Robert D . Cabana Robert Donald Cabana is the director of NASA ' s John F . Kennedy Space Center , a NASA astronaut , and a veteran of four Space Shuttle flights . He is also a former Naval Flight Officer and Naval Aviator in the United States Marine Corps . Personal . Born January 23 , 1949 , in Minneapolis , Minnesota to Ted and Annabell Cabana , who still reside in Minneapolis . He is the older of two sons . His younger brother is Gary Cabana and he is married to the former Nancy Joan Shimer of Cortland , New York . He has three children : Jeffrey , Christopher and Sarah . Military career . After graduation from the United States Naval Academy , Cabana attended The Basic School at Marine Corps Base Quantico , Virginia , and completed Naval Flight Officer training at Naval Air Station Pensacola , Florida , in 1972 . He served as an A - 6 Intruder bombardier / navigator with squadrons in the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing ( 2nd MAW ) at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point , North Carolina , and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni , Japan . He returned to NAS Pensacola in 1975 for pilot training and was redesignated as a Naval Aviator in September 1976 . He was then assigned to the 2nd MAW at MCAS Cherry Point , where he flew A - 6 Intruders . He graduated from the United States Naval Test Pilot School in 1981 , and served at the Naval Air Test Center at NAS Patuxent River , Maryland , as the A - 6 program manager , X - 29 advanced technology demonstrator project officer , and as a test pilot for flight systems and ordnance separation testing on A - 6 Intruder and A - 4 Skyhawk series aircraft . Prior to his selection as an astronaut candidate he was serving as the Assistant Operations Officer of Marine Aircraft Group 12 at MCAS Iwakuni , Japan . Cabana retired from the Marine Corps in August 2000 in the rank of Colonel . He has logged over 7 , 000 hours in 34 different kinds of aircraft . NASA career . Selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in June 1985 , Cabana completed initial astronaut training in July 1986 , qualifying for assignment as a pilot on future Space Shuttle flight crews . His initial assignment was as the Astronaut Office Space Shuttle flight software coordinator until November 1986 . At that time he was assigned as the Deputy Chief of Aircraft Operations for the Johnson Space Center where he served for 2 - 1 / 2 years . He then served as the lead astronaut in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory ( SAIL ) where the Orbiter ' s flight software is tested prior to flight . Cabana has served as a spacecraft communicator ( CAPCOM ) in Mission Control during Space Shuttle missions , and as Chief of Astronaut Appearances . Prior to his assignment to command STS - 88 , Cabana served three years as NASA ’ s Chief of the Astronaut Office . Following STS - 88 , Cabana served as the Deputy Director of Flight Crew Operations . After joining the ISS Program in October 1999 , Cabana served as Manager for International Operations . From August 2001 to September 2002 , he served as Director , Human Space Flight Programs , Russia . As NASA ' s lead representative to the Russian Aviation and Space Agency ( Rosaviakosmos ) and its contractors , he provided oversight of all human space flight operations , logistics , and technical functions , including NASA ' s mission operations in Korolev and crew training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City , Russia . Upon his return to Houston , Cabana was assigned briefly as the Deputy Manager , International Space Station ( ISS ) Program . From November 2000 to March 2004 he served as Director , Flight Crew Operations Directorate , responsible for directing the day - to - day activities of the directorate , including the NASA Astronaut Corps and aircraft operations at Ellington Field . From October 2007 through October 2008 Cabana served as Director , John C . Stennis Space Center . In October 2008 he was reassigned as Director of the John F . Kennedy Space Center . Spaceflight experience . STS - 41 " Discovery " launched on October 6 , 1990 from the Kennedy Space Center , Florida , and landed at Edwards Air Force Base , California , on October 10 , 1990 . During 66 orbits of the Earth , the five - man crew successfully deployed the Ulysses spacecraft , starting the interplanetary probe on its four - year journey , via Jupiter , to investigate the polar regions of the Sun ; operated the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet instrument ( SSBUV ) to map atmospheric ozone levels ; activated a controlled " fire in space " experiment ( the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment , or SSCE ) ; and conducted numerous other middeck experiments involving radiation measurements , polymer membrane production , and microgravity effects on plants . STS - 53 " Discovery " launched from the Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on December 2 , 1992 . The crew of five deployed the classified Department of Defense payload DOD - 1 and then performed several Military - Man - in - Space and NASA experiments . After completing 115 orbits of the Earth in 175 hours , " Discovery " landed at Edwards Air Force Base , California , on December 9 , 1992 . STS - 65 " Columbia " launched from the Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on July 8 , 1994 , returning to Florida on July 23 , 1994 . The crew conducted the second International Microgravity Laboratory ( IML - 2 ) mission utilizing the long Spacelab module in the payload bay . The flight consisted of 82 experiments from 15 countries and six space agencies from around the world . During the record setting 15 - day flight , the crew conducted experiments which focused on materials and life sciences research in a microgravity environment paving the way for future operations and cooperation aboard International Space Station . The mission was accomplished in 236 orbits of the Earth in 353 hours and 55 minutes . STS - 88 " Endeavour " ( December 4 – 15 , 1998 ) was the first International Space Station assembly mission . During the 12 - day mission , Unity , the U . S . built node , was mated with Zarya , the Russian built Functional Cargo Block ( FGB ) . Two crewmembers performed three space walks to connect umbilicals and attach tools / hardware in the assembly and outfitting of the station . Additionally , the crew performed the initial activation and first ingress of the International Space Station preparing it for future assembly missions and full - time occupation . The crew also performed IMAX Cargo Bay Camera ( ICBC ) operations , and deployed two satellites , Mighty Sat 1 built by the U . S . Air Force ' s Phillips Laboratory , and SAC - A , the first successful launch of an Argentine satellite . The mission was accomplished in 185 orbits of the Earth in 283 hours and 18 minutes . Cabana has logged over 1 , 010 hours in space .