NAME: Stephen N. Frick(Commander, U.S. Navy)
NASA Astronaut
PERSONALDATA:Hometown: Gibsonia, Pennsylvania. Married. He enjoysskiing, hiking, camping.
EDUCATION: Graduated from Richland HighSchool, Gibsonia, Pennsylvania in 1982; received a bachelor of science degreein aerospace engineering from the US Naval Academy in 1986; master of sciencedegree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in1994.
ORGANIZATIONS: Society of Experimental TestPilots, U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association.
SPECIALHONORS: AirMedal with 2 Strike-Flight awards; 3 Navy Commendation Medals, one with CombatV; Navy Unit Commendation; National Defense Service Medal; Sea ServiceDeployment Ribbon, 2 Southwest Asia Service Medals; and various other service awards.
EXPERIENCE: Frick was commissioned upongraduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in May 1986. After being designated as aNaval Aviator in February 1988, he reported to Strike Fighter Squadron 106 atNaval Air Station Cecil Field, Florida, for transition to the F/A-18 Hornet.
Uponcompletion of training, he reported to Strike Fighter Squadron 83 also at CecilField, and deployed to the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea onboard the USSSaratoga (CV-60). During the 8-month deployment, he participated in OperationDesert Shield and Desert Storm, flying 26 combat missions from the Red Sea totargets in Iraq and Kuwait. He was also designated an airwingqualified landing signals officer. After leaving Strike Fighter Squadron 83 inDecember 1991, Frick participated in a cooperative program consisting of 15months at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and 1 yearwith the Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station PatuxentRiver, Maryland.
Upongraduation in June 1994, he was assigned as a project officer and test pilot tothe Carrier Suitability Department of the Strike Aircraft Test Squadron alsolocated at Patuxent River. While there, he conductedshore-based and shipboard testing of the F/A-18 Hornet. Frick was assigned toStrike Fighter Squadron 125 in Lemoore, California, preparing for return to adeployed F/A-18 squadron when selected for the astronaut program in April 1996.
Frick Haslogged over 3,200 flight hours in 35 different aircraft, and has over 370carrier landings.
NASAEXPERIENCE:Selected by NASA in April 1996, Frick reported to the Johnson Space Center inAugust 1996. Having completed two years of training and evaluation, he isqualified for flight assignment as a pilot. Initially, Frick was assignedtechnical duties in the Astronaut Office Spacecraft Systems/Operations Branch.He completed his first space flight as pilot on STS-110, and has logged over259 hours in space. Frick is assigned to command the STS-122 mission that willdeliver the European Space Agency?s ColumbusLaboratory to the International Space Station.
SPACEFLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-110Atlantis (April 8-19, 2002) was the 13th Shuttle mission to visit the InternationalSpace Station. Mission milestones included: delivery and installation of the SO(S-Zero) Truss; first maneuvering of spacewalkers using the ISS robotic arm;and the first mission on which all spacewalks were based from the station?s Quest Airlock. The crew prepared thestation for future spacewalks and spent a week in joint operations with thestation?s Expedition-4 crew. Mission duration was 10 days, 19 hours and 42minutes.
LastUpdated: July 2006
- VIDEO: Stephen Frick: STS-110 Pilot
- IMAGES: STS-110 Atlantis Photo Album
- Complete Coverage: NASA's STS-110 Shuttle Mission
- Mission Atlantis: Europe's Columbus Lab Sets Sail for ISS
- All About Astronauts
- Complete Space Shuttle Mission Coverage
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
