JOHN M. GRUNSFELD

The valiant journeys of Hubble’s keeper

Born in Chicago in 1958, Grunsfeld’s youth was filled with the drama and excitement of the Space Race. In 1980 he graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in physics, followed by a doctorate in astrophysics from the University of Chicago. In his spare time Grunsfeld enjoyed mountaineering, but there was a very important place he still wished to explore - space.

In March 1992 Grunsfeld was selected by

NASA to become an astronaut. Determined to achieve his goal, he worked very hard, training until his first mission launched in March 1995. Aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour as a mission specialist, this 16-day mission saw Grunsfeld and his crewmates conduct a number of observations to study the far-ultraviolet spectra of astronomical objects. To achieve this they used the Astro 2 Observatory, a system of telescopes on board the Space Shuttle. Grunsfeld’s leadership skills impressed NASA, and he served as flight engineer on his second flight, which was aboard Atlantis in January 1997. This was the fifth flight that docked with Mir, the Russian station where US astronauts were exchanged. They also transferred supplies and conducted a number of experiments in the laboratory. In December 1999, the experienced astronaut returned to space on board Discovery on a mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Grunsfeld performed two extravehicular activities (EVAs) to install new equipment on the telescope and restore it to working order.

Grunsfeld was back in space aboard Columbia when it launched in March 2002 for another

Hubble servicing mission, except this time he served as payload commander. This placed him responsible for five EVAs, three of which he performed himself. Yet again Grunsfeld’s work helped to expand the capabilities of the vital telescope and ensure it was in top working order. In 2009 he conducted his last flight on Atlantis, where he helped renovate and install a new camera, telescope, sensor and batteries in Hubble after its 19 years in orbit.

Grunsfeld completed a total of eight spacewalks, amassing a total of more than 58 hours of EVA time and more than 58 days spent in space. Grunsfeld retired from NASA in 2009 and became deputy director of the Space Telescope Science Institute; at the same time he took up a position as professor of physics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins University. But Grunsfeld couldn’t stay away from NASA for long, and in 2012 he was appointed associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington DC, later retiring in 2016.