Ken Bowersox

Kenneth Dwane "Sox" Bowersox was born on November 14, 1956. He became a officer in the United States Navy and later joined NASA as an astronaut. Bowersox flew on four Space Shuttle missions and also lived on the International Space Station for a long time.

When he flew on the mission called STS-73, Bowersox was only 38 years and 11 months old. This made him the youngest person ever to lead a Space Shuttle mission. His work helped scientists learn more about living and working in space.

Early life and education

Ken Bowersox was born on November 14, 1956, in Portsmouth, Virginia, but he considers Bedford, Indiana his hometown. When he was young, his family lived in Oxnard, California for seven years, and he went to Rio Real Elementary School. He was active in the Boy Scouts of America and became an Eagle Scout.

He studied aerospace engineering at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, earning a Bachelor of Science degree. Later, he got a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University in New York City, New York. He also went to the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and became a test pilot for A-7E and F/A-18 airplanes. In 1987, he was chosen to become an astronaut. Bowersox reached the rank of captain in the United States Navy.

NASA career

Ken Bowersox became an astronaut pilot for NASA in 1987.

His first mission was STS-50 on the Columbia. He was the pilot, and the mission focused on studying how things behave in space without gravity. It launched on June 25, 1992, and landed on July 9, 1992.

Next, he flew on STS-61 aboard the Endeavour. This mission was to fix and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope, helping it see better. It launched on December 2, 1993, and landed on December 13, 1993.

For STS-73 on the Columbia, Bowersox was the mission commander. They did many experiments to learn about materials and science in space. It launched on October 20, 1995, and landed on November 5, 1995.

Then, he commanded STS-82 on the Discovery. This was another trip to fix and improve the Hubble Space Telescope. The mission launched on February 11, 1997, and landed on February 21, 1997.

Later, Bowersox commanded Expedition 6 to the International Space Station with two crewmates. They launched on November 23, 2002, and docked with the ISS two days later. They did science experiments and spacewalks to help set up the station. They landed in Kazakhstan on May 4, 2003, after their work was done.

After NASA

Ken Bowersox left NASA in 2006. In 2009, he started working at SpaceX to help make sure space missions were safe. He was added to the Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2010.

Bowersox also left SpaceX in late 2011. He even acted in three episodes of a TV show called Home Improvement.

NASA leadership

In July 2019, Bowersox returned to NASA in a leadership role, taking over from William Gerstenmaier. He took on this role again in May 2020, after Douglas Loverro.

By May 2023, Bowersox was promoted to a higher leadership position within NASA's space operations. He left his leadership role at NASA on March 6, 2026.

Awards and decorations

Ken Bowersox has received several important awards for his service. These include the National Defense Service Medal with an award star, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and the NASA Space Flight Medal with four award stars.

In 1995, he had a special honor: he threw the ceremonial first pitch at Game 5 of the 1995 World Series.