Sherwood C . Spring Sherwood Clark " Woody " Spring ( born September 3 , 1944 ) is a retired United States Army Colonel and former NASA astronaut . Spring is married with two children . He is the father of United States Olympian Justin Spring . Sherwood Spring has logged 165 hours in space , 12 of which were spent conducting spacewalks . Spring has also accumulated 3 , 500 hours in 25 different military and civilian aircraft ; over 1 , 500 of those hours were spent in jet aircraft . Personal data . Born September 3 , 1944 , in Hartford , Connecticut , but considers Harmony , Rhode Island , to be his hometown . He was active in the Boy Scouts of America where he achieved its second highest rank , Life Scout . Spring met his future wife , Debbie Cooper ( an elementary school physical education teacher ) , while they were both students at the University of Arizona They have two children , Sarah , an Army Captain and pediatrician stationed in San Antonio , Texas . Spring enjoys flying , scuba diving , white - water river running , skiing , and carpentry . Education . Graduated from Ponaganset High School ( North Scituate , Rhode Island ) in 1963 ; received a bachelor of science degree in General Engineering from the United States Military Academy in 1967 and a master of science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Arizona in 1974 . Graduated from the United States Naval Test Pilot School in 1976 and the Defense Systems Management College in 1989 . Organizations . Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots , Association of the United States Army , Association of Space Explorers ( ASE ) , and a lifetime member of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy . Special honors . Defense Distinguished Service Medal , Distinguished Flying Cross , 2 Bronze Star s , Meritorious Service Medal , 3 Army Commendation Medal s , 9 Air Medal s , a Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm , National Defense Service Medal , Vietnam Service Medal s , and NASA Space Flight Medal . Recipient in 1986 of two honorary doctorate degrees : Doctor of Science , and Doctor of Humane Letters . Experience . After graduation from West Point in 1967 , Spring served two tours of duty in Vietnam . The first was from 1968 to 1969 with the 101st Airborne Division . The second tour , 1970 – 1971 , came immediately after flight school , where he served as a helicopter pilot with the 1st Cavalry Division . Upon return , he received fixed wing training en route to a master ' s degree program with the University of Arizona in 1974 . After a short tour at Edwards Air Force Base , California as a flight test engineer , he attended the U . S . Naval Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River , Maryland . He then returned to the Army ' s Flight Test Facility at Edwards AFB to complete 4 years as an experimental test pilot . He has military and civilian experience in 25 types of airplanes and helicopters and has logged more than 3 , 500 hours flying time — including over 1 , 500 hours in jet aircraft . NASA career . Spring was selected as an astronaut in May 1980 . His technical assignments have included software verification at the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory and Flight Simulation Laboratory ; vehicle and satellite integration at the Kennedy Space Center , Florida , for STS - 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , and 9 ; Astronaut Office EVA ( Extra - vehicular activity ) expert ; and Space Station construction , EVA maintenance , and design . Spring served as a mission specialist on STS - 61 - B which flew November 26 , 1985 through December 3 , 1985 . During that mission he was responsible for launching three communications satellites and performed two EVAs . During the EVAs , which totaled more than 12 hours , Spring investigated Space Station construction techniques , large structure manipulation while on the end of the remote arm , and a time and motion study for comparison between Earth training and Space performance , with the EASE / ACCESS experiment . With the completion of STS - 61 - B , he has logged a total of 165 hours in space , including over 12 hours of EVA . After the Space Shuttle " Challenger " accident , Spring participated in the Kennedy Space Center Tiger Team for accident investigation , then led the Astronaut Office EVA ( Extra Vehicle Activity ) program until 1988 . Post - NASA career . Following his retirement from NASA in August 1988 , Spring spent the next five years directing the Army Space Program Office in Washington , D . C . He retired from the Army in July 1994 , and worked as a contractor on Defense and Intelligence programs in the Washington , D . C . area . He is currently a professor at the Defense Acquisition University ( DAU ) and lives in San Diego , California .