NAME:  Stephen S. Oswald (Mr.)
       NASA Astronaut
 
BIRTHPLACE AND DATE:  Born June 30, 1951, in Seattle, Washington, but considers
Bellingham, Washington, to be his hometown.  His parents, Dr. & Mrs. Harold
Oswald, reside in Bellingham, Washington.
 
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:  Brown hair; blue eyes; 6 feet 2 inches; 205 pounds.
 
EDUCATION:  Graduated from Bellingham High School, Bellingham, Washington, in
1969; received a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from the
U.S. Naval Academy in 1973.
 
MARITAL STATUS:  Married to the former Diane K. Kalklosch of Fullerton,
California.
 
CHILDREN:  Monique Marie, April 24, 1975; Janna May, September 5, 1982; Scott
Andrew, July 31, 1986.
 
RECREATIONAL INTERESTS:  He enjoys hunting, fishing, skiing, racquetball, and
running.
 
ORGANIZATIONS:  Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the
Association of Space Explorers, and the Naval Reserve Association.
 
EXPERIENCE:  Oswald graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1973, and was
designated a naval aviator in September 1974, at Naval Air Station, Kingsville,
Texas.  Following training in the A-7 aircraft, he flew the Corsair II aboard
the USS Midway from 1975 through 1977.  In 1978, Oswald attended the U.S. Naval
Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland.  Upon graduation, he remained at
the Naval Air Test Center conducting flying qualities, performance, and
propulsion flight tests on the A-7 and F/A-18 aircraft through 1981.  Following
short tours as an F/A-18 flight instructor in Lemoore, California, and as a
catapult officer aboard the USS Coral Sea, Oswald resigned from active Navy
duty and joined Westinghouse Electric Corporation as a civilian test pilot.
During 1983 and 1984, he was involved in developmental flight testing of
various airborne weapons systems for Westinghouse, including the F-16C and B-1B
radars.  Oswald is affiliated with the U.S. Naval Reserve, currently assigned
as Commanding Officer of the Naval Space Command Reserve Unit, Dahlgren,
Virginia.  He has logged over 5,400 flight hours in 40 different aircraft.
 
NASA EXPERIENCE:  In November 1984, Oswald came to work for NASA as an
aerospace engineer and instructor pilot at Ellington Field, Houston, Texas.  He
was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in June 1985.  His technical
assignments within the Astronaut Office include serving as flight crew
representative to Kennedy Space Center; flight software testing with the
Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) in Houston, working with
Marshall Space Flight Center on Solid Rocket Booster redesign; and serving as a
spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) in the Mission Control Center during Space
Shuttle missions.
 
Recently, Oswald was the pilot on the crew of STS-42, aboard the Shuttle
Discovery, which lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on January 22,
1992.  Fifty five major experiments conducted in the International Microgravity
Laboratory-1, module were provided by investigators from eleven countries, and
represented a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines.  During 128 orbits of
the Earth, the STS-42 crew accomplished the mission's primary objective of
investigating the effects of microgravity on materials processing and life
sciences.  In this unique laboratory in space, crew members worked
around-the-clock in two shifts.  Experiments investigated the microgravity
effects on the growth of protein and semiconductor crystals.  Biological
experiments on the effects of zero gravity on plants, tissues, bacteria,
insects and human vestibular response were also conducted.  This eight-day
mission culminated in a landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on
January 30, 1992.  With the completion of his first space flight, Oswald logged
over 193 hours in space. 
 
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:  Oswald is assigned as pilot on STS-56, carrying ATLAS-2.
During this nine-day mission the crew of Endeavour will conduct atmospheric and
solar studies in order to better understand the effect of solar activity on the
Earth's climate and environment.  STS-56 is scheduled for launch in early 1993.
 
APRIL 1992