Fact Sheets

• The U.S. Army has always been involved with the space program.  In fact, an Army rocket carried the first U.S. astronaut into space, and an Army team was responsible for the launch of Explorer, the first U.S. satellite.
• The U.S. Army detachment at NASA currently has four active duty Soldier astronauts and one Army astronaut candidate.
  • Army Astronauts: Col. T.J. Creamer (Detachment Commander), Col. Doug Wheelock, Col. Tim Kopra and Lt. Col. Shane Kimbrough
  • Army Astronaut Candidate: Lt. Col. Mark Vande Hei
• The Army is the only military service routinely providing engineers directly to NASA
• In NASA history, there have been 14 Army astronauts and one Army payload specialist
• All four current Army astronauts credit the Army for providing them with the education, discipline, leadership and training needed to achieve their goal of becoming astronauts
• Col. T.J. Creamer
  • Creamer is scheduled to launch aboard the Russian Soyuz space capsule for his first mission in December 2009 to the International Space Station
  • Currently serves as the commander of the Army detachment at NASA
  • Selected by NASA as an astronaut in 1998
  • Bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Loyola College where he went to school on an Army Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship
  • Master’s degree in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  • Served as an Army aviator
  • Hometown: Upper Marlboro, Md.
• Col. Doug Wheelock
  • In 2010, he will be the first active duty Soldier to command the International Space Station
  • Wheelock went to the International Space Station in 2007
  • Selected by NASA as an astronaut in 1998
  • Bachelor’s degree in applied science and engineering from United States Military Academy at West Point
  • Master’s degree in aerospace engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Served as an Army aviator
  • Hometown: Windsor, N.Y.
• Col. Tim Kopra
  • Kopra traveled to space aboard the space shuttle Endeavour for his first mission in July 2009 as part of the International Space Station Expedition 20 crew
  • Selected by NASA as an astronaut in 2000
  • Bachelor’s degree in science from United States Military Academy at West Point
  • Master’s degree in aerospace engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Served in Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield
  • Hometown: Austin, Texas
• Lt. Col. Shane Kimbrough
  • Kimbrough went to space in 2008 on a mission to the International Space Station
  • Selected by NASA as an astronaut in 2004
  • Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from United States Military Academy at West Point
  • Master’s degree in operations research from Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Served as a platoon leader in Operation Desert Storm
  • Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.

Not many people know that U.S. Army astronauts are playing an integral role in the future of our nation’s space program and are pioneers in space history. In fact, the Army is the only military service routinely providing engineers directly to NASA.

The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command detachment at NASA, which currently has four active duty soldier astronauts and four space operations officers, has always been involved with the space program.   An Army rocket carried the first U.S. astronaut into space, and an Army team was responsible for the launch of Explorer, the first U.S. satellite.

All of the U.S. Army astronauts credit the Army with providing them education, training, and aviation opportunities that helped them fulfill their dreams of becoming an astronaut. 

Col. T.J. Creamer, who currently serves as the Army detachment commander at NASA, is scheduled to launch aboard the Russian Soyuz space capsule for his first mission in December 2009 as part of the International Space Station Expedition 22 crew.

Col. Doug Wheelock, who first traveled to the International Space Station in 2007, will be the first active duty soldier to command the International Space Station in 2010.

Col. Tim Kopra, who was commissioned into the Army after graduating from West Point, traveled to space aboard the space shuttle Endeavour for his first mission in July 2009 as part of the first six-person crew to travel to the International Space Station. Kopra’s fellow Army astronaut, Lt. Col. Shane Kimbrough, helped to expand the space station to accommodate the six-person crew in 2008.

Lt. Col. Shane Kimbrough, who received his degree in aerospace engineering from West Point, went to the International Space Station in 2008 to expand the station to accommodate a six-member crew.  Kimbrough’s fellow Army astronaut, Col. Tim Kopra, will arrive in June 2009 as part of the first six-member space station crew.