Frank L . Culbertson , Jr . Frank Lee Culbertson Jr . ( born May 15 , 1949 ) is a former NASA astronaut and a retired captain in the United States Navy . He served as the commander of the International Space Station for almost four months in 2001 and was the only American not on Earth when the September 11 attacks occurred . He is currently a senior vice president responsible for human spaceflight programs at Orbital Sciences , including commercial transportation to the ISS . United States Navy career . Culbertson graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1971 and served aboard the in the Gulf of Tonkin prior to reporting to flight training in Pensacola , Florida . After designation as a Naval Aviator at Beeville , Texas in May 1973 , he flew F - 4 Phantom aircraft with VF - 121 at NAS Miramar , California ; with VF - 151 aboard the , permanently homeported in Yokosuka , Japan ; and with the U . S . Air Force in the 426th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron at Luke Air Force Base , Arizona , where he served as Weapons and Tactics Instructor . Culbertson then served as the Catapult and Arresting Gear Officer for the until May 1981 when he was selected to attend the U . S . Naval Test Pilot School , NAS Patuxent River , Maryland . Following graduation with distinction in June 1982 , he was assigned to the Carrier Systems Branch of the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate where he served as Program Manager for all F - 4 testing and as a test pilot for automatic carrier landing system tests and carrier suitability . He was engaged in fleet replacement training in the F - 14 Tomcat at VF - 101 , NAS Oceana , Virginia , from January 1984 until his selection for the astronaut candidate program . He has logged over 6 , 000 hours flying time in 40 different types of aircraft , and has made 350 carrier landings . NASA . Selected as a NASA astronaut candidate in May 1984 , Culbertson completed basic astronaut training in June 1985 . Technical assignments since then included : member of the team that redesigned and tested the Space Shuttle nosewheel steering , tires , and brakes ; member of the launch support team at Kennedy Space Center for Shuttle flights STS - 61 - A , STS - 61 - B , STS - 61 - C , and STS - 51 - L ; in 1986 he worked at the NASA Headquarters Action Center in Washington , D . C . , assisting with the " Challenger " accident investigations conducted by NASA , the Presidential Commission , and Congress . He became lead astronaut at the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory ( SAIL ) ; lead of the First Emergency Egress Team ; and lead spacecraft communicator ( CAPCOM ) in the Mission Control Center for seven missions ( STS - 27 , STS - 29 , STS - 30 , STS - 28 , STS - 34 , STS - 33 , and STS - 32 [ note that Shuttle missions are not ordered chronologically ] ) . Following his first flight , he served as the Deputy Chief of the Flight Crew Operations Space Station Support Office , as well as the lead astronaut for Space Station Safety . He was also a member of the team evaluating the hardware and procedures for the proposed mission to dock with the Russia n Space Station Mir . Following STS - 51 , Culbertson was Chief of the Astronaut Office Mission Support Branch ; then Chief of the Johnson Space Center Russian Projects Office . In 1994 , Culbertson was named Deputy Program Manager , Phase 1 Shuttle - Mir , and in 1995 became Manager of the Shuttle - Mir Program . He was responsible for a multi - national team which executed nine Shuttle docking missions to the Russian Space Station Mir , with seven astronauts spending 30 months cumulatively on board the Mir Station , plus all the associated science and docking hardware to ensure the success of the joint program , a precursor to the building of the joint International Space Station . Just prior to his current flight assignment , Culbertson spent one year as Deputy Program Manager for Operations of the International Space Station Program . Space flights . A veteran of three space flights , Culbertson has logged over 146 days in space . STS - 38 " Atlantis " ( November 15 – 20 , 1990 ) was a five - day mission during which the crew conducted Department of Defense operations . The mission concluded after 80 orbits of the Earth in 117 hours , 54 minutes , 28 seconds , the first Shuttle to land in Florida since 1985 . STS - 51 " Discovery " ( September 12 – 22 , 1993 ) was a ten - day mission during which the crew deployed the U . S . Advanced Communications Technology Satellite ( ACTS / TOS ) , and the Shuttle Pallet Satellite ( ORFEUS / SPAS ) carrying U . S . and German scientific experiments , including an ultraviolet spectrometer . A seven - hour EVA was also conducted to evaluate Hubble Space Telescope repair tools and methods . After the SPAS spacecraft had completed six days of free flight some 40 miles from " Discovery " , the crew completed a successful rendezvous and recovered the SPAS with the Shuttle ' s robot arm . The mission concluded with the first night landing of the Shuttle at the Kennedy Space Center . Mission duration was 158 Earth orbits in 236 hours and 11 minutes . The Expedition 3 crew launched on August 10 , 2001 aboard STS - 105 " Discovery " and docked with the International Space Station ( ISS ) on August 12 , 2001 . Culbertson lived and worked aboard the station for a total of 129 days , and was in command of the station for 117 days . He was the only American not to be on Earth during the September 11 attacks . As the International Space Station passed over the New York City area after the attacks , Culbertson took photographs of the smoke emanating from Ground Zero in lower Manhattan . He later learned that the plane that struck the Pentagon had been piloted ( at takeoff ) by his Naval Academy classmate Charles Burlingame . The Expedition 3 crew left the station on December 15 aboard STS - 108 " Endeavour " , landing at Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on December 17 , 2001 . Biography . Culbertson was born on May 15 , 1949 , in Charleston , South Carolina , but considers Holly Hill , South Carolina to be his hometown . In June 1987 , he married the former Rebecca Ellen Dora of Vincennes , Indiana . He has five children and five grandchildren . He graduated from Holly Hill High School in 1967 and received a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from the U . S . Naval Academy in 1971 . He is a member of a number of organisations , including the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics ( Senior Fellow ) , the Association of Naval Aviators , the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association , the Aviation Boatswains Mates Association , and the Association of Space Explorers . Culbertson has received numerous awards , including the Legion of Merit , the Distinguished Flying Cross , the Defense Superior Service Medal , the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal , NASA Space Flight Medal s , Navy Commendation Medal , Air Force Commendation Medal , the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal , the Humanitarian Service Medal , and various other unit and service awards . Distinguished graduate , U . S . Naval Test Pilot School . He has been awarded Honorary Doctor of Science Degrees from the College of Charleston , 1994 , and Lander University , 1999 ; he has also been awarded the Komarov Certificate for Space Flight Achievement , 1994 , the AAS Flight Achievement Award for STS - 51 , 1994 , " Aviation Week & Space Technology " 1997 Laurel for Achievement in Space , IEEE / ASME Award for Manager of the Year , 1997 , and the Space Center Rotary Club Stellar Award for 1998 .