Naval Cdr. Alan Poindexter has been selected to pilot space shuttle Atlantis mission STS-122 in December.
Poindexter is a 1983 PJC graduate and will carry on the flight a specially minted PJC medallion similar to one President Dr. G. Thomas Delaino wears during graduation ceremonies. The medallion will be presented to the college after the flight. A second minted medallion will be presented to Poindexter in tribute to his accomplishment.
This will be Poindexter’s first flight into space and his mission is to deliver the European Space Agency’s Columbus Laboratory to the International Space Station.
The naval aviator earned his wings at NAS Pensacola in 1988 and has worked at NASA since 1998. He has more than 3,500 flight hours in 30 aircraft.
He is married to the former Lisa A. Pfeiffer of Gulf Breeze and has two children.
For more information on Cdr. Poindexter: https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/poindexter.html
For more information on STS-122 mission: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts122/