NAME:  Daniel W. Bursch (Lieutenant Commander, USN)
       NASA Astronaut
 
BIRTHPLACE & DATE:  Born July 25, 1957, in Bristol, Pennsylvania, but
considers Vestal, New York to be his hometown.  His parents, Dudley
and Betsy Bursch, reside in Charlotte, North Carolina.
 
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:  Brown hair; blue eyes; 5 feet 4 inches; 135
pounds.
 
EDUCATION:  Graduated from Vestal Senior High School, Vestal, New
York, in 1975; received a bachelor of science degree in physics from
the United States Naval Academy in 1979, and a master of science
degree in engineering science from the Naval Postgraduate School in
1991.
 
MARITAL STATUS:  Married to the former Roni J. Patterson of Modesto,
California.  Her mother, Gayle Hutcheson, resides in San Bruno,
California.  Her father, Jack Patterson, resides in Truckee,
California.
 
CHILDREN:  Emily Ruth, February 19, 1985.
 
RECREATIONAL INTERESTS:  He enjoys tennis, softball, windsurfing,
skiing, and woodworking.
 
ORGANIZATIONS:  Member of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association,
the United States Naval Institute, and the Tailhook Association.
 
SPECIAL HONORS:  Awarded the Navy Commendation Medal, and the Navy
Achievement Medal.  Distinguished graduate, U.S. Naval Academy and
U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.
 
EXPERIENCE:  Bursch graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1979, and
was designated a Naval Flight Officer in April 1980 at Pensacola,
Florida.  After initial training as an A-6E Intruder
Bombardier/Navigator (B/N), he reported to Attack Squadron 34 in
January 1981, and deployed to the Mediterranean aboard the USS John F.
Kennedy, and to the North Atlantic and Indian Oceans aboard the USS
America.  He attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in January
1984.  Upon graduation in December he worked as a project test flight
officer flying the A-6 Intruder until August 1984, when he returned to
the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School as a flight instructor.  In April
1987 Bursch was assigned to Commander, Cruise-Destroyer Group 1, as
Strike Operations Officer, making deployments to the Indian Ocean
aboard the USS Long Beach and the USS Midway.  Redesignated an
Aeronautical Engineering Duty Officer (AEDO), he attended the Naval
Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, from July 1989 until his
selection to the astronaut program.
 
He has over 1,500 flight hours in more than 35 different aircraft, and
has over 200 carrier landings.
 
Selected by NASA in January 1990, Bursch became an astronaut in July
1991.  He is qualified for assignment as a mission specialist on
future Space Shuttle flight crews.  His technical assignments to date
include duties in the Astronaut Office Operations Development Branch,
working on controls and displays for the Space Shuttle and Space
Station Freedom.  Bursch presently also serves as Chief of Astronaut
Appearances.
 
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:  Bursch has recently been selected as a mission
specialist on STS-51, scheduled to launch in February 1993.  The crew
of five aboard the Shuttle Discovery will deploy the U.S. Advanced
Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) and will also deploy the
Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS) with NASA and German scientific
experiments aboard.  The SPAS will be retrieved prior to the end of
the nine-day mission.
 
APRIL 1992