Robert F. Overmyer
American test pilot and astronaut
Died when: 59 years 252 days (716 months)Star Sign: Cancer
Colonel Robert Franklyn "Bob" Overmyer (July 14, 1936 – March 22, 1996) was an American test pilot, naval aviator, aeronautical engineer, physicist, United States Marine Corps officer, and USAF/NASA astronaut.
Overmyer was selected by the Air Force as an astronaut for its Manned Orbiting Laboratory in 1966.Upon cancellation of the program in 1969, he became a NASA astronaut and served support crew duties for the Apollo program, Skylab program, and Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
In 1976, he was assigned to the Space Shuttle program and flew as pilot on STS-5 in 1982 and as commander on STS-51-B in 1985.
He was selected as a lead investigator into the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, retiring from NASA that same year.
A decade later, Overmyer died while testing the Cirrus VK-30 homebuilt aircraft.
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