Daniel C. Burbank - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Daniel Christopher Burbank (born July 27, 1961) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Astronaut

An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....

and a veteran of two space shuttle

Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...

missions. Burbank, a Captain in the United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

, is the second Coast Guard astronaut after Bruce Melnick.

Burbank, born in Manchester, Connecticut

Manchester, Connecticut

Manchester is a township and city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 58,241.- History :...

, and raised in Tolland, Connecticut

Tolland, Connecticut

Tolland is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 13,146 at the 2000 census.Tolland was named in May, 1715, and incorporated in May, 1722. According to some, the town derives its name from being a toll station on the old road between Boston and New York. ...

, where he graduated from Tolland High School

Tolland High School

-Overview:In 1969 Tolland High School opened as the first all electric High School in the state of Connecticut. In it's first year there were only 3 grades 9th, 10th and 11th.Tolland High School now serves students in 9th through 12th grades...

. He attended Fairfield University

Fairfield University

Fairfield University is a private, co-educational undergraduate and master's level teaching-oriented university located in Fairfield, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942, and today is one of 28 member institutions of the...

his freshman year before transferring to the United States Coast Guard Academy

United States Coast Guard Academy

Founded in 1876, the United States Coast Guard Academy is the military academy of the United States Coast Guard. Located in New London, Connecticut, it is the smallest of the five federal service academies...

, where he earned his commission in 1985. In 1987, he went through flight training and became an instructor pilot, serving at various Coast Guard stations at Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City

Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City

Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City is a United States Coast Guard air station located at Elizabeth City Regional Airport in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, along the Pasquotank River near the opening of the Albemarle Sound...

, Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod

Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod

Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod is a United States Coast Guard air station located on Otis Air National Guard Base in Sandwich, Massachusetts. It operates from New York City to the Canadian Border...

, and Coast Guard Air Station Sitka.

Burbank is listed as a member of the astronaut band "Max Q

Max Q (Astronaut band)

Max Q is a Houston-based rock band whose members are all astronauts. It was formed in early 1987 by Robert L. Gibson, George Nelson and Brewster Shaw. Gibson named the band after "max Q," the engineering term for the maximum dynamic pressure from the atmosphere experienced by an ascending...

", and a former member of The Idlers

The Idlers

The Idlers of the United States Coast Guard Academy are an all-male collegiate a cappella ensemble specializing in the performance of sea shanties and patriotic music.-Overview:...

.

He has a master's degree in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is a private university in the US specializing in aviation and aerospace engineering. It teaches the science, practice, and business of aviation and aerospace. Called "The Harvard of the Sky" by Time Magazine in 1979, Embry-Riddle has a history dating back to...

.

He is a licensed amateur radio

Amateur radio

Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...

operator (ham) with Technician License KC5ZSX.

NASA career

Selected by NASA in April 1996, Burbank reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996. After completing two years of training and evaluation, Burbank worked technical issues for the Astronaut Office Operations Planning Branch, and the International Space Station (ISS) Branch, and served as CAPCOM (spacecraft communicator) for both Space Shuttle and ISS missions. He was also a member of the Space Shuttle Cockpit Avionics Upgrade design team. Twice flown, he served as a mission specialist on STS-106 and STS-115 logging over 23 days in space, and 7 hours and 11 minutes of EVA time. From January 2007 to December 2009 Burbank served as a Professor of Engineering at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy where he taught Astronomy, Aerodynamics, and Statics & Engineering Design. Currently he is assigned to ISS Expedition 29

Expedition 29

Expedition 29 was the 29th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station . The expedition formally began with the departure from the ISS of the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft at 00:38 UTC on on 16 September 2011...

/30, scheduled for a six-month tour of duty aboard ISS beginning September 2011.

Spaceflight experience

STS-106 Atlantis (September 8–20, 2000). During the 12-day mission, the crew successfully prepared the ISS for the arrival of the first permanent crew. The five astronauts and two cosmonauts delivered more than 6,600 pounds of supplies and installed batteries, power converters, oxygen generation equipment and a treadmill on the ISS. A space walk was performed to connect power and data cables between the newly arrived Service Module and the ISS.

STS-115 Atlantis (September 9–21, 2006) successfully restarted assembly of the ISS. During the 12-day mission, the crew delivered and installed the massive P3/P4 truss, and two sets of solar arrays that provide one quarter of the station’s electrical power. The crew also performed unprecedented robotics activity using the Shuttle and ISS robotic arms. Burbank made a E seven-hour EVA that completed P3/P4 truss installation, activated the solar alpha rotary joint and enabled the solar arrays to be deployed.

Burbank is currently aboard the ISS serving as commander of Expedition 30

Expedition 30

Expedition 30 is the 30th and current long-duration mission to the International Space Station . The expedition's first three crew members – Dan Burbank, Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoli Ivanishin – arrived on the ISS aboard Soyuz TMA-22 on 16 November 2011, during the last phase of...

, beginning in November 2011. He launched to the station along with Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov

Anton Shkaplerov

Anton Nikolaevich Shkaplerov is a Russian cosmonaut.- Personal :Shkaplerov is married to Tatyana Petrovna, and they have two daughters named Kristina and Kira. His parents, Nikolay Ivanovich Shkaplerov and Tamara Viktorovna Shkaplerova, live in Sevastopol...

and Anatoli Ivanishin

Anatoli Ivanishin

Anatoli Alekseyevich Ivanishin is a Russian cosmonaut. His first visit to the space was on board the Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft launched on 14 November 2011.- Personal :Ivanishin is married to Svetlana Ivanishina. They have one son, Vladislav, born in 1993...

on November 13, arriving at the station on November 16. Burbank, along with Shkaplerov and Ivanishin, is due to return to Earth in March 2012.

Awards

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Defense Superior Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal is a senior United States military decoration of the Department of Defense, awarded to members of the United States armed forces who perform "superior meritorious service in a position of significant responsibility."...	with one award star
	Legion of Merit Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
	Air Medal Air Medal The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
	Coast Guard Commendation Medal	with one award star
	Coast Guard Achievement Medal
	National Defense Service Medal National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal is a military service medal of the United States military originally commissioned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower...	with two award stars
	NASA Exceptional Service Medal NASA Exceptional Service Medal The NASA Exceptional Service Medal is an award granted to U.S. government employees for significant sustained performance characterized by unusual initiative or creative ability that clearly demonstrates substantial improvement in engineering, aeronautics, space flight, administration, support, or...
	NASA Space Flight Medal	with award stars

External links

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