NAME:  G. David Low
       NASA Astronaut
 
BIRTHPLACE AND DATE:  Born February 19, 1956, in Cleveland, Ohio.  His mother,
Mrs. Mary Ruth Low, resides in Potomac, Maryland.  His father, Mr. George M.
Low, is deceased.
 
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:  Brown hair; brown eyes; 5 feet 9 inches; 145 pounds.
 
EDUCATION:  Graduated from Langley High School, McLean, Virginia, in 1974;
received a bachelor of science degree in physics-engineering from Washington &
Lee University in 1978, a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering
from Cornell University in 1980, and a master of science degree in aeronautics
& astronautics from Stanford University in 1983.
 
MARITAL STATUS:  Single.
 
RECREATIONAL INTERESTS:  He enjoys tennis, squash, scuba diving, and running.
 
ORGANIZATIONS:  Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics; member of Omicron Delta Kappa.
 
SPECIAL HONORS:  Recipient of two NASA Space Flight Medals (1990, 1991), and
the NASA Exceptional Service Medal (1991).
 
EXPERIENCE:  Low worked in the Spacecraft Systems Engineering Section of the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, from March 1980
until June 1984.  During that time he was involved in the preliminary planning
of several planetary missions, an Autonomous Spacecraft Maintenance study, and
the systems engineering design of the Galileo spacecraft.  Following a one-year
leave to pursue graduate studies.  Low returned to JPL where he was the
principal spacecraft systems engineer for the Mars Geoscience/Climatology
Observer Project.
 
NASA EXPERIENCE:  Selected by NASA in May 1984, Low became an astronaut in June
1985.  He is qualified for assignment as a mission specialist on future Space
Shuttle flight crews.  He has held a variety of technical assignments including
work on the Remote Manipulator System (RMS), on Extravehicular Activity (EVA),
and Orbiter test and checkout tasks at the Kennedy Space Center.  Low served as
a Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM) in the Mission Control Center during STS
Missions 26, 27, 29 and 30.  He also served as the lead astronaut in the
Man-Systems Group and Station Operations Group of the Space Station Support
Office.  A veteran of two space flights, Low flew on STS-32 in 1990 and STS-43
in 1991.
 
On his first mission, Low was a crew member on STS-32 which launched from the
Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on January 9, 1990.  In the longest Shuttle
mission to date, the crew on board the Orbiter Columbia successfully deployed
the SYNCOM IV-5 satellite, and retrieved the 21,400 lb Long Duration Exposure
Facility (LDEF) using the (RMS).  They also operated a variety of middeck
experiments including the Microgravity Disturbance Experiment (MDE) using the
Fluids Experiment Apparatus (FEA), Protein Crystal Growth (PCG), American
Flight Echocardiograph (AFE), Latitude/Longitude Locator (L3), Mesoscale
Lightning Experiment (MLE), Characterization of Neurospora Circadian Rhythms
(CNCR), and the IMAX Camera.  Additionally, numerous medical test objectives,
including inflight Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP), inflight aerobic
exercise and muscle performance were conducted to evaluate human adaptation to
extended duration missions.  Following 173 orbits of the earth in 261 hours,
Columbia returned with a night landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California,
on January 20, 1990.
 
More recently, he  served on the crew of STS-43 on board the Orbiter Atlantis.
The nine-day mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on August
2, 1991.  During the flight, crew members deployed the fifth Tracking and Data
Relay Satellite (TDRS-E), in addition to conducting 32 physical, material, and
life science experiments, mostly relating to the Extended Duration Orbiter and
Space Station Freedom.  After 142 orbits of the Earth in 213 hours, the mission
concluded with a landing on Runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center on August 11,
1991.
 
With the completion of his second flight, Low logged over 474 hours in space.
 
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:  Low is assigned as the payload commander on STS-57, which
will carry the commercial middeck augmentation module called SPACEHAB and
retrieve the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA).  STS-57 is scheduled for
launch in mid-1993.
 
APRIL 1992