Vance D. Brand
Vance Brand was the command module pilot for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975 and the commander of three shuttle missions. Over the course of his career, Brand logged 746 hours in space. He retired from NASA in January 2008.
Quick Facts
In 1966, Vance Brand was selected as part of NASA’s fifth group of astronauts.
Brand received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1975 and 1992.
Brand was one of the capsule communicators (CAPCOMs) for the Apollo 13 mission.
Biography
Vance D. Brand
Vance Brand, selected as an astronaut candidate in 1966, is a veteran of four space flights. After leaving the Astronaut Office in 1992, Brand held various administrative positions at NASA.
Brand was an aviator in the US Marine Corps, an aeronautical engineer, and a test pilot before NASA selected him for the astronaut corps in 1966. He served as the command module pilot for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project and commanded three shuttle missions, including STS-5, the first operational mission of the Space Shuttle program.
Read His Biography about Vance D. Brand
Missions
Vance Brand flew on four space flights between 1975 and 1990.
The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
Designed to test the compatibility of rendezvous and docking systems, the nine-day Apollo-Soyuz mission brought together two former spaceflight rivals: the United States and the Soviet Union.
STS-5
The first operational mission of the Space Shuttle, which deployed two commercial satellites launched on November 11, 1982,
STS-41B
On this mission in 1984, the first untethered space walks were carried out by McCandless and Stewart, using the manned maneuvering unit.
STS-35
STS-35, launched in December 1990, was devoted to astronomical observations with ASTRO-1, a Spacelab observatory consisting of four telescopes.
