Frederick D . Gregory Frederick Drew Gregory ( Colonel , USAF , Ret . ) is a former NASA astronaut and former NASA Deputy Administrator . He also served briefly as NASA Acting Administrator in early 2005 , covering the period between the departure of Sean O ' Keefe and the swearing in of Michael Griffin . Personal data . Gregory was born on January 7 , 1941 , in Washington , D . C . . His father was Francis A . Gregory , an educator who was assistant superintendent for DC Public Schools as well as the first black president of the DC Public Library Board of Trustees . His father has a public library named after him in the Ward 7 Hillcrest neighborhood of Washington , DC . His mother was Nora Drew Gregory , a lifelong educator as well as public library advocate . She was also the sister of noted African - American doctor and researcher Dr . Charles Drew . Married to the former Barbara Archer of Washington , D . C . until her death in 2008 . They had two grown children . Frederick , D . , Jr . , a government official working in the office of the Joint Chief of Staff ( DOD ) , and a graduate of Stanford University . Heather Lynn is a social worker and graduate of Sweet Briar College . He is now married to the former Annette Becke of Washington , D . C . Recreational interests include reading , boating , hiking , diving , biking and traveling . NASA experience . Gregory was selected as an astronaut in January 1978 . His technical assignments included : Astronaut Office representative at the Kennedy Space Center during initial Orbiter checkout and launch support for STS - 1 and STS - 2 ; Flight Data File Manager ; lead spacecraft communicator ( CAPCOM ) ; Chief , Operational Safety , NASA Headquarters , Washington , D . C . ; Chief , Astronaut Training ; and a member of the Orbiter Configuration Control Board and the Space Shuttle Program Control Board . A veteran of three Shuttle missions he has logged about 456 hours in space . He served as pilot on STS - 51B ( April 29 to May 6 , 1985 ) , and was the spacecraft commander on STS - 33 ( November 22 – 27 , 1989 ) , and STS - 44 ( November 24 to December 1 , 1991 ) . Gregory served at NASA Headquarters as Associate Administrator for the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance ( 1992 – 2001 ) , and was Associate Administrator for the Office of Space Flight ( 2001 – 2002 ) . On August 12 , 2002 Mr . Gregory was sworn in as NASA Deputy Administrator . From the departure of Sean O ' Keefe on February 20 , 2005 , to the swearing in of Michael D . Griffin on April 14 , 2005 , he was the NASA Acting Administrator . He returned to the post of Deputy Administrator and on September 9 , 2005 , submitted his resignation . He was replaced on November 29 , 2005 by Shana Dale . Space flight experience . STS - 51B / Spacelab - 3 launched from Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on April 29 , 1985 with Gregory serving as pilot . The crew aboard the Orbiter " Challenger " included spacecraft commander , Robert Overmyer ; mission specialists , Norman Thagard , William E . Thornton , and Don Lind ; and payload specialists , Taylor Wang and Lodewijk van den Berg . On this second flight of the laboratory developed by the European Space Agency ( ESA ) , the crew conducted a broad range of scientific experiments ranging from space physics to the suitability of animal - holding facilities . The crew also deployed the Northern Utah Satellite ( NUSAT ) . After seven days of around - the - clock scientific operations , " Challenger " and its laboratory cargo landed on the dry lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base , California , on May 6 , 1985 . Mission duration was 168 hours , 8 minutes , 47seconds . When STS - 33 launched at night , from Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on November 22 , 1989 , Gregory became the first African - American to command a space flight . On board the Orbiter " Discovery " , Gregory ’ s crew included the pilot , John Blaha , and three mission specialists , Manley ( Sonny ) Carter , Story Musgrave , and Kathryn Thornton . The mission carried Department of Defense payloads and other secondary payloads . After 79 orbits of the Earth , this five - day mission concluded on November 27 , 1989 , with a hard surface landing on Runway 04 at Edwards AFB , California . Mission duration was 120 hours , 7 minutes , 32 seconds . STS - 44 launched at night from the Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on November 24 , 1991 . During 110 orbits of the Earth , the crew successfully deployed their prime payload , the Defense Support Program ( DSP ) satellite . They worked on a variety of secondary payloads ranging from the Military Man in Space experiment designed to evaluate the ability of a space borne observer to gather information about ground troops , equipment and facilities , and also participated in extensive studies evaluating medical countermeasures to long duration space flight . The crew aboard the Orbiter " Atlantis " included the pilot Tom Henricks ; three mission specialists , Story Musgrave , Jim Voss , and Mario Runco , Jr . ; and payload specialist Tom Hennen . The mission concluded on December 1 , 1991 , with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California . Mission duration was 166 hours , 50 minutes , 42 seconds .