Quick Facts
Biography
Loren James Shriver (born September 23, 1944) is a former NASA astronaut, aviator, and a retired US Air Force Colonel.
Career
Shriver currently holds the position of Deputy Director for Launch and Payload Processing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Before taking this position in 1997, he served as the Space Shuttle program Manager for Launch Integration.
Shriver was commissioned in 1967, and served from 1969 to 1973 as a T-38 academic instructor pilot at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. In 1973 he was then assigned to an overseas tour in Thailand. Beginning in 1975, he attended the United States Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. He was later assigned to the 6512th Test Squadron, and in 1976, he began serving as a test pilot for the F-15 Joint Test Force.
Shriver was selected as an astronaut by NASA in January 1978, participated in three space flights, and logged over 386 hours in space. He was pilot of STS-51-C, launched from Kennedy Space Center on January 24, 1985. He commanded a crew of five on his second mission, STS-31 which launched on April 24, 1990. This five-day flight deployed the Hubble Space Telescope. He also commanded mission STS-46 in 1992.
Unveiled on October 27, 2016, Col. Shriver's image along with Lt. Col. Dwight Eisenhower and Capt. Darrell Lindsey were featured on Greene County's Freedom Rock which is located in front of the grain elevator in Jefferson. His image was painted by Ray "Bubba" Sorensen of Greenfield.
Personal
Shriver was born in Jefferson, Iowa and is a native of nearby Paton. He and his wife, Susan Diane, have three daughters, Camilla, Melinda, and Rebecca, and one son, Jered. They reside in Estes Park, Colorado.
Education
Shriver received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy in 1967, and a Master of Science degree in Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University in 1968.
Awards and honors
- United States Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross
- Defense Superior Service Medal
- Defense Meritorious Service Medal
- Meritorious Service Medal
- Air Force Commendation Medal
- NASA Distinguished Service Medal
- NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal
- NASA Space Flight Medals
- American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Award, 1990
- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Haley Space Flight Award, 1990
- Astronaut Hall of Fame, May 2008.