Former NASA astronaut and space shuttle leader Alan "Dex" Poindexter passed away while on holiday with his family September 1 in Pensacola, Fla. An expert of two spaceflights, Poindexter invested a complete of 28 times in space.
Poindxter was a U.S. Navy captain and he handled the STS-131 space shuttle to the International Space Station in 2010, providing more than 12,000 pounds of components and equipment.
He was the head for space shuttles' STS-122 objective that provided and installed the Western Space Company's Columbus laboratory on the place in 2008.
"Alan and I registered up with the astronaut corps in 1998 and went together on STS-122, which was truly an amazing encounter," said NASA Affiliate Manager for Knowledge and former astronaut Leland Melvin "He was a enthusiastic, looking after and non selfish personal who will be skipped by all."
"We in the astronaut household have missing not only a special companion, but also a patriot of the Combined States" said Peggy Whitson, primary of the Astronaut Workplace at NASA's Jackson Area Middle in Houston."He happily provided his country for 26 decades as a martial artist head, test head, astronaut and leader of space shuttle. I am extremely pleased to have both traveled in area and proved helpful with him for so many decades. Dex will be greatly skipped by those of us at Jackson and the entire NASA family.
Poindexter gained an undergrad level with maximum awards from the Atlanda Institution of Technology and a graduate student level from the Naval Postgrad School in Monterey, Calif.He was chosen as an astronaut selection in May 1998 and provided in the Astronaut Office, space Functions Division at Jackson as the cause assistance astronaut for NASA's Kennedy Space Middle in Florida
He also worked as a spacecraft communicator, or CAPCOM for a lot missions.
