Robert F. Overmyer

Robert F. Overmyer
Overmyer in his spacesuit in 1982
Born	Robert Franklyn Overmyer (1936-07-14)July 14, 1936 Lorain, Ohio, U.S.
Died	March 22, 1996(1996-03-22) (aged 59) Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.
Resting place	Arlington National Cemetery
Education	Baldwin Wallace University (BS) Naval Postgraduate School (MS)
Awards	Distinguished Flying Cross
Space career
NASA astronaut
Rank	Colonel, USMC
Time in space	12d 2h 22m
Selection	USAF MOL Group 2 (1966) NASA Group 7 (1969)
Missions	STS-5 STS-51-B
Mission insignia
Retirement	June 1986

Robert Franklyn "Bob" Overmyer (July 14, 1936 – March 22, 1996) was an American test pilot, naval aviator, aeronautical engineer, physicist, United States Marine Corps officer, and USAF/NASA astronaut. Overmyer was selected by the Air Force as an astronaut for its Manned Orbiting Laboratory in 1966. Upon cancellation of the program in 1969, he became a NASA astronaut and served support crew duties for the Apollo program, Skylab program, and Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. In 1976, he was assigned to the Space Shuttle program and flew as pilot on STS-5 in 1982 and as commander on STS-51-B in 1985. He was selected as a lead investigator into the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, retiring from NASA that same year. A decade later, Overmyer died while testing the Cirrus VK-30 homebuilt aircraft.