Personal Information
     Rick Douglas Husband was born on July 12, 1957, in Amarillo, Texas. He was married and had two children.  His hobbies were skiing (both water and snow), singing, riding his bike, and spending time with his family. 

Education   
      Rick Husband graduated from Amarillo High School in 1975. Rick received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Tech University in 1980.  He also earned a Master of Science degree and Mechanical Engineering from California State, [Fresno] in 1990.

      After Rick graduated from Texas Tech University in May 1980, he served as second lieutenant in the USAF and was trained as a pilot at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. 

     After graduating in October 1981, Husband received F-4 training at Homestead Air Force Base (AFB), Florida.  After completing F-4 training, he attended F-4 Instructor School at Homestead AFB, and was assigned as an F-4E instructor pilot.  He also served as academic instructor at Georgia AFB, California in December 1985. In December1987, Rick Husband attended the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB. 

Experience
     Rick Husband was a test pilot for the F-4 and for the five models of the F-15.  He was a part of the F-15 Combined Test Force. He was the program manager for the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 better performance engine. In addition, he also served as the F-15 Aerial Demonstration Pilot. 

     In June 1992, Rick was an exchange test pilot with the Royal Air Force at Aircrafter and Armament Evaluation Institution at Buncombe Down, England. At Buncombe Down, Rick was the Tornado GR1 and GR4 Project Pilot.  In addition, he served as a test direct in the Hawk, Hunter, Buccaneer, Jet Provost, Tucano, and Harvard. Rick has logged more than 3,800 hours of flight time in various types of aircraft.

      In March 1995, Husband reported to the Johnson Space Center to begin a year of training and evaluation.  Upon completion of training, he was named the Astronaut Office representative for Advanced Project sat Johnson Space Center.  He worked on various projects such as Space Shuttle Upgrades and the Crew Return Vehicle [CRV].  He continued in his studies to return to the Moon and travel to Mars.  Rick Husband was a pilot on STS-96 in 1999 and crew commander on STS –107 in 2003.

     Rick D. Husband was involved in two major space flights.  The first was the STS-96 Discovery ( May 27 to June 6, 1999) which was a 10-day assignment during which the crew performed the first docking with the International Space Station and delivered supplies in preparation for the appearance of the first crew to live on the station early next year

     The second one was the STS-107 Columbia (January16 to February 1, 2003).  The 16-day flight was a science and research mission.  The crew effectively conducted approximately 80 experiments.  The STS-107assignment ended suddenly on February 1, 2003, when Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew exploded during entry, only 16 minutes before planned landing.

Special Honors

•  NASA selected Rick as an astronaut candidate in December 1994.
   

• He was named the Astronaut Office representative.

Death  
    On February 2003, the space shuttle Columbia exploded, and Rick Douglas Husband died.