Terry Wilcutt

Creator

NASA

Preview

Creation Date

9-30-1994

Description

Lieutenant Colonel Terrence W. Wilcutt, USMC, NASA Astronaut

Born: Oct. 31, 1949 in Russellville, Kentucky

Physical Description: Brown hair, blue eyes, 5'10", 160 pounds

Education:

• Southern High School, Louisville, KY, 1967
• Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY, 1974, BA in Mathematics

Family:

• wife Robin Jo Moyers of Louisville, KY
• son Andrew Brian
• son Aaron Michael
• father George Wilcutt
• mother Inez Wilcutt

Recreational Interests: flying, running, weight lifting, woodworking

Organizations: member of Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP)

Special Honors:

• NASA Space Flight Medal
• Navy Commendation Medal
• Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
• Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School
• WKU Hall of Distinguished Alumni

Experience:After graduation from college in 1974, Wilcutt taught high school math for two years prior to entering the Marine Corps. He was commissioned in 1976 and earned his wings in 1978. Following initial F-4 Phantom training in VMFAT-101, he reported to VMFA-235, Kaneohe, Hawaii. While assigned to VMFA-235, Wilcutt attended the Naval Fighter Weapons conversion training and served as an F/A-18 Fighter Weapons and Air Combat Maneuvering Instructor in VFA-125, Lemoore, California. In 1986, Wilcutt was selected to attend the United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS), where he earned the title "Distinguished Graduate." Following graduation from USNTPS he was assigned as a test pilot/project officer for Strike Aircraft Test Directorate (SATD) at the Naval Aircraft Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland. While assigned to SATD, Wilcutt flew the F/A-18 Hornet, the A-7 Corsairr II, the F-4 Phantom, and various other aircraft to test a wide variety of projects and classified programs. He has over 3,000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft.

NASA Experience: Selected by NASA in January 1990, Wilcutt became an astronaut in July 1991. Technical assignments to date include:

• working on Space Shuttle Main Engine & External Tank issues
• serving on the astronaut support personnel team at Kennedy Space Center, Florida
• supporting Space Shuttle launches & landings
• technical issues for the Astronaut Office Operations Development Branch

Wilcutt was the pilot on STS-68, Space Radar Lab-2 (SRL-2), which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on September 30, 1994. As part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth, SRL-2 was the second flight of three advanced radars called SIR-C/X-SAR (Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar), and a carbon-monoxide pollution sensor, MAPS (measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites). SIR-C/X-SAR and MAPS operated together in Endeavour's cargo bay to study Earth's surface and atmosphere, creating radar images of Earth's surface environment and mapping global production and transport of carbon monoxide pollution. Real-time crew observations of environmental conditions, along with over 14,000 photographs aided the science team in interpreting the SRL data. The SRL-2 mission was a highly successful test of technology intended for long-term environmental and geological monitoring of planet Earth. Following 183 orbits of the Earth, the eleven-day mission ended with Space Shuttle Endeavour landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on October 11, 1994. In completing his first mission Wilcutt logged 269 hours and 46 minutes in space.