Robert L. Behnken

Following retirement of the Space Shuttle, Behnken was Chief of the Astronaut Office from 2012 to 2015. Assigned to the SpaceX Dragon Capsule in 2018 as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, Behnken was scheduled to launch aboard the spacecraft's first crewed mission with fellow astronaut Doug Hurley on May 27, 2020. The mission, Crew Dragon Demo-2, will take Behnken and Hurley to the International Space Station, where they will dock and stay for several weeks. The launch was cancelled 16 minutes and 54 seconds before takeoff, due to bad weather. The mission was postponed and scheduled to Saturday, May 30, at 19:22 UTC.

In August 2018, Behnken was assigned to the first test flight SpX-DM2 of the SpaceX Crew Dragon.

In July 2012, Behnken was named Chief of the Astronaut Office, succeeding Peggy Whitson. He held the job until July 2015, when he was succeeded by Chris Cassidy, after being selected as one of four astronauts training to fly spacecraft contracted under NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

Behnken flew to space for the second time as a Mission Specialist on STS-130, which launched at 04:14 EST (09:14 UTC) 8 February 2010. This mission delivered the Tranquility module and Cupola to the International Space Station. Behnken again took part in three spacewalks during this mission.

Behnken was a crew member of the STS-123 mission that delivered the Japanese Experiment Module and the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator to the International Space Station in March 2008. Behnken took part in three spacewalks during the mission.

In September 2006, Behnken served as an aquanaut during the NEEMO 11 mission aboard the Aquarius underwater laboratory, living and working underwater for seven days.

Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in July 2000, Behnken reported for training in August 2000. Following the completion of 18 months of training and evaluation, he was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Shuttle Operations Branch supporting launch and landing operations at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

Behnken attended Pattonville High School in Maryland Heights, Missouri (in St. Louis County), and went on to earn bachelor of science degrees in mechanical engineering and physics from Washington University in St. Louis in 1992. He then attended the California Institute of Technology, where he earned a master of science degree in mechanical engineering in 1993 and a PhD in 1997. While at Caltech he shared a doctoral advisor, Christopher E. Brennen, with another future NASA astronaut, Garrett Reisman.

Robert Louis Behnken (/ˈ b ɛ n k ə n / ; born July 28, 1970 in St. Ann, Missouri) is a NASA astronaut, engineer, and former Chief of the Astronaut Office. Behnken holds a Ph.D in mechanical engineering and the rank of colonel in the U.S. Air Force, where he served before joining NASA in 2000. He flew aboard Space Shuttle missions STS-123 (2008) and STS-130 (2010) as a mission specialist, accumulating over 708 hours in space, including 37 hours of spacewalk time. He is married to fellow astronaut K. Megan McArthur.