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Steven R. Nagel (October 27, 1946) is a retired
Colonel in the United States Air Force|USAF and a
former NASA astronaut.

==Personal data==
Born October 27, 1946, in Canton, Illinois.
Married Linda M. Godwin of Houston, Texas. Two
daughters. His hobbies include sport flying and
music. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ivan R. Nagel,
reside in Canton, Illinois. Her father, Mr. James
M. Godwin, resides in Oak Ridge, Missouri.

==Education==
Nagel graduated from Canton Senior High School,
Canton, Illinois, in 1964; received a bachelor of
science degree in aeronautical and astronautical
engineering (high honors) from the University of
Illinois in 1969, and a master of science degree
in mechanical engineering from California State
University, Fresno, California, in 1978.

==Organizations==
Life member of the Order of Daedalians and Alpha
Delta Phi; and honorary member of Phi Eta Sigma,
Sigma Tau, Tau Beta Pi, and Sigma Gamma Tau.

==Special Honors==
Awarded the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross
and the Air Medal with 7 Oak Leaf Clusters; and
for undergraduate pilot training, recipient of the
Commander’s Trophy, the Flying Trophy, the
Academic Trophy, and the Orville Wright
Achievement Award (Order of Daedalians); also
presented the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal
(1978). Recipient of 4 NASA Space Flight Medals,
(1985, 1991, 1993), Exceptional Service Medals
(1988, 1989), Outstanding Leadership Medal (1992),
AAS Flight Achievement Award, STS-37 Crew (1992),
Outstanding Alumni Award, University of Illinois
(1992), Distinguished Service Medal (1994),
Distinguished Alumni Award, California State
University, Fresno (1994), Lincoln Laureate, State
of Illinois (1994).

==Experience==
Nagel received his commission in 1969 through the
Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC)
program at the University of Illinois. He
completed undergraduate pilot training at Laredo
Air Force Base, Texas, in February 1970, and
subsequently reported to Luke Air Force Base,
Arizona, for F-100 training.

From October 1970 to July 1971, Nagel was an F-100
pilot with the 68th Tactical Fighter Squadron at
England Air Force Base, Louisiana. He served a
1-year tour of duty as a T-28 Trojan |T-28
instructor for the Laotian Air Force at Udorn
RTAFB, Udorn, Thailand, prior to returning to the
United States in October 1972 to assume A-7D
instructor pilot and flight examiner duties at
England Air Force Base, Louisiana. Nagel attended
the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force
Base, California, from February 1975 to December
1975. In January 1976, he was assigned to the
6512th Test Squadron located at Edwards. As a test
pilot, he has worked on various projects which
included flying the F-4 and A-7D.

He has logged 9,400 hours flying time—6,650
hours in jet aircraft.

==NASA Experience==
Nagel became a NASA astronaut in August 1979. His
technical assignments have included: backup T-38
chase pilot for STS-1; support crew and backup
entry spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) for STS-2;
support crew and primary entry CAPCOM for STS-3;
software verification at the Shuttle Avionics
Integration Laboratory (SAIL) and the Flight
Simulation Laboratory (FSL); representing the
Astronaut Office in the development of a crew
escape system for the Space Shuttle; Acting Chief
of the Astronaut Office. Nagel is a veteran of
four space flights (STS-51-G and STS-61 in 1985,
STS-37 in 1991, and STS-55 in 1993) as described
below:

Nagel first flew as a mission specialist on
STS-51G, which launched from the Kennedy Space
Center, Florida, on June 17, 1985. The crew aboard
the Shuttle Discovery deployed communications
satellites for Mexico (Morelos), the Arab League
(Arabsat), and the United States (AT&T Telstar).
They used the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) to
deploy and later retrieve the SPARTAN satellite
which performed 17 hours of x-ray astronomy
experiments while separated from the Space
Shuttle. In addition, the crew activated the
Automated Directional Solidification Furnace
(ADSF), six “Getaway Specials,” participated
in biomedical experiments, and conducted a laser
tracking experiment as part of the Strategic
Defense Initiative. After completing approximately
170 hours of space flight, Discovery landed at
Edwards Air Force Base, California, on June 24,
1985.

Nagel then flew as pilot on STS-61A, the West
German D-1 Spacelab mission, which launched from
Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on October 30,
1985. This mission was the first in which payload
activities were controlled from outside the United
States. More than 75 scientific experiments were
completed in the areas of physiological sciences,
materials processing, biology, and navigation.
After completing 111 orbits of the Earth, Shuttle
Challenger landed at Edwards Air Force Base,
California, on November 6, 1985.

On his third flight, Nagel was commander of
STS-37, which launched into orbit on April 5,
1991, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and
landed on April 11, 1991, at Edwards Air Force
Base, California. During this mission the crew
aboard the Shuttle Atlantis deployed the Gamma Ray
Observatory (GRO) for the purpose of exploring
gamma ray sources throughout the universe, and
conducted the first scheduled space walk in more
than five and one-half years. Also, the crew
performed the first successful unscheduled space
walk to free a stuck antenna on GRO.

Nagel also served as commander of STS-55, the
German D-2 Spacelab mission. After launching on
April 26, 1993, on the Shuttle Columbia; the crew
landed 10 days later on May 6, 1993, at Edwards
Air Force Base, California. During the ambitious
mission 89 experiments were performed in many
disciplines such as materials processing, life
sciences, robotics, technology, astronomy and
earth mapping.

With the completion of his fourth flight, Nagel
has logged a total of 723 hours in space.

Nagel retired from the Air Force, effective
February 28, 1995. He retired from the Astronaut
Office, effective March 1, 1995, to assume the
full-time position of Deputy Director for
Operations Development, Safety, Reliability, and
Quality Assurance Office, Johnson Space Center,
Houston, Texas. In September 1996, Nagel
transferred to Aircraft Operations Division where
he performs duties as a Research Pilot.

Source:
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/nagel.html

NASA