USA

Robert Behnken

(Robert Louis Behnken)

(Jul 28, 1970)

Astronaut 469

Astronaut of the USA 299

EVA astronaut 174

EVA astronaut of the USA 111

Spaceflights 3

EVAs 10

Spaceflights

EVAs

NASA astronaut and retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Bob Behnken is leaving NASA after 22 years of service. His final day at the agency is Friday, November 11, 2022.

Over the course of his career, Bob Behnken spent a total of 93 days in space, participating in two missions aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, as well as the first crewed flight of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

Behnken served as pilot and joint operations commander during the first crewed test flight of the SpaceX Dragon. As part of the mission, designated Demo-2, Behnken and former NASA astronaut Doug Hurley launched to the International Space Station on May 30, 2020, and returned safely to Earth on August 2, 2020.

The Demo-2 mission ushered in a new era of human spaceflight that continues today, with crews regularly launching to the ISS from U.S. soil aboard spacecraft designed and owned by commercial companies. During his 62-day stay as an ISS crew member, Behnken conducted four spacewalks alongside former NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and dedicated more than 100 hours to scientific research aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Behnken joined NASA in July 2000, beginning his training as an astronaut candidate at the Johnson Space Center. During his first spaceflight in 2008 (Space Shuttle mission STS-123 aboard *Endeavour*), he served as a mission specialist. This mission delivered the Japanese *Kibo* laboratory module and the Canadian multi-purpose robotic manipulator, Dextre, to the space station. Behnken performed three spacewalks (extravehicular activities) and operated the station’s robotic arm—both with and without the Dextre unit attached. In 2010, he returned to space as a mission specialist on the crew of mission STS-130. During this flight, the *Tranquility* module and its attached *Cupola*—an observation deck with seven windows facing Earth—were delivered to the station. Behnken served as the lead spacewalker, conducting three additional extravehicular activities to install the new module. In total, across his three missions, Behnken completed 10 spacewalks, spending 61 hours and 10 minutes in the vacuum of space.

Behnken also carried out various roles on the ground in support of other NASA astronauts. Following the completion of his two-year training and evaluation period, he was assigned technical duties within the Astronaut Office, where he worked on processes related to the launch and landing of the Space Shuttles. Following the loss of the Space Shuttle *Columbia* in 2003, Behnken trained as an International Space Station crew member, as well as a mission specialist for STS-400—a rescue mission that could have been launched, if necessary, during the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. From 2012 to 2015, he served as Chief of the NASA Astronaut Office, and from September 2021 to April 2022, he held the position of Deputy Director of Flight Operations at NASA.

Behnken grew up in St. Ann, Missouri, and graduated from Pattonville High School in Maryland Heights, Missouri. In 1992, he earned two Bachelor of Science degrees—in physics and mechanical engineering—from Washington University in St. Louis. In 1993, he received a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, followed by a Ph.D. in the same field from the same institution in 1997. Behnken began his military service through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and later attended the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California. By the time he retired from active military service in February 2022, Behnken had attained the rank of colonel and had logged over 2,000 flight hours in more than 25 different types of aircraft.

Robert Behnken’s wife is NASA astronaut Megan McArthur.