View source for Scott Altman

{{Short description|American astronaut (born 1959)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox astronaut
|name          = Scott Altman
|image         = Scott Douglas Altman.jpg
|birth_name    = Scott Douglas Altman
|birth_date    = {{birth date and age|1959|8|15}}
|birth_place   = [[Lincoln, Illinois]], U.S.
|death_date    = 
|death_place   = 
|other_names   = Scooter
|education     = [[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])<br>[[Naval Postgraduate School]] ([[Master of Science|MS]])
|type          = [[NASA astronaut]]
|rank          = [[Captain (United States O-6)|Captain]], [[United States Navy|USN]]
|time          = 51d 12h 47m
|selection     = [[NASA Astronaut Group 15|NASA Group 15 (1994)]]
|missions      = [[STS-90]]<br>[[STS-106]]<br>[[STS-109]]<br>[[STS-125]]
|insignia      = [[File:Sts-90-patch.svg|40px]] [[File:Sts-106-patch.svg|35px]] [[File:STS-109 patch.svg|30px]] [[File:STS-125 patch.svg|30px]]
|signature     = [[File:Scott Altman signature.svg|225px]]
}}
'''Scott Douglas "Scooter" Altman''' (born August 15, 1959) is a retired [[United States Navy]] [[Captain (U.S. Navy)|Captain]] and [[naval aviator]], [[engineer]], [[test pilot]] and former [[NASA]] [[astronaut]]. He is a veteran of four [[Space Shuttle]] missions. His fourth mission on [[STS-125]] was the last servicing mission to the [[Hubble Space Telescope]]. In 2018, he was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame. As of November 2022, he is the president of the Space operating group for ASRC Federal.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.asrcfederal.com/about-us/ | title=About ASRC Federal }}</ref>

==Personal life==
Altman was born in [[Lincoln, Illinois]]. He is married to the former Jill Shannon Loomer of [[Tucson, Arizona]] and has three children, the second oldest of whom graduated [[Rice University]] in [[Houston, Texas]] in May 2009.<ref>Ninety-Sixth Commencement program, Rice University, May 9, 2009</ref> He is a resident of [[Pekin, Illinois]], along with his parents, Fred and Sharon Altman. The Pekin District 108 school board voted to honor the former astronaut by naming Scott Altman Primary School in 2010.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.pjstar.com/article/20100907/NEWS/309079882/0/SEARCH |newspaper=Peoria Journal Star |title=Pekin Set to Formally Pay Tribute to Astronaut |author=Woods Harris, Sharon |date=September 7, 2010 |access-date=February 9, 2015 |archive-date=September 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924060748/https://www.pjstar.com/article/20100907/NEWS/309079882/0/SEARCH |url-status=dead }}</ref>  Scott's sister Sarah Beardsley is the publisher of [[Venus Zine]], a women's music, DIY and culture multi-media company. He is a brother of the [[Sigma Chi]] fraternity.

==Education==
* 1977: Graduated from Pekin Community High School in [[Pekin, Illinois]]
* 1981: Received a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in [[aeronautical engineering|aeronautical]] and [[astronautical engineering]] from the [[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign]], where he became a member of the [[Sigma Chi]] fraternity
* 1990: Received a [[Master of Science]] degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. [[Naval Postgraduate School]]

==Military career==
After being rejected from the United States Air Force for being too tall, Altman instead enlisted in the United States Navy. He was commissioned as an [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]] in August 1981, and received his [[Naval Aviator]] [[United States Aviator Badge|wings]] in February 1983.<ref name="interview">{{cite web|title=WATCH: Live from the Flight Deck: The F-14 Tomcat with Scott "Scooter" Altman |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_bD46Vmyac |website=Youtube |publisher=[[Intrepid Museum]] |language=en |format=video |date=May 13, 2022}}</ref> As a member of [[VF-51|Fighter Squadron 51]] at [[Marine Corps Air Station Miramar|(then) NAS Miramar]], Altman completed two deployments to the [[Pacific Ocean|Western Pacific]] and [[Indian Ocean]] flying the [[F-14 Tomcat|F-14A Tomcat]] from the [[USS Carl Vinson|USS ''Carl Vinson'']]. In August 1987, he was selected for the Naval Postgraduate School-[[United States Naval Test Pilot School|Test Pilot School]] Co-op program and graduated with Test Pilot School Class 97 in June 1990 as a Distinguished Graduate. After graduation, he spent the next two years as a [[test pilot]] working on various F-14 projects at Strike Aircraft Test Directorate NAWC AD Patuxent River Maryland. Altman then took the new [[F-14D]] on its first operational deployment with [[VFA-31|VF-31 Tomcatters]], where he served as maintenance officer and later operations officer. He was awarded the [[Air Medal]] for his role as a strike leader flying over Southern [[Iraq]] in support of [[Operation Southern Watch]]. Shortly following his return from this six-month deployment, he was selected for the NASA astronaut program. He has logged over 7,000 flight hours in more than 40 types of aircraft. During his Navy service, Altman had the callsigns "Scooter" and "D-Bear".<ref name="interview"/>

===Involvement in ''Top Gun'' film===
Altman performed many of the aerial stunts in the 1986 film ''[[Top Gun]]'', most notably in the scene where [[Tom Cruise]]'s character, [[Pete "Maverick" Mitchell|Maverick]], [[The finger|"flips the bird"]] at the enemy MiG pilot (played by [[Robert F. Willard]]).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/05/11/space.shuttle.altman/index.html?iref=mpstoryview |title=Former 'Top Gun' leads Hubble repair mission |author=John Zarrella |work=CNN |date=May 11, 2009}}</ref>

In a NASA interview prior to his 2000 spaceflight, Scott Altman commented<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tcghs.org/photo1200.htm|title=Tazewell County Photo of the Month - December 2000|website=www.tcghs.org}}</ref> on his role as an F-14 pilot involved in the filming of ''[[Top Gun]]'': {{blockquote|Well, Top Gun was a real thrill. I still remember that so vividly. The word was going around town that Hollywood was coming to Miramar, where I was stationed, and they were going to do a movie, and we were all kind of excited. My squadron had just gotten back from a seven-and-a-half-month cruise about a week and a half before, so our airplanes were at home, we were available, we weren't too highly tasked. And it turned out they picked my squadron to supply the F-14s.

Then the skipper got together and tried to pick four guys that he thought, were mature enough, I guess, to handle, you know, the capability that they were being given in working with the movie, and all the things that were required. And the director wanted to have a small cadre of people that he could work with so you develop an understanding of what the movie folks want versus what we can do and how to try and balance those two requirements.

The flying was incredible. You know, most Navy pilots don't get to buzz the tower like in the movie – if you did you could just peel your wings off and, throw 'em at the door because you probably wouldn't be flying anymore – but, since it was Hollywood, you know, they wanted the scene. I had to buzz the tower. And, of course, they wanted nine different takes – so we did it nine times!}}

==NASA career==
Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in December 1994, Altman reported to the [[Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center]] in March 1995. He completed a year of training and was initially assigned to work technical aspects of orbiter landing and roll out issues for the Astronaut Office Vehicle Systems Branch. He was the pilot on [[STS-90]] (1998) and [[STS-106]] (2000), and was the mission commander on [[STS-109]] (2002) and [[STS-125]] (2009). A veteran of four space flights, Altman has logged over 40 days in space. Altman retired from NASA in September 2010 to join ASRC Federal Research and Technology Solutions in [[Greenbelt, Maryland]].<ref name="nasabio">{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/altman_scott.pdf|title=SCOTT D. ALTMAN (CAPTAIN, USN, RET.) NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)|publisher=NASA|date=September 2010 |access-date=January 8, 2021}}</ref>

===Spaceflights===
[[STS-90]] Neurolab (April 17 to May 3, 1998). During the 16-day [[Spacelab]] flight the seven person crew aboard [[Space Shuttle]] ''Columbia'' served as both experiment subjects and operators for 26 individual life science experiments focusing on the effects of microgravity on the brain and nervous system.

[[STS-106]] ''[[Space Shuttle Atlantis|Atlantis]]'' (September 8–20, 2000). During the 12-day mission, the crew successfully prepared the [[International Space Station]] for the arrival of the first permanent crew. Additionally, he handflew two complete flyarounds of the station after undocking.

[[STS-109]] ''[[Space Shuttle Columbia|Columbia]]'' (March 1–12, 2002). STS-109 was the fourth [[Hubble Space Telescope]] (HST) servicing mission. The STS-109 crew successfully upgraded the Hubble Space Telescope leaving it with a new power unit, a new camera and new solar arrays. HST servicing and upgrade was accomplished by four crewmembers during a total of 5 EVAs in 5 consecutive days. The [[spacewalk|space walkers]] were assisted by crewmates inside Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. STS-109 orbited the Earth 165 times, and covered 3.9 million miles in over 262 hours, culminating in a night landing at [[Kennedy Space Center]], [[Florida]].

[[File:STS-125 Official Mission Portrait.jpg|thumb|right|Altman (front center) with the crew of STS-125]]
[[STS-125]] ''Atlantis'' (May 11–24, 2009). STS-125 was the fifth and final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. ''Atlantis'' carried two new instruments to the telescope, the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and the Wide Field Camera 3. The mission also replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor, six gyroscopes, and two battery unit modules to allow the telescope to continue to function at least through 2014. The crew also installed new thermal blanket insulating panels to provide improved thermal protection, and a soft-capture mechanism that would aid in the safe de-orbiting of the telescope by an uncrewed spacecraft at the end of its operational lifespan. The mission also carried an IMAX camera and the crew documented the progress of the mission for an upcoming IMAX film.

==Organizations==
* University of Illinois Alumni Association
* Sigma Chi Alumni Association
* Association of Naval Aviation life member
* Military Order of the World Wars

==Awards and honors==
* [[Defense Superior Service Medal]]
* [[Legion of Merit]]
* [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]]
* [[Defense Meritorious Service Medal]]
* [[Air Medal|Navy Strike/Flight Air Medal]]
* [[Navy Commendation Medal]]
* [[Navy Achievement Medal]]
* [[NASA Distinguished Service Medal]]
* 1987 Award winner for Outstanding Achievement in Tactical Aviation as selected by the Association of Naval Aviation.
* [[United States Astronaut Hall of Fame]] - 2018<ref>{{cite web |title=Two Space Explorers Inducted into U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame |url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/two-space-explorers-inducted-into-us-astronaut-hall-of-fame |website=NASA |accessdate=27 March 2019 |date=26 April 2018}}</ref>
* Awarded the [[Order of Lincoln]], Illinois' highest honor, on November 6, 2021, at the awards presentation.<ref>{{Cite web|last=The Lincoln Academy of Illinois|title=57th Laureate Convocation - Chicago History Museum|url=https://thelincolnacademyofillinois.org/gov-pritzker-announces-2021-recipients-of-the-order-of-lincoln/|website=|date=September 21, 2021|access-date=December 6, 2021|archive-date=May 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525192956/https://thelincolnacademyofillinois.org/gov-pritzker-announces-2021-recipients-of-the-order-of-lincoln/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==References==
{{Include-NASA}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
* {{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/altman_scott.pdf|title=SCOTT D. ALTMAN (CAPTAIN, USN, RET.) NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)|publisher=NASA|date=September 2010 |access-date=January 8, 2021}}
* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/altman_scott.htm Spacefacts biography of Scott Altman]
* {{IMDb name|id=0022931}}

{{NASA Astronaut Group 15|state=expanded}}
{{U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altman, Scott}}
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:United States Navy astronauts]]
[[Category:People from Pekin, Illinois]]
[[Category:Grainger College of Engineering alumni]]
[[Category:Naval Postgraduate School alumni]]
[[Category:United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni]]
[[Category:United States Navy officers]]
[[Category:United States Naval Aviators]]
[[Category:American test pilots]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Air Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal]]
[[Category:People from Lincoln, Illinois]]
[[Category:United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Space Shuttle program astronauts]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Illinois]]