Douglas G. Hurley

Douglas Gerald Hurley (born October 21, 1966) is an American engineer, former Marine Corps pilot, and former NASA astronaut. He piloted Space Shuttle missions STS-127 (July 2009) and STS-135 (July 2011), the final flight of the Space Shuttle program. He launched into space for the third time as commander of Crew Dragon Demo-2, the first crewed spaceflight from American soil since STS-135 and became, together with Bob Behnken, the first astronaut in history launching aboard a commercial orbital spacecraft. He was also the first Marine to fly the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet. His call sign is "Chunky", and he was sometimes referred to by this name on the communication loops.

Early years and education Hurley was born on October 21, 1966, in Endicott, New York, and spent his childhood in Apalachin, New York. He graduated from the Owego Free Academy in Owego, New York in 1984 and graduated magna cum laude with honors from Tulane University, earning his Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering in 1988. He was also a distinguished graduate from both Tulane's Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) program and from USMC Officer Candidates School.

NASA career

Selected as a pilot by NASA in July 2000, Hurley reported for training in August 2000. Following the completion of two years of training and evaluation, he was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office which included Kennedy Operations Support as a "Cape Crusader," where he was the lead ASP (Astronaut Support Personnel) for Space Shuttle missions STS-107 and STS-121. He also worked shuttle landing and rollout, served on the Columbia Reconstruction Team at Kennedy Space Center and in the Exploration Branch in support of the selection of the Orion crew exploration vehicle. The mission duration was 15 days, 16 hours, 45 minutes.

After returning to Earth, he served as the Assistant Director, New Programs for the Flight Crew Operations Directorate (FCOD) at Johnson Space Center. In August 2014, he became the Assistant Director for the Commercial Crew Program following the merger of Flight Operations and Mission Operations. Subsequently, he started working with Boeing and SpaceX to train in their commercial crew vehicles, along with the other chosen astronauts Sunita Williams, Robert Behnken and Eric Boe. In August 2018, Hurley was assigned to SpaceX-DM2, the first test flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon. Following the in-flight abort test of Crew Dragon, Hurley was confirmed to be the flight's commander. Hurley and fellow crewmember Bob Behnken were humorously compared in news and social media to the fictional brothers Bob and Doug McKenzie because of their friendship when they participated in the first commercial astronaut launch on SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-2. Crew Dragon successfully launched on May 30, 2020, and successfully docked with the International Space Station on May 31, 2020. The crew joined the ISS Expedition 63 crew, which consisted of NASA astronaut and ISS commander Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Ivan Vagner and Anatoli Ivanishin. Crew Dragon undocked from the International Space Station on August 1, 2020, and successfully returned to Earth on August 2, 2020, after splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida.

Retirement from NASA On July 16, 2021, NASA announced that Hurley would be retiring from the agency after 21 years of service. In the announcement released on the NASA website, NASA administrator Bill Nelson stated, "Doug Hurley is an exceptional astronaut whose leadership and expertise have been invaluable to NASA's space program. His impact on the agency transcends his impressive work in spaceflight, inspiring us to take on bold endeavors. I extend my deepest gratitude to Doug and wish him success in his next adventure."

Honors

Hurley is a recipient of the Stephen A. Hazelrigg Memorial Award for best test pilot/engineer team, Naval Strike Aircraft Test Squadron. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals and various other service awards. He received the NASA Superior Accomplishment Award in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. On January 31, 2023, Hurley was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor for NASA's SpaceX Demonstration Mission-2 (Demo-2) to the International Space Station in 2020.

Personal life Hurley is married to fellow NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg. They have one son and live in League City, Texas.