Purdue News
Purdue NewsHarbaugh is a veteran of four space shuttle flights, logging more than 800 hours in space. He also has completed more than 18 hours of spacewalks, or extravehicular activities.
Harbaugh earned a bachelor's degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Purdue in 1978 and is one of 21 Purdue alumni selected for space flight. He became a NASA astronaut in 1988.
In 1991, Harbaugh was a member of the first space shuttle crew to dock with the Russian space station Mir. In February, he flew on the space shuttle Discovery's 10-day mission that included the repair and upgrade of the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. For his work on that mission, during which he completed two spacewalks, Harbaugh earned NASA's Exceptional Achievement Medal.
Harbaugh currently is the acting manager of NASA'a Extravehicular Activity Projects Office. He is responsible for overseeing the development of all spacewalk requirements, techniques and tasks for shuttle missions, as well as those for the assembly and operation of the International Space Station.
Harbaugh's campus visit is sponsored by the Purdue Students for the Exploration and
Development of Space, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and
the Purdue Engineering Student Council.
CONTACT: Nan Ross, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, (765) 494-1924.
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
