Alan G . Poindexter Alan Goodwin " Dex " Poindexter ( November 5 , 1961 – July 1 , 2012 ) was an American naval officer and a NASA astronaut . Personal . Poindexter was born to John Poindexter in Pasadena , California , and grew up in Rockville , Maryland , which he considered to be his hometown . He was married to the former Lisa A . Pfeiffer of Gulf Breeze , Florida . They had two children . His recreational interests included motorcycling , running , weight lifting , water skiing , boating , hunting and fishing . Education . Poindexter attended high school at Coronado High School in Coronado , California , graduating in 1979 . He received an associate degree in engineering from Pensacola Junior College in Pensacola , Florida in 1983 , and then attended Georgia Institute of Technology , graduating with highest honors with a bachelor ' s degree of aerospace engineering in 1986 . In 1995 he received a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School . Military career . Poindexter was commissioned in the United States Navy following graduation from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1986 . After a short tour of duty at the Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel Facility , Naval Surface Weapons Center , White Oak , Maryland , Poindexter reported for flight training in Pensacola , Florida . He was designated a Naval Aviator in 1988 and reported to Fighter Squadron 124 ( VF - 124 ) , Naval Air Station Miramar , California , for transition to the F - 14 Tomcat . Following his initial training , Poindexter was assigned to Fighter Squadron 211 ( VF - 211 ) , also at Miramar , and made two deployments to the Persian Gulf during Operations Desert Storm and Southern Watch . During his second deployment in 1993 , he was selected to attend the Naval Postgraduate School / U . S . Naval Test Pilot School Cooperative Program . Following graduation in December 1995 , Poindexter was assigned as a test pilot and Project Officer at VX - 23 , the Naval Strike Aircraft Test Squadron ( NSATS ) at NAS Patuxent River , Maryland . While at NSATS , Poindexter was assigned as the lead test pilot for the F - 14 Digital Flight Control System where he logged the first carrier landing and catapult launch of an F - 14 with the upgraded flight controls . He also flew numerous high angle of attack / departure tests , weapons separation tests and carrier suitability trials . Following his tour at Patuxent River , Poindexter reported to Fighter Squadron 32 ( VF - 32 ) at NAS Oceana , Virginia , where he was serving as a department head when he was selected for astronaut training . Poindexter had more than 4 , 000 hours in over 30 aircraft types and logged over 450 carrier landings . Following his retirement from the NASA Astronaut Corps in 2010 , Poindexter returned to serve in the U . S . Navy as Dean of Students and executive director of programs at the Naval Postgraduate School . NASA career . Selected by NASA in June 1998 , he reported for training in August 1998 . Initially , Poindexter served in the Astronaut Office Shuttle Operations Branch performing duties as the lead support astronaut at Kennedy Space Center . In December 2002 , he was named as Pilot on STS - 120 mission to deliver the Harmony connecting node to the International Space Station ; an assignment which abruptly ended with the Space Shuttle " Columbia " disaster just two months later . In July 2006 , Poindexter was assigned as Pilot on the STS - 122 mission that delivered the European Space Agency ' s Columbus Laboratory to the International Space Station in February 2008 . Poindexter served as a lead CAPCOM for the STS - 125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope in May 2009 , as well as the launch CAPCOM for the STS - 127 mission in July 2009 . He was the Commander of STS - 131 , which launched in April 2010 . The mission ' s primary payload was the Multi - Purpose Logistics Module . On his retirement from NASA service in December 2010 , Peggy Whitson , Chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA ' s Johnson Space Center in Houston said that : " Dex was a well - respected leader within our office , We will miss him being part of our team and wish him the best in his new role as he continues his service to the Navy and the country . " Spaceflights . STS - 122 aboard " Atlantis " ( February 7 – 20 , 2008 ) was the 24th Space Shuttle mission to visit the International Space Station . Mission highlight was the delivery and installation of the European Space Agency ' s Columbus Laboratory . It took three spacewalks by crewmembers to prepare the Columbus Laboratory for its scientific work , and to replace an expended nitrogen tank on the Station ' s P - 1 Truss . STS - 122 was also a crew replacement mission , delivering Expedition 16 Flight Engineer , ESA Astronaut Léopold Eyharts , and returning home with Expedition 16 Flight Engineer , NASA Astronaut Daniel M . Tani . The STS - 122 mission was accomplished in 12 days , 18 hours , 21 minutes and 40 seconds , and traveled 5 , 296 , 832 statute miles in 203 Earth orbits . STS - 131 aboard " Discovery " ( April 5 – 20 , 2010 ) , a resupply mission to the International Space Station ( ISS ) , launched just before dawn from the Kennedy Space Center . Upon arrival at the station , " Discovery " ' s crew performed three spacewalks to replace an empty ammonia tank for the ISS Thermal Control System . They also transferred more than 13 , 000 pounds of hardware , supplies and equipment . Included in the transfer , were a new crew sleeping quarters , and three scientific experiment racks . On the return journey the MPLM ( Leonardo Multi - Purpose Logistics Module ) inside " Discovery " ' s payload bay was packed with more than 6 , 000 pounds of hardware , and scientific and technical research return samples . The STS - 131 mission lasted 15 days , 02 hours , 47 minutes , 10 seconds , and traveled 6 , 232 , 235 statute miles in 238 Earth orbits . Death . On July 1 , 2012 , Poindexter died due to injuries he received from a personal watercraft accident in Little Sabine Bay off Pensacola Beach , Florida . He was 50 .