NASA Astronaut Steve Lindsey Leaves the Agency

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Jul 14, 2011, 03:03 ET

HOUSTON, July 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA astronaut Steve Lindsey announced he will leave the agency to pursue a career within the aerospace industry. His last day with NASA will be Friday, July 15.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO)

Lindsey, a retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force, is a veteran of five space shuttle missions. He also served as chief of the NASA Astronaut Office from September 2006 to October 2009.

"Steve's a consummate leader and has been a great role model within the corps," said Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office. "His calm demeanor and steady presence has been invaluable to not only his shuttle mission crews but also our office as a whole. I know he will be a great asset to the next team privileged to work with him."

As chief of the Astronaut Office, Lindsey was responsible for spacecraft development; crew selection and training; flight test and crew operations in support of the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station Programs.

Lindsey commanded the STS-133 flight in February 2011, STS-121 in 2006 and STS-104 in 2001. He served as the pilot on STS-95 in 1998 and STS-87 in 1997. He joined NASA as an astronaut candidate in 1994. Lindsey logged more than 1500 hours in space.

For Lindsey's complete biography, visit:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/lindsey.html

SOURCE NASA