posted 06-24-2005 11:25 AM               

Veteran Astronaut Dan Bursch Leaves NASA

Astronaut Daniel W. Bursch, who shares a U.S. space endurance record with astronaut Carl Walz, has retired from NASA to join The Aerospace Corporation as the National Reconnaissance Office Chair at the Naval Postgraduate School.

Bursch, a U.S. Navy Captain, is a veteran of four space flights. In 2002, Bursch and Walz made the longest U.S. space flight to date, completing 196 days in space aboard the International Space Station on Expedition 4. Bursch flew to the Station aboard Space Shuttle mission STS-108 and returned to Earth on STS-111. In 1993, Bursch flew on Shuttle flight STS-51, a mission that deployed the U.S. Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS). In 1994, he flew on STS-68, a mission that used the Space Radar Lab-2 (SRL-2) to study Earth's surface and atmosphere. In 1998, he flew on STS-77, the fourth flight of Spacehab as a scientific laboratory. He has logged more than 227 days in space.

"Dan offered an array of talents to NASA. His experience and expertise contributed to the strength and success of manned space flight," said Ken Bowersox, Director of Flight Crew Operations. "We wish Dan all the best on his new journey. He will be missed."

posted 10-13-2009 12:04 PM               

In my life, I have had the pleasure of being a member of two of the best teams in the world: the U.S. Navy and NASA's Human Space Flight program, for whom I completed four missions and fulfilled my lifelong dream of becoming an astronaut and traveling in space. The next best thing to flying in space is to relive those experiences by sharing them with others through personal stories, recollections and photographs.