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Don L. Lind

American - (NASA)

Retired

Date of Birth: May 18, 1930
Age: 94


Don Leslie Lind, Ph.D. is an American scientist and a former naval officer and aviator, and NASA astronaut. He graduated from the University of Utah with an undergraduate degree in physics in 1953. Following his military service obligation, he earned a Ph.D. in high-energy nuclear physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1964. Lind was a naval aviator and attained the rank of Commander in the United States Naval Reserve. He had active duty in San Diego and aboard the carrier USS Hancock. After completing his doctorate, Lind worked at NASA's Goddard Research Center from 1964 to 1966. During this period, he applied for the third group of astronauts but did not have enough flight hours. He applied for the fourth group, but was denied for being too old. The age restriction was raised for the fifth group, and he was selected with the Original Nineteen in 1966. Lind helped to develop the Apollo 11 EVA activities, and served as CAPCOM for the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 missions. He was then assigned as backup Pilot for Skylab 3 and Skylab 4 and nearly flew on the proposed Skylab Rescue mission. Lind was the Payload Commander on his only flight, STS-51-B, launched April 29, 1985. He designed an experiment to capture the Earth's aurora. The payload experiments consisted primarily of microgravity research and atmospheric measurement. The Orbiter Challenger completed 110 orbits before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Space Shuttle Challenger / OV-099 | STS-51-B

National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of America
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
April 29, 1985, 4:02 p.m.
Status: Success
Mission:

STS-51-B was the seventeenth flight of the shuttle program and the seventh for Space Shuttle Challenger. It was the second flight for SpaceLab.

Low Earth Orbit
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Acting Administrator: James Free

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.


Long March 2D
Success
2 days, 19 hours ago
4 x SatNet test satellites
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Officially described as "Satellite-Internet Technology Demonstration Satellites". Probable 4 test satellites for the Chinese state-owned LEO communic…


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 22 hours ago
Fram2
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Fram2 is the world’s first astronaut mission to polar orbit. Named after the Norwegian polar research ship Fram, the Crew Dragon spacecraft will laun…


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 3 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-80
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 28 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Spectrum
Failure
4 days, 13 hours ago
Maiden Flight
Orbital Launch Pad - Andøya Spaceport

First flight of the Isar Spectrum launch vehicle.


Long March 7A
Success
5 days, 7 hours ago
TJSW-16
201 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

Chinese classified satellite claimed to be for communication technology test purposes. Actual mission not known.