View source for Eric Boe

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{short description|American astronaut}}
{{Infobox astronaut
|name          = Eric Boe
|image         = Eric Boe in 2018.jpg
|birth_name    = Eric Allen Boe
|birth_date    = {{birth date and age|1964|10|1}}
|birth_place   = [[Miami]], [[Florida]], U.S.
|death_date    =
|death_place   =
|education     = [[United States Air Force Academy]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])<br>[[Georgia Institute of Technology]] ([[Master of Science|MS]])
|type          = [[NASA astronaut]]
|rank          = [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]], [[United States Air Force|USAF]]
|time          = 28d 15h 34m<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spacefacts.de/english/e_tis.htm |title=Astronauts and Cosmonauts (sorted by "Time in Space") |website=www.spacefacts.de}}</ref>
|selection     = [[NASA Astronaut Group 18|NASA Group 18 (2000)]]
|missions      = [[STS-126]]<br>[[STS-133]]
|insignia      = [[File:STS-126 patch.png|40px]] [[File:STS-133 patch.png|50px]]
}}
'''Eric Allen Boe''' (born October 1, 1964) is a retired [[United States Air Force]] [[fighter pilot]], [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]], [[test pilot]], and a current, active [[NASA]] [[astronaut]]. He flew as the pilot of [[Space Shuttle]] missions [[STS-126]] and [[STS-133]].
==Early life and education==
Boe was born in [[Miami, Florida]], and grew up in [[Atlanta, Georgia]]. He graduated from Henderson High School, [[Chamblee, Georgia]], in 1983. He was a cadet in the [[Georgia Wing Civil Air Patrol|Georgia Wing]] of the [[Civil Air Patrol]]. While a cadet, Eric Boe earned the [[Awards and decorations of the Civil Air Patrol#General Carl A. Spaatz Award|General Carl A Spaatz Award]], the highest award given to Civil Air Patrol cadets. Boe is still a senior member in the [[Texas Wing Civil Air Patrol|Texas Wing]] of the Civil Air Patrol, along with his son, who recently became a cadet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123124041 |title=Civil Air Patrol colonel to pilot Space Shuttle Endeavour |date=November 13, 2008 |access-date=November 14, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081117205029/http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123124041 |archive-date=November 17, 2008 }}</ref> He earned a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in [[Aerospace engineering|astronautical engineering]] from the [[United States Air Force Academy]] in 1987, and a [[Master of Science]] degree in [[electrical engineering]] from the [[Georgia Institute of Technology]] in 1997.  He is married to the former Kristen Newman of [[Thousand Oaks, California]], and they have two children.
==Military career==
Boe was commissioned from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1987. He completed Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) at [[Sheppard Air Force Base]], [[Texas]] in 1988. Following transition training in the [[F-4 Phantom II]], he was then assigned to the [[3d Fighter Training Squadron|3d Tactical Fighter Squadron]] at [[Clark Air Base]] in the [[Philippines]] as a combat-ready pilot in the [[F-4 Phantom II|F-4E]]. In 1991, he served as a [[T-38 Talon|T-38]] instructor pilot in the [[50th Flying Training Squadron]], and as an AT-38B instructor pilot in the [[49th Fighter Training Squadron]] at [[Columbus AFB]], [[Mississippi]]. In 1994, following transition training in the [[F-15 Eagle]] at [[Tyndall AFB]], [[Florida]], he was assigned to the [[33rd Fighter Wing]]'s [[60th Fighter Squadron]] at [[Eglin AFB]], Florida, serving as a flight commander in the F-15C. He flew 55 combat missions over Iraq in support of [[Operation Southern Watch]] after the first [[Gulf War]]. In 1997, he attended the [[USAF Test Pilot School]] at [[Edwards AFB]], [[California]]. After graduation, he was assigned as the director of test, Air-to-Air Missile Test Division, [[46th Test Wing]], Eglin AFB, where he served as a test pilot flying the A/B/C/D and E models of the F-15 and the [[UH-1N]] helicopter. He has logged over 6,000 flight hours in more than 50 different aircraft.
[[File:STS-133 ISS-26 Eric Boe works in the newly-installed PMM Leonardo.jpg|thumb|Boe working aboard the [[International Space Station]] during the STS-133 mission.]]
==NASA career==
Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in July 2000, Boe reported to the [[Johnson Space Center]] in August 2000. Following the completion of two years of training and evaluation, he was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Advanced Vehicles Branch and Station Operations Branch. His current technical assignment involves work with displays and controls for future space vehicles.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2017/02/09/astronauts-evaluate-crew-dragon-controls/ | title=NASA Selects Astronauts for First U.S. Commercial Spaceflights | author=NASA| publisher=nasa.gov|date=July 9, 2015}}</ref> He made his first trip to space as pilot of {{OV|105}} during [[STS-126]] on November 14, 2008. Boe flew his second space flight as pilot on [[STS-133]], the final scheduled flight of the Space Shuttle [[Space Shuttle Discovery|''Discovery'']] and the third-to-last flight of the [[Space Shuttle program]].
In August 2012, Boe was named [[Chief of the Astronaut Office|Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office]].
In July 2015, NASA announced Boe as one of the first astronauts for [[Commercial Crew Development|U.S. Commercial spaceflights]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-astronauts-for-first-us-commercial-spaceflights-0 | title=Astronauts Evaluate Crew Dragon Controls | author=NASA| publisher=nasa.gov|date=February 9, 2017}}</ref> Subsequently, he has started working with [[Boeing]] and [[SpaceX]] to train in their commercial crew vehicles, along with the other chosen astronauts – [[Sunita Williams]], [[Robert Behnken]] and [[Doug Hurley]]. In August 2018 he was assigned to [[Boe-CFT]], the first test flight of the Boeing [[CST-100 Starliner]].<ref name=nasacc_crew>{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-assigns-crews-to-first-test-flights-missions-on-commercial-spacecraft |title=NASA Assigns Crews to First Test Flights, Missions on Commercial Spacecraft |date=August 3, 2018 |access-date=August 4, 2018 |website=NASA}}</ref> On January 22, 2019, NASA announced that Boe was unable to fly for medical reasons and replaced him with [[Michael Fincke]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-announces-updated-crew-assignment-for-boeing-flight-test|title=NASA Announces Updated Crew Assignment for Boeing Flight Test|last=Granath|first=Bob|date=January 22, 2019|website=NASA|access-date=January 22, 2019|archive-date=January 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116002057/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-announces-updated-crew-assignment-for-boeing-flight-test/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Awards and honors==
Boe is a distinguished graduate with honors from the United States Air Force Academy, and was awarded the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Fellowship for graduate studies.
In addition to his current [[U.S. Air Force aeronautical rating]] of [[Astronaut Badge|Command Pilot/Astronaut]], his personal military decorations and service awards include:
* [[Defense Meritorious Service Medal]]
* [[Meritorious Service Medal (United States)|Meritorious Service Medal]]
* [[Air Medal]]s (2 awards)
* [[Aerial Achievement Medal]]s (5 awards)
* [[Air Force Commendation Medal]]s (3 awards)
* [[Air Force Achievement Medal]]
* [[Combat Readiness Medal]]
* [[Air Force Outstanding Unit Award]]s (3 awards)
* [[National Defense Service Medal]]s (2 awards)
* [[Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal]]
* [[War on Terrorism Service Medal]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/boe-ea_0.pdf NASA bio of Boe]
* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/boe_eric.htm Spacefacts biography of Eric A. Boe]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081202034223/http://members.gocivilairpatrol.com/news/media_center/press_releases/index.cfm/civil_air_patrol_member_to_pilot_space_shuttle_endeavour_4809 Civil Air Patrol article about Boe]
{{NASA Astronaut Group 18}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boe, Eric Allen}}
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American test pilots]]
[[Category:United States Air Force astronauts]]
[[Category:People from Miami]]
[[Category:People from Chamblee, Georgia]]
[[Category:United States Air Force Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Georgia Tech alumni]]
[[Category:U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni]]
[[Category:United States Air Force officers]]
[[Category:People of the Civil Air Patrol]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Air Medal]]
[[Category:Space Shuttle program astronauts]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States)]]