Frank L. Culbertson Jr.

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Frank Lee Culbertson Jr. (born May 15, 1949) is a retired American Navy captain, aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, and NASA astronaut. He was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and grew up in Holly Hill, South Carolina. He graduated from Holly Hill High School in 1967 and earned a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1971, where he also competed in rowing and wrestling.

Culbertson served as a naval aviator, flying F-4 Phantoms on several ships and later becoming a test pilot. He earned his wings in 1973 and worked on carrier operations and flight testing, logging thousands of flight hours in many aircraft. He attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1982 and worked on carrier landing systems and other testing before being selected as a NASA astronaut candidate in 1984.

As a NASA astronaut, Culbertson flew on three space missions. STS-38 in 1990 was a five-day Department of Defense mission. STS-51 in 1993 deployed the ACTS satellite and carried out a space walk to test repair tools for the Hubble Space Telescope. His third flight was Expedition 3 to the International Space Station in 2001, during which he lived on the ISS for 129 days and commanded the station for 117 days. He spent a total of 143 days in space and performed one extra-vehicular activity (EVA) lasting about 5 hours.

Culbertson was the only American not on Earth when the September 11 attacks occurred. He photographed the smoke from Ground Zero and, during a reunion with his academy classmates, played Taps on his trumpet.

After NASA, Culbertson moved into private industry. He held senior roles at SAIC, Orbital Sciences, and Northrop Grumman, eventually leading the Space Systems Group and supporting NASA’s ISS programs. He retired from Northrop Grumman in 2018 and joined the Space Foundation board of directors in December 2020. He is also a member of several professional organizations.

Culbertson has received many awards, including the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Defense Superior Service Medal, among others. He has five children and nine grandchildren and has been inducted into multiple halls of fame for his work in space and aviation.