ROBERT L. STEWART (BRIGADIER GENERAL, USA, RET.)

NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)

PERSONAL DATA: Born August 13, 1942, in Washington D.C. Married. Two 

children. His interests include woodworking, photography and skiing.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Hattiesburg High School, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in 

1960; received a bachelor of science degree in Mathematics from the University of 

Southern Mississippi in 1964, and a master of science in Aerospace Engineering from 

the University of Texas at Arlington, in 1972.

ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Association 

of Space Explorers past member of Phi Eta Sigma, and the Scabbard and Blade 

(military honor society).

SPECIAL HONORS: Awarded Army Distinguished Service Medal, Defense 

Superior Service Medal, 2 Legion of Merit, 4 Distinguished Flying Crossed, a Bronze 

Star, a Meritorious Service Medal, 33 Air Medals, the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster and "V" Device, 2 

Purple Hearts, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the U.S. and Vietnamese 

Vietnam Service Medals, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry; also Army Aviation of the Year, 1984, AHS Feinberg 

Memorial Award, AIAA Oberth Award. Recipient of NASA Space Flight Medal (1984 & 1985).

EXPERIENCE: Stewart entered on active duty with the United States Army in May 1964 and was assigned as an air defense 

artillery director at the 32nd NORAD Region Headquarters (SAGE), Gunter Air Force Base, Alabama. In July 1966, after 

completing rotary wing training at Ft. Wolters, Texas, and Ft. Rucker, Alabama, he was designated an Army aviator. He flew 

1,035 hours combat time from August 1966 to 1967, primarily as a fire team leader in the armed helicopter platoon of "A" 

Company, 101st Aviation Battalion (redesignated 336th Assault Helicopter Company). He was an instructor pilot at the U.S.

Army Primary Helicopter School -- serving 1 year in the pre- solo/primary-1 phase of instruction and about 6 months as 

commander of methods of instruction flight III, training rated aviators to become instructor pilots. He is a graduate of the

U.S. Army's Air Defense School's Air Defense Officers Advanced Course and Guided Missile Systems Officers Course. 

Stewart served in Seoul, Korea, from 1972 to 1973, with the 309th Aviation Battalion (Combat) as a battalion operations 

officer and battalion executive officer. He next attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland, 

completing the Rotary Wing Test Pilot Course in 1974, and was then assigned as an experimental test pilot to the U.S. Army 

Aviation Engineering Flight Activity at Edwards Air Force Base, California. His duties there included being chief of the 

integrated systems test division, as well as participating in engineering flight tests of UH-1 and AH-1 helicopters and U-21 

and OV-1 fixed wing aircraft, serving as project officer and senior test pilot on the Hughes YAH-64 advanced attack 

helicopter during government competitive testing; and participation with Sikorsky Aircraft test pilots in developing an 

electronic automatic flight control system for the new Army transport helicopter -- the UH-60A Black Hawk.

He has military and civilian experience in 38 types of airplanes and helicopters and logged approximately 6,000 hours total 

flight time.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Stewart became a NASA Astronaut in August 1979. His technical duties in the astronaut office 

have included testing and evaluation of the entry flight control systems for STS-1 (the first Space Shuttle orbital mission), 

ascent abort procedures development, and payload coordination. He also served as support crewman for STS-4, and 

Ascent/Orbit CAPCOM for STS-5. He served as a mission specialist on STS-41B in 1984 and STS-51J in 1985, and has 

logged a total of 289 hours in space, including approximately 12 hours of EVA operations.

In 1986, while in training for his scheduled third flight to be know as 61-K, Col Stewart was selected by the Army for 

promotion to Brigadier General. Upon accepting this promotion General Stewart was reassigned from NASA to be the 

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National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Biographical Data

 Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

 Houston, Texas 77058
Deputy Commanding General, US Army Strategic Defense Command, in Huntsville, Alabama. In this capacity General 

Stewart managed research efforts in developing ballistic missile defense technology. In 1989, he was reassigned as the 

Director of Plans, US Space Command, Colorado Springs, CO. General Stewart retired from the Army in 1992 and currently 

makes his home in Woodland Park, CO. He is presently employed as Director, Advanced Programs, Nichols Research 

Corporation, Colorado Springs, CO.

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-41B Challenger (February 3-11, 1984) was launched from Kennedy Space Center, 

Florida, and returned to land there 8-days later. During the mission, Stewart and McCandless participated in two 

extravehicular activities (EVA's) to conduct first flight evaluations of the Manned Maneuvering Units (MMU's). These 

EVA's represented man's first untethered operations from a spacecraft in flight.

STS-51J Atlantis (October 3-7, 1985) was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and after 98 hours of orbital 

operations returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California. It was the second Space Shuttle Department of Defense 

mission, and the maiden voyage of Atlantis, the final Orbiter in the Shuttle fleet. During the mission he was responsible for a 

number of on-orbit activities. 

DECEMBER 1993

This is the only version available from NASA. Updates must be sought direct from the above named individual.