Was Spacecraft Commander On STS-6, The First Flight Of Challenger

NASA Astronaut Paul Weitz, who was first selected for the Astronaut Corps in 1966, passed away Monday, Oct. 23 at his home in Flagstaff, AZ at the age of 85.

Weitz was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, on July 25, 1932. He married  the former Suzanne M. Berry of Harborcreek, Pennsylvania, and they had two children: Matthew and Cynthia.

According to his NASA bio, Weitz is one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served as pilot on the crew of Skylab-2 (SL-2), which launched on May 25 and ended on June 22, 1973. SL-2 was the first manned Skylab mission, and activated a 28-day flight. In logging 672 hours and 49 minutes aboard the orbital workshop, the crew established what was then a new world record for a single mission. Mr. Weitz also logged 2 hours and 11 minutes in extravehicular activities.

Mr. Weitz was spacecraft commander on the crew of STS-6, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on April 4, 1983. This was the maiden voyage of the Orbiter Challenger. During the mission, the crew conducted numerous experiments in materials processing, recorded lightning activities, deployed IUS/TDRS-A, conducted spectacular extravehicular activity while testing a variety of support systems and equipment in preparation for future space walks, and also carried three "Getaway Specials." Mission duration was 120 hours before landing Challenger on a concrete runway at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on April 9, 1983. With the completion of this flight, Paul Weitz logged a total of 793 hours in space.

Mr. Weitz was Deputy Director of the Johnson Space Center when he retired from NASA service in May 1994. He was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in October, 1997.

(NASA image. Weitz aboard Skylab in 1973)

FMI: www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/weitz-pj.html