Kevin P . Chilton Kevin Patrick " Chilli " Chilton ( born November 3 , 1954 ) , is a former United States Air Force four - star General . His last assignment was as Commander , U . S . Strategic Command from October 3 , 2007 to January 28 , 2011 . Prior to his appointment to general officer ranks , Chilton spent 11 years of his military career as a NASA astronaut . He retired from the Air Force on February 1 , 2011 , after having achieved the highest rank of any military astronaut . On January 30 , 2012 , General Chilton was named to the board of directors of Orbital Sciences Corporation . Early life . Born in Los Angeles , California , he graduated from St . Bernard High School , Playa del Rey , California , in 1972 . He received a bachelor of science in engineering sciences from the United States Air Force Academy in 1976 , and an master of science in mechanical engineering from Columbia University on a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1977 . Early Air Force career . Chilton received his commission from the U . S . Air Force Academy in 1976 . After receiving his pilot wings at Williams Air Force Base , Arizona in 1978 , he qualified in the RF - 4C Phantom II and was assigned to the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Kadena Air Base , Japan . From 1978 until 1980 , he served as a combat - ready pilot and instructor pilot in the RF - 4C in Korea , Japan and the Philippines . In 1981 , he converted to the F - 15 Eagle and was assigned to the 67th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Kadena Air Base , as a squadron pilot . In 1982 , Chilton attended the USAF Squadron Officer School at Maxwell Air Force Base , Alabama , and finished as the number one graduate for the year , receiving the Secretary of the Air Force Leadership Award . Subsequently assigned to the 9th and 7th Tactical Fighter Squadron s at Holloman AFB , New Mexico , Chilton served as an F - 15 squadron weapons officer , instructor pilot , and flight commander until 1984 when selected for the U . S . Air Force Test Pilot School . He graduated number one in his class to win the Liethen - Tittle Award , as the outstanding test pilot at the school . Chilton was assigned to Eglin Air Force Base , Florida , where he conducted weapons and systems tests in all models of the F - 15 and F - 4 aircraft . While a member of the 3247th Test Squadron , Chilton served as squadron safety officer , as chief of test and evaluation , and as squadron operations officer . NASA career . In August 1987 Chilton was assigned to NASA and became an astronaut in August 1988 , qualifying for assignment as a pilot on Space Shuttle flight crews . Chilton held a variety of technical assignments . He served in the Mission Development Branch of the Astronaut Office in support of the Infrared Background Signature Survey ( IBSS ) satellite , and the Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle ( OMV ) programs . He was the Astronaut Office T - 38 Talon safety officer , leader of the Astronaut Support Personnel team at the Kennedy Space Center , and was lead spacecraft communicator ( CAPCOM ) for numerous Shuttle flights . Chilton also served as Deputy Program Manager for the early International Space Station program . A veteran of three space flights , Chilton logged more than 704 hours in space . He was the pilot on STS - 49 for the maiden voyage of Space Shuttle " Endeavour " ( May 7 - May 16 , 1992 ) , and STS - 59 on the Space Radar Laboratory ( SRL ) mission ( April 9 - April 20 , 1994 ) . He commanded STS - 76 on the third docking mission to the Russia n space station Mir in 1996 . An accomplished guitarist , Chilton spent a portion of his spare time hammering out riffs on a Fender Stratocaster while jamming with the all astronanut band , " Max Q " . Awards and honors . Kevin Chilton was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame on May 5 , 2012 in a ceremony that took place at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex . Air Force career resumed . Chilton left NASA in 1998 to become Deputy Director , Political Military Affairs for Asia , Pacific , and the Middle East on the Joint Staff . His first military command was the 9th Reconnaissance Wing ( 9 RW ) at Beale AFB , California , from May 1999 to September 2000 . In August 2004 , Chilton assumed the dual duties of Commander , Eighth Air Force ( 8 AF ) and Commander , Joint Functional Component Command for Space and Global Strike ( JFCC SGS ) at Barksdale AFB , Louisiana . In April 2006 , Chilton was nominated to become the Commander of the Air Force Space Command ( AFSPC ) at Peterson AFB , Colorado . On June 26 , 2006 , he received his fourth star and assumed command of Air Force Space Command . Chilton then took command of the United States Strategic Command in October 2007 , his last assignment before retiring . General Chilton is the only former astronaut to achieve four - star grade . Lieutenant General Tom Stafford , Vice Admiral Dick Truly and Lieutenant General Susan Helms have attained the rank of three stars .