ALAN G. POINDEXTER (CAPTAIN, USN) 

NASA ASTRONAUT (DECEASED)

PERSONAL DATA: Born November 5, 1961, in Pasadena, California, but considered

Rockville, Maryland, to be his hometown. Died on July 1, 2012. He is survived by his wife,

Lisa, and their two children. Recreational interests included motorcycling, running, weight 

lifting, boating, hunting and fishing. 

EDUCATION: Graduated from Coronado High School, Coronado, California, in 1979. 

Graduated with highest honors from Georgia Institute of Technology, with a Bachelor of 

Aerospace Engineering in 1986 and Master of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from the 

Naval Postgraduate School in 1995.

ORGANIZATIONS: Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Association of Space Explorers

AWARDS: Two Legion of Merit awards, Distinguished Flying Cross, Defense Meritorious 

Service Medal, NASA Aviation Safety Award, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat V, Navy and Marine 

Corps Achievement Medal, various other service awards

EXPERIENCE: Poindexter was commissioned following graduation from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1986. After a 

short tour of duty at the Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel Facility, Naval Surface Weapons Center, White Oak, Maryland, Poindexter 

reported for flight training in Pensacola, Florida. He was designated a Naval Aviator in 1988 and reported to Fighter Squadron 124, 

Naval Air Station Miramar, California, for transition to the F-14 Tomcat. Following his initial training, Poindexter was assigned to 

Fighter Squadron 211, also at Miramar, and made two deployments to the Arabian Gulf during Operations Desert Storm and 

Southern Watch. During his second deployment in 1993, he was selected to attend the Naval Postgraduate School/U.S. Naval Test 

Pilot School Cooperative Program. Following graduation in December 1995, Poindexter was assigned as a Test Pilot and Project 

Officer at the Naval Strike Aircraft Test Squadron (NSATS), Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Maryland. Following his tour 

at Patuxent River, Poindexter reported to Fighter Squadron 32, NAS Oceana, Virginia, where he was serving as a department head 

when he was selected for astronaut training. After his retirement from NASA, Poindexter returned to the Navy. Poindexter had

more than 4,000 hours in more than 30 aircraft types and logged more than 450 carrier landings.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in June 1998, he reported for training in August 1998. Initially, Poindexter served in 

the Astronaut Office Shuttle Operations branch, performing duties as the lead support astronaut at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. 

He served as Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM) for several missions and was a veteran of two spaceflights. Captain Poindexter 

logged more than 669 hours in space before he retired from NASA in December 2010. 

SPACEFLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-122 aboard Atlantis (February 7 to February 20, 2008) was the 24th shuttle mission to visit 

the International Space Station. The highlight of the mission was the delivery and installation of the European Space Agency (ESA)

Columbus Laboratory. It took three spacewalks by crewmembers to prepare the Columbus Laboratory for its scientific work and to 

replace an expended nitrogen tank on the station’s P-1 truss. STS-122 was also a crew replacement mission, delivering Expedition16 Flight Engineer, ESA Astronaut Léopold Eyharts, and returning home with Expedition-16 Flight Engineer, NASA Astronaut 

Daniel Tani. The STS-122 mission was accomplished in 12 days, 18 hours, 21 minutes and 40 seconds and traveled 5,296,832 

statute miles in 203 Earth orbits.

STS-131 aboard Discovery (April 5 to April 20, 2010), a resupply mission to the International Space Station, launched just before 

dawn from Kennedy Space Center. Upon arrival at the station, Discovery’s crew performed three spacewalks to replace an empty

ammonia tank for the station thermal control system. The crew also transferred more than 13,000 pounds of hardware, supplies and 

equipment. Included in the transfer were new crew sleeping quarters and three scientific experiment racks. On the return journey,

the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) inside Discovery’s payload bay was packed with more than 6,000 pounds of 

hardware and scientific and technical research return samples. The STS-131 mission lasted 15 days, 2 hours, 47 minutes and 10 

seconds and traveled 6,232,235 statute miles in 238 Earth orbits.

AUGUST 2012

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Biographical Data

 Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

 Houston, Texas 77058