Alan G. Poindexter

Alan G. Poindexter (November 5, 1961 – July 1, 2012) was a United States Navy Captain and NASA astronaut. He earned a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1984 and an M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1991. Selected as a NASA astronaut in 1998 (NASA Astronaut Group 17), Poindexter completed two space shuttle missions: STS-122 (Discovery) in 2008, delivering the European Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station, and STS-131 (Discovery) in 2010, delivering supplies and a new ammonia tank to the ISS. Over his career he logged 27 days, 21 hours, 35 minutes, and 59 seconds in space, performed no EVAs, and received multiple military and NASA awards. After retiring from NASA, he returned to the Navy as a test pilot. He died in a private aircraft crash near San Diego, California, on July 1, 2012.