NAME:  Kenneth D. Bowersox (Lieutenant Commander, USN)
       NASA Astronaut
 
BIRTHPLACE AND DATE:  Born November 14, 1956, in Portsmouth, Virginia,
but considers Bedford, Indiana, to be his hometown.  His mother, Jean
Bowersox, resides in Bedford, Indiana.  His father, Ronald G.
Bowersox, is deceased.
 
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:  Brown hair; blue eyes; 5 feet 7 inches; 165
pounds.
 
EDUCATION:  Graduated from Bedford High School, Bedford, Indiana, in
1974; received a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering
from the United States Naval Academy in 1978, and a master of science
in mechanical engineering from Columbia University in 1979.
 
MARITAL STATUS:  Married to the former Ann C. Flatley of Pleasanton,
California.  Her parents, John & Eleanor Flatley, reside in
Pleasanton, California.
 
RECREATIONAL INTERESTS:  He enjoys snow skiing, sailing, off-road
motorcycling, bicycling.
 
ORGANIZATIONS:  Member, Tail Hook Association, and the American
Motorcycle Association.
 
EXPERIENCE:  Bowersox received his commission in the United States
Navy in 1978 and was designated a Naval Aviator in 1981.  He was then
assigned to Attack Squadron 22, aboard the USS Enterprise, where he
served as a Fleet A-7E pilot, logging over 300 carrier arrested
landings.  Following graduation from the United States Air Force Test
Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in 1985, he moved
to the Naval Weapon Center at China Lake, California, where he spent
the next year and a half as a test pilot flying A-7E and F/A-18
aircraft until advised of his selection to the astronaut program.
 
He has logged over 2,000 hours flight time.
 
NASA EXPERIENCE:  Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in June
1987, Bowersox completed a one-year training and evaluation program in
August 1988, and is qualified for assignment as a pilot on future
Space Shuttle flight crews.  He has held a variety of technical
assignments since then including flight software testing in the
Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL).  He also served as
Technical Assistant to the Director of Flight Crew Operations.
 
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:  Bowersox will serve as the pilot on the crew of
STS-50, scheduled for launch aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia in the
summer of 1992.  STS-50 will be the first flight of the United States
Microgravity Laboratory.  Over a two-week period the STS-50 flight
crew will conduct a wide variety of experiments relating to materials
processing in a microgravity environment.
 
APRIL 1992