Vance D. Brand

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Vance D. Brand bigraphy, stories - Astronauts

Vance D. Brand : biography

May 9, 1931 –

Vance DeVoe Brand (born May 9, 1931) is a former test pilot and NASA astronaut. He served as command module pilot during the first U.S.-Soviet joint space flight in 1975, and as commander of three space shuttle missions.

His flight experience includes 9,669 flying hours, which includes 8,089 hours in jets, 391 hours in helicopters, 746 hours in spacecraft, and checkout in more than 30 types of military aircraft. Vance Brand Airport in Longmont, Colorado is named in his honor.

Memberships

  • Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
  • Fellow, Society of Experimental Test Pilots
  • Fellow, American Astronautical Society
  • Sigma Nu
  • Registered Professional Engineer in Texas

Biography

Early years

Brand was born in Longmont, Colorado, May 9, 1931, and is the son of Rudolph William and Donna Mae Brand. He was active in Troop 64 of the Boy Scouts of America in Longmont, where he achieved Life Scout. He was active in the International Order of DeMolay. He is married to the former Beverly Ann Whitnel, and has two daughters and four sons; Susan Nancy, Stephanie Brand Lowery, Patrick Richard, Kevin Stephen, Erik Ryan, and Dane Vance.

Graduated from Longmont High School, he received a bachelor of science degree in Business from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1953, a bachelor of science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from there in 1960, and a master’s degree in Business Administration from UCLA in 1964. He was a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity while at University of Colorado at Boulder.

Military service

Brand was a commissioned officer and naval aviator with the United States Marine Corps from 1953 to 1957. His military assignments included a 15-month tour in Japan as a jet fighter pilot. Following his release from active duty, Brand continued service in Marine Forces Reserve and Air National Guard jet fighter squadrons until 1966.

Civilian test pilot

Employed as a civilian by the Lockheed Corporation from 1960 to 1966, he worked initially as a flight test engineer on the United States Navy’s P-3 Orion aircraft. In 1963, Brand graduated from the United States Naval Test Pilot School and was assigned to Palmdale, California as an experimental test pilot on Canadian and German F-104 programs. Prior to selection to the astronaut program, Brand worked at the West German F-104G Flight Test Center at Istres, France as an experimental test pilot and leader of a Lockheed flight test advisory group.

NASA career

One of the 19 pilot astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966, Brand initially was a crew member in the thermal vacuum chamber testing of the prototype Command Module and support crewman on Apollos 8 and 13. Later he was backup command module pilot for Apollo 15, and was likely to be named to the prime crew of Apollo 18 before that mission was canceled. Brand was backup commander for Skylabs 3 and 4. When Skylab 3’s CSM had problems with its Reaction Control System, Brand was put on standby to pilot a rescue mission, but was later stood down when it was decided that the problem did not require the rescue mission to be launched. As an astronaut, he held management positions relating to spacecraft development, acquisition, flight safety and mission operations. Brand flew on four space missions; Apollo-Soyuz, STS-5, STS-41-B, and STS-35. He logged 746 hours in space and commanded three missions. Brand was the last member of his astronaut class to remain active with NASA, and was the only Apollo-era astronaut to fly the Space Shuttle in the post-Challenger era.

Brand departed the Astronaut Office in 1992 to become Chief of Plans at the National Aerospace Plane (NASP) Joint Program Office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. In September 1994, he moved to California to become Assistant Chief of Flight Operations at the Dryden Flight Research Center, then Acting Chief Engineer, Deputy Director for Aerospace Projects, and Acting Associate Center Director for Programs. He retired from NASA in January 2008.