coordination of payload/Space Shuttle activities.
This cooperative mission between the United States
and Japan included 44 Japanese and U.S. life
science and materials processing experiments and
the shuttle carried spacelab-J.

Lee was a mission specialist on his third flight,
mission STS-64, running from September 9 -
September 20|20, 1994.  During this flight he
logged 6 hours and 51 minutes of EVA to test a
self-rescue jetpack, undertook the first
untethered spacewalk in 10 years and deployed and
retrieved a solar science satellite.  Lee's final
flight was STS-82, running from February 11 -
February 21|21, 1997.  This was the second Hubble
Space Telescope maintenance mission and Lee again
served as payload commander. He was a member of
one of two spacewalk teams who installed two new
spectrometers and eight replacement instruments,
as well as replacing insulation patches over three
compartments containing key data processing,
electronics and scientific instrument telemetry
packages. Lee's contribution amounted to three
space walks totaling 19 hours and 10 minutes of
EVA.

==Medals and honors==
Lee has been awarded a number of medals and honors
including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the
Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of
Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and
the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal. He has
also received two Air Force Commendation Medals,
four NASA Space Flight Medals, the NASA
Distinguished Service Medal, the NASA Outstanding
Leadership Medal, the NASA Public Service Group
Achievement Award, and two NASA Exceptional
Service Medals.

== References ==
This biographical article is based on NASA's 
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/lee.html
biography of Lee, dated March 2003.