Vance Brand

Vance Brand is an American astronaut who was born on May 9, 1931 in Colorado. Before he became an astronaut, Brand was a pilot for the Marines and Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.

Brand became an astronaut in 1966. He has made four spaceflights spending over 746 hours in space.

In 1975, Brand was part of the first international mission, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Soviet and American astronauts met in space after an Apollo craft docked with a Soyuz craft.

In 1982, Brand was the commander of the first operational flight of the Space Shuttle. In 1984, Brand commanded Mission 41-B in which two satellites were deployed. Brand's last flight into space occurred in 1990. During this mission, the crew operated several telescopes for deep-space research.


You might also be interested in:

Ready, Set, SCIENCE!: Putting Research to Work in K-8 Science Classrooms

What types of instructional experiences help K-8 students learn science with understanding? What do science educators teachers, teacher leaders, science specialists, professional development staff, curriculum designers, school administrators need to know to create and support such experiences?...more

Andrew Allen

Andrew Allen is an American astronaut who was born on August 4, 1955 in Pennsylvania. Before he became an astronauts, Allen was a Navy and Marines pilot. He has logged over 4500 flight hours on more than...more

Jay Apt

Jay Apt is an American astronaut who was born on April 28, 1949 in Massachusetts. Before he became an astronaut, Apt was a physicist who worked on the Venus space probe project. Apt joined NASA in 198...more

Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong is an American astronaut who was born in Ohio in 1930. Before entering the space program, he was a pilot for the U.S. Navy and Air Force, flying over 200 different kinds of aircraft, such...more

Ellen Baker

Ellen Baker is an American astronaut who was born on April 27, 1953 in North Carolina. Before she became an astronaut she was a geologist and a medical doctor. Baker joined NASA as a medical officer in...more

Michael Baker

Michael Baker is an American astronaut who was born on October 27, 1953 in Tennessee. Before he became an astronaut, Baker was a Navy pilot. He logged over 5000 hours of flight time aboard 50 different...more

John Blaha

John Blaha is an American astronaut who was born on August 26, 1942 in Texas. Before he became an astronaut, Blaha was an Air Force pilot. He has flown over 5500 hours in 33 different types of aircraft....more

Guion Bluford

Guion Bluford is an American astronaut who was born on November 22, 1942 in Pennsylvania. Before he became an astronaut, Bluford was a pilot for the Air Force. He flew over 4800 hours on several different...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA