Guy Gardner, born January 6, 1948 in Altavista, Virginia, is a veteran of two space flights. He has been a test pilot and pilot instructor for the US Air Force and attained the rank of colonel.
His first trip was aboard Atlantis (STS-27) as pilot in December 1988. It was a mission for the Department of Defense.
His second and final trip was aboard Columbia (STS-35) as pilot in December 1990. The mission was dedicated to astronomical observations with ASTRO-1.
Front row (L-R): Guy Gardner, Vance Brand, John Lounge
Back row (L-R): Robert Parker, Ronald Parise, Jeffrey Hoffman, Samuel Durrance
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-35), launched December 2, 1990, was devoted to astronomical observations. Its crew consisted of Commander Vance Brand, Pilot Guy Gardner, Jeffrey Hoffman, John Lounge, Robert Parker, Samuel Durrance, and Ronald Parise.
Back row, L-R: William Shepherd, Richard Mullane. Front row, L-R: Guy Gardner, Robert Gibson, Jerry Ross.
Mission Patch
Atlantis (STS-27), the second Space Shuttle flight after the Challenger disaster, launched December 2, 1988. It was a mission for the Department of Defense, so its payload and purpose were classified. Her crew consisted of Commander Robert Gibson, Pilot Guy Gardner (not the Green Lantern), Mission Specialist 1 Richard Mullane, Mission Specialist 2 Jerry Ross and Mission Specialist 3 William Shepherd.
During the ascent the Thermal Protection System tiles were damaged by ablative insulating material from the right SRB. The crew reported they saw white material on the windshield at various times during ascent. They tried to examine the starboard side of Atlantis with the Canadarm but could not determine the full extent of the damage. Due to the sensitive nature of the mission, the crew could not send hi-res photos to the ground to assess the damage. The poor resolution pics weren't enough to tell what had happened, either. NASA told the crew that the damage didn't look any worse than previous shuttle incidents. Small comfort for the crew.
It has been reported that Commander Gibson thought the crew would perish upon re-entry, but miraculously, Atlantis landed safely December 6, despite being one of the most damaged shuttles to return.
