NAME:  Frank L. Culbertson, Jr. (Commander, USN)
      NASA Astronaut
 
BIRTHPLACE AND DATE:  Born May 15, 1949, in Charleston, South Carolina, but
considers Holly Hill to be his hometown.  His parents, Dr. and Mrs. Frank
Culbertson, Sr., reside in Holly Hill, South Carolina.
 
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:  Blond hair; blue eyes; 5 feet 7 inches; 138 pounds.
 
EDUCATION:  Graduated from Holly Hill High School, Holly Hill, South Carolina,
in 1967;  received a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from
the U.S. Naval Academy in 1971.
 
MARITAL STATUS:  Married, June 1987, to the former Rebecca Ellen Dora of
Vincennes, Indiana.  Her mother, Mrs. Avanelle Vincent Dora, resides in
Vincennes, Indiana.  Her father, Mr. Robert E. Dora, is deceased.
 
CHILDREN:  Wendy Nicole, February 18, 1976;  Amanda Walters, August 30, 1979;
Ashley Elizabeth, September 18, 1981; Frank Lee, III, August 28, 1990.
 
RECREATIONAL INTERESTS:  He enjoys flying, bicycling, tennis, racquetball,
squash, running, camping, photography, music, and water sports.  Member of
varsity rowing and wrestling teams at USNA.
 
ORGANIZATIONS:  Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics, the Association of Naval Aviators, Aircraft Owners & Pilots
Association, the U.S. Naval Institute, the Aviation Boatswains Mate's
Association, and the Association of Space Explorers.
 
SPECIAL HONORS:  Awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, NASA Space Flight
Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Navy Unit
Commendation, 3 Meritorious Unit Commendations, the Armed Forces Expeditionary
Medal, the Humanitarian Services Medal, and various other unit and service
awards.  Distinguished graduate, U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.
 
EXPERIENCE:  Culbertson graduated from Annapolis in 1971 and served aboard USS
Fox (CG-33) in the Gulf of Tonkin for six months prior to reporting to flight
training in Pensacola, Florida.  After designation as a Naval Aviator at
Beeville, Texas, in May 1973, he received training as an F-4 Phantom pilot at
VF-121, NAS Miramar, California.  From March 1974 to May 1976, he was assigned
to VF-151 aboard USS Midway (CV-41), permanently homeported in Yokosuka,
Japan.  He subsequently was assigned as an exchange pilot with the USAF at Luke
Air Force Base, Arizona, where he served as Weapons and Tactics Instructor
flying F-4C's with the 426th TFTS until September 1978.  Culbertson then served
as the Catapult and Arresting Gear Officer for USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)
until May 1981 when he was selected to attend the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School,
 Patuxent River, Maryland.  Following graduation in June 1982, he was assigned
to the Carrier Systems Branch of the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate where he
served as Program Manager for all F-4 testing and as a test pilot for automatic
carrier landing system tests in the F-4S, and carrier suitability in the F-4S
and the OV-10A.  He was engaged in fleet replacement training in the F-14A
Tomcat at VF-101, NAS Oceana, Virginia, from January 1984 until his selection
for the astronaut candidate program.
 
He has logged over 4,000 hours flying time in 40 different types of aircraft,
and 350 carrier landings.
 
NASA EXPERIENCE:  Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in May 1984,
Culbertson completed basic astronaut training in June 1985 when he qualified
for assignment as a pilot on future Space Shuttle flight crews.  His first
technical assignment was as a member of the team that redesigned and tested the
Shuttle nosewheel steering, tires, and brakes, to provide more safety margin
during landing rollout.  Culbertson was a member of the launch support team at
Kennedy Space Center for Shuttle flights 61-A, 61-B, 61-C, and 51-L, and
participated in the preparations for the proposed launch at Vandenberg Air
Force Base, California, in 1986.  Following the Challenger accident, he worked
at the NASA Headquarters Action Center in Washington, D.C., assisting with the
investigations conducted by NASA, the Presidential Commission, and the
Congress.  He was then assigned as lead astronaut at the Shuttle Avionics
Integration Laboratory (SAIL) and was involved in the checkout verification of
the computer software and hardware interfaces for STS-26 and subsequent
flights.  He was a member of the Emergency Egress Team, which conducts periodic
tests of improvements to the Shuttle ground egress systems, and also served as
a member of the Astronaut Office Safety Branch.  Culbertson's assignment, when
named to the STS-38 crew, was as the lead Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM) in the
Mission Control Center.  His duties included communications with the Shuttle
crew during ascent and entry and during simulations, and he was on the panel
which dealt with procedural problems and flight technique issues between
missions.  He was a CAPCOM for STS-27, 29, 30, 28, 34, 33, and 32.
 
More recently, Culbertson was the pilot on STS-38.  The five man crew launched
at night from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on November 15, 1990.  During
the five day mission crew members conducted Department of Defense operations.
After 80 orbits of the earth, in the first Shuttle recovery in Florida since
1985, Space Shuttle Atlantis and her crew landed back at the Kennedy Space
Center on November 20, 1990.  With the completion of his first space flight,
Commander Culbertson has logged 117 hours in space.
 
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:  Culbertson is currently the acting Deputy Chief of the
Flight Crew Operations Space Station Support Office as well as the lead
astronaut for Space Station Safety.  He supervises the engineers and astronauts
evaluating the design, safety, and operational capabilities of Space Station
Freedom.  Captain Culbertson has recently been selected to command STS-51,
scheduled to launch in February 1993.  The crew of five aboard the Shuttle
Discovery will deploy the U.S. Advanced Communications Technology Satellite
(ACTS) and will also deploy the Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS) with a joint
German and NASA scientific payload aboard.  The SPAS will be retrieved prior to
the end of the nine-day mission.
 
APRIL 1992