Dale A. Gardner
| Dale A. Gardner | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| NASA Astronaut | |
| Born |
November 8, 1948 Fairmont, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | February 19, 2014 (aged 65) Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. |
|
Other names
|
Dale Allan Gardner |
|
Other occupation
|
Naval Flight Officer |
| UIUC, B.S. 1970 | |
| Rank | Captain, USN |
|
Time in space
|
14d 00h 52m |
| Selection | 1978 NASA Group 8 |
|
Total EVAs
|
2 |
|
Total EVA time
|
12 hours 14 minutes |
| Missions | STS-8, STS-51-A |
|
Mission insignia
|
 
|
| Retirement | October 1986 |
| Awards |
Defense Superior Service Medal (3) NASA Space Flight Medal (2) Distinguished Flying Cross Meritorious Unit Commendation Humanitarian Service Medal Sea Service Deployment Ribbon Master Space Badge Lloyd's of London Meritorious Service Medal |
Dale Allan Gardner (November 8, 1948 – February 19, 2014) was a NASA astronaut who flew two Space Shuttle missions during the early 1980s.
Born November 8, 1948, in Fairmont, Minnesota, Gardner grew up in Sherburn, Minnesota, and Savanna, Illinois. He considered his hometown to be Clinton, Iowa, where his mother, Mrs. Alice Gardner, resides. He lived with his second wife Sherry in Golden, Colorado and later in Divide, Colorado until his death. Gardner is also survived by his daughter Lisa Gardner-Hoefler, grandchild Isabella Hoefler and his sisters Peggy Janka and Kay Zipse. His father William and son Todd predeceased him. An avid sports enthusiast, he enjoyed snow skiing, golfing, tennis, woodworking and photography.
Gardner graduated as valedictorian of his class from Savanna Community High School, in Savanna, Illinois, in 1966. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1970.
Upon graduation from the University of Illinois in 1970, Gardner entered into active duty with the United States Navy and was assigned to the Aviation Officer Candidate School at Pensacola, Florida. He was commissioned an Ensign and was selected as the most promising naval officer from his class. In October 1970 he began Basic Naval Flight Officer training with the VT-10 squadron at Pensacola, graduating with the highest academic average ever achieved in the history of the squadron. He proceeded to the Naval Air Technical Training Center at NAS Glynco, Georgia, for Advanced Naval Flight Officer training and was selected a Distinguished Naval Graduate and awarded his Naval Flight Officer wings on May 5, 1971. At the Naval Air Test Center at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, from May 1971 to July 1973, he was assigned to the Weapons Systems Test Division and involved in initial F-14 Tomcat developmental test and evaluation as Project Officer for Inertial Navigation and Avionics Systems. Gardner's next assignment was with the first operational F-14 squadron (VF-1) at Naval Air Station Miramar, California, from where he flew in the Tomcat and participated in two Western Pacific and Indian Ocean cruises while deployed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. From December 1976 until July 1978, he was assigned to Test and Evaluation Squadron 4 (VX-4) aboard NAS Point Mugu, California, involved in the operational test and evaluation of Navy fighter aircraft.
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