Don L. Lind, Date of Birth, Place of Birth

Don L. Lind

American astronaut

Date of Birth: 18-May-1930

Place of Birth: Midvale, Utah, United States

Profession: astronaut, priest, physicist, military officer, cleric

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Taurus

Don Leslie Lind (born May 18, 1930), (Cmdr, USNR, Ret.), is an American scientist and a former naval officer and aviator, and NASA astronaut.
He graduated from the University of Utah with an undergraduate degree in physics in 1953.
Following his military service obligation, he earned a Ph.D.
in high-energy nuclear physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1964. Lind was a Naval Aviator and attained the rank of Commander in the United States Naval Reserve.
After completing his doctorate, Lind worked at NASA's Goddard Research Center from 1964 to 1966.
Selected with Astronaut Group 5 in 1966, he helped to develop the Apollo 11 EVA activities, and served as CAPCOM for the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 missions.
Lind was then assigned as backup Pilot for Skylab 3 and Skylab 4 and nearly flew on the proposed Skylab Rescue mission. Lind was the Payload Commander on his only flight, STS-51-B, launched April 29, 1985.
He designed an experiment to capture the Earth's aurora.
The payload experiments consisted primarily of microgravity research and atmospheric measurement.
The Orbiter Challenger completed 110 orbits before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California.