Steven Alan Hawley (born December 12, 1951) is a retired astronomer and NASA astronaut who flew on five U.S. Space Shuttle flights. Hawley is a professor emeritus of physics and astronomy at the University of Kansas.
Early life
Hawley was born December 12, 1951, in Ottawa, Kansas, to Dr. and Mrs. Bernard Hawley. One of Hawley's brothers, John F. Hawley, was a theoretical astrophysicist at the University of Virginia and shared the Shaw Prize in Astronomy in 2013.
Hawley graduated from Salina High School Central, Salina, Kansas, in 1969; he regards Salina as his home town. Hawley attended the University of Kansas, graduating with highest distinction in 1973 with Bachelor of Science degrees in Physics and in Astronomy. He spent three summers employed as a research assistant: 1972 at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., and 1973 and 1974 at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia. He attended graduate school at Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz, principal advisor was William L. Burke graduating in 1977 with a Doctorate in Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Career
Prior to his selection by NASA in 1978, Hawley was a post-doctoral research associate at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in La Serena, Chile. His research involved spectrophotometry of gaseous nebulae and emission-line galaxies, with particular emphasis on chemical abundance determinations for these objects. The results of his research have been published in major astronomical journals.
Hawley is Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Kansas.
Space-flight experience
Hawley logged a total of 32 days, 2 hours, 41 minutes in five space flights. He served as a mission specialist on STS-41D in 1984, STS-61C in 1986, STS-31 in 1990, STS-82 in 1997 and STS-93 in 1999. Hawley was the last member of NASA Astronaut Group 8 to make a space flight. He is also the only astronaut to deploy the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and later fly on one of its servicing missions (STS-31 and STS-82, respectively).
STS-41-D Discovery
STS-41-D Discovery (August 30 to September 5, 1984) was launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on its maiden flight and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California. During the seven-day mission, the crew successfully activated the OAST-1 solar cell wing experiment, deployed the SBS-D, SYNCOM IV-2, and TELSTAR 3-C satellites, operated the CFES-III experiment, the student crystal growth experiment, as well as photography experiments using the IMAX motion picture camera. The mission was completed in 96 orbits of the Earth in 144 hours and 57 minutes.
Following an aborted attempt to launch STS-41-D where two main engines were stopped shortly after they started because the third failed to start, Hawley is reported to have broken the tense atmosphere in the shuttle cabin, saying, "Gee, I thought we'd be a lot higher at MECO!"
Honors
thumb|Steven Hawley, shown holding the Toastmasters District 22 Communication and Leadership award, [[Topeka, Kansas, October 24, 2015]]
Following is a list of scholarships, honors, and awards conferred on Hawley:
- Evans Foundation Scholarship, 1970
- University of Kansas Honor Scholarship, 1970
- Summerfield Scholarship, 1970–1973
- Veta B. Lear Award, 1970
- Stranathan Award, 1972
- Outstanding Physics Major Award, 1973
- University of California Regents Fellowship, 1974
- Group Achievement Award for software testing at the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory, 1981
- NASA Outstanding Performance Award, 1981
- NASA Superior Performance Award, 1981
- Group Achievement Award for Second Orbiter Test and Checkout at Kennedy Space Center, 1982
- Quality Increase, 1982
- NASA Space Flight Medal (1984, 1986, 1990, 1997, 1999)
- Group Achievement Award for JSC Strategic Planning, 1987
- NASA Exceptional Service Medal (1988, 1991)
- Special Achievement Award, 1988
- Exceptional Service Medal for Return to Flight, 1988
- Outstanding Leadership Medal, 1990
- Special Achievement Award, 1990
- Haley Flight Achievement Award, 1991
- Kansan of the Year Award, 1992
- Group Achievement Award for ESIG 3000 Integration Project, 1994
- Presidential Rank Award (1994, 1999)
- Group Achievement Award for Space Shuttle Program Functional Workforce Review, 1995
- Group Achievement Award for SFOC Contract Acquisition, 1997
- Kansas Aviation Hall of Fame, 1997
- University of Kansas Distinguished Service Citation, 1998
- NASA Distinguished Service Medal (1998, 2000)
- Aviation Week & Space Technology Laurel Citation for Space, 1998
- V.M. Komarov Diploma from the FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale) (1998, 2000)
- Inductee, Astronaut Hall of Fame (2007)
- Distinguished Alumni Award, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Kansas, (2007)
- Distinguished Alumni Award, UC Santa Cruz, 1991
- Communication and Leadership Award (2015), Toastmasters District 22