WILLIAM SURLES "BILL" MCARTHUR, JR., (COLONEL, U.S. ARMY, RET.) 

DIRECTOR, SAFETY & MISSION ASSURANCE, JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

Pronunciation: WIHL’-yuhm Muhk-AR’-ther 

PERSONAL DATA: Born July 26, 1951, in Laurinburg, North Carolina. His 

hometown is Wakulla, North Carolina. Married to the former Cynthia Kathryn Lovin of 

Red Springs, North Carolina. They have two daughters and four grandchildren. He 

enjoys biking, photography and working with personal computers. His parents, Brigadier 

General William S. McArthur and Edith P. Avant, and stepfather, Weldon C. Avant, are 

deceased. 

EDUCATION: Graduated from Red Springs High School, Red Springs, North Carolina, 

1969; received a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Science and Engineering from 

the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York, 1973, and a Master of Science 

degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, 1983.

ORGANIZATIONS: American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA); Army Aviation Association of America; 

Association of the U.S. Army; U.S. Military Academy Association of Graduates; West Point Society of Greater Houston;

MENSA; Phi Kappa Phi and the Association of Space Explorers.

SPECIAL HONORS: Army Distinguished Service Medal; Defense Superior Service Medal; Defense Meritorious Service 

Medal (First Oak Leaf Cluster); Meritorious Service Medal (First Oak Leaf Cluster); Army Commendation Medal; NASA Space 

Flight Medal; NASA Distinguished Service Medal; NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal; NASA Exceptional Service Medal;

Russian Federation Medal of Merit for Space Exploration; Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Army Aviation School; Honorary 

Doctor of Science degree from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland; Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the 

University of North Carolina at Pembroke; Recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina’s highest civilian 

award; Georgia Tech Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni, 1996; Komarov Diploma from the Federation 

Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) 1993, 2006; American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Award, 1996; Visiting 

Green Honors Professor, Department of Science and Engineering, Texas Christian University, 1997; Ellis Island Medal of 

Honor; Order of Saint Michael (Gold and Silver Awards) from the Army Aviation Association of America; Robert M. Leich 

Award from the Army Aviation Association of America, 2000; Korolev Diploma presented by the FAI, 2000; West Point 

Distinguished Graduate Award, 2011; Georgia Tech College of Engineering Hall of Fame, 2013.

EXPERIENCE: : McArthur graduated from West Point in June 1973 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. 

Army. Following a tour with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, he entered the U.S. Army Aviation 

School in 1975. He was the top graduate of his flight class and was designated an Army aviator in June 1976. He subsequently 

served as an aeroscout team leader and brigade aviation section commander with the 2nd Infantry Division in the Republic of 

Korea. In 1978, he was assigned to the 24th Combat Aviation Battalion in Savannah, Georgia, where he served as a company 

commander, platoon leader and operations officer. After completing studies at Georgia Tech, he was assigned to the Department 

of Mechanics at West Point as an assistant professor. In June 1987, he graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and was 

designated an experimental test pilot. Other military schools completed include the Army Parachutist course, the Jumpmaster 

course and the Command and General Staff Officers’ course.

McArthur retired from the U.S. Army in 2001.

A master army aviator, he has logged more than 9,000 flight hours in 41 different air/spacecrafts.

NASA EXPERIENCE: McArthur was assigned to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in August 1987 as a space shuttle vehicle 

integration test engineer. Duties involved serving as the engineering liaison for launch and landing operations of the space 

shuttle. He was actively involved in the integrated test of the flight control system for each orbiter for its return to flight and was 

a member of the Emergency Escape and Rescue Working Group.

-moreNational Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Biographical Data

 Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

 Houston, Texas 77058
Selected by NASA in January 1990, McArthur became an astronaut in July 1991. Since then, McArthur has held various 

assignments within the Astronaut Office, including working issues relating to the solid rocket booster, redesigned solid rocket 

motor and the advanced solid rocket motor. He served as chief of the Astronaut Office Flight Support branch, supervising 

astronaut support of the Mission Control Center, prelaunch space shuttle processing and launch and landing operations.

McArthur also served as director of operations overseeing training activities for astronauts in Star City, Russia and, later, as chief 

of the Astronaut Office Space Station branch. McArthur served as commander on the Expedition 8 and 10 backup crews. A 

veteran of four spaceflights, McArthur has logged 224 days, 22 hours, 28 minutes and 10 seconds in space, including 24 hours 

and 21 minutes of spacewalk time in four spacewalks. Subsequent assignments included manager of the space shuttle safety and 

mission assurance office and as the space shuttle orbiter project manager. McArthur currently serves as the director of safety and 

mission assurance for the Johnson Space Center.

SPACEFLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-58 Columbia (October 18, 1993 through November 1, 1993) was launched from 

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California. During the mission, the

crew performed neurovestibular, cardiovascular, cardiopulmonary, metabolic and musculoskeletal medical experiments on 

themselves and 48 rats, expanding our knowledge of human and animal physiology both on Earth and in spaceflight. In addition, 

the crew performed 16 engineering tests aboard the orbiter Columbia and 20 Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Project 

experiments. Additionally, the crew made extensive contacts with school children and amateur radio operators around the world

through the Shuttle Amateur Radio experiment. The STS-58 mission was accomplished in 225 Earth orbits in 336 hours, 13 

minutes and1 second.

STS-74 Atlantis (November 12, 1995 through November 20, 1995) was NASA’s second space shuttle mission to rendezvous and 

dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. STS-74 was launched from and returned to land at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. 

During the eight day flight, the crew successfully attached a permanent docking module to Mir, conducted experiments on a 

number of secondary payloads and transferred one-and-a-half tons of supplies between Atlantis and Mir. The STS-74 mission 

was accomplished in 129 Earth orbits, traveling 3.4 million miles in 196 hours, 30 minutes and 44 seconds.

STS-92 Discovery (October 11, 2000 through October 24, 2000) was launched from Kennedy Space Center and returned to land 

at Edwards Air Force Base, California. During the 13 day flight, the seven member crew attached the Z1 Truss and Pressurized 

Mating Adapter 3 to the International Space Station (ISS) using Discovery’s robotic arm and performed four spacewalks to 

configure these elements. This expansion of the ISS opened the door for future assembly missions and prepared the station for its 

first resident crew. McArthur’s spacewalk time totaled 13 hours and 16 minutes. The STS-92 mission was accomplished in 202 

Earth orbits, traveling 5.3 million miles in 12 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes and 25 seconds.

Expedition 12 (September 30, 2005 through April 8, 2006). McArthur was the commander and ISS science officer on the 

Expedition12 crew, which launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on September 30, 2005 aboard a Soyuz TMA 

spacecraft and docked with the space station on October 3, 2005. During a 6-month tour of duty aboard the station, the crew 

conducted two spacewalks and relocated their Soyuz spacecraft twice; becoming the first ISS crew to dock to every Russian 

docking port on the complex. They also became the first two-person crew to conduct a spacewalk in both Russian and U.S. 

spacesuits. The mission was accomplished in 189 days, 19 hours and 53 minutes and included 11 hours and 5 minutes of 

spacewalk time. 

SEPTEMBER 2014