Frederick H. (Rick) Hauck, Captain, U.S. Navy Retired, NASA Astronaut (Former). He is a Bachelor of Science in Physics graduate from Tufts University in 1962 and a Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1966.
Rick received his Navy wings in 1968 and as a pilot with attack Squadron 35 was deployed to the Western Pacific with Air Wing 15 aboard USS Coral Sea, flying 114 combat and combat support missions.
A graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1971, Rick was selected as an astronaut candidate in January 1978 and subsequently was selected as pilot for STS-7, the seventh flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger which launched from Cape Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on June 18, 1983.
On November 8, 1984 Captain Hauck was spacecraft commander for the second mission of Discovery on mission STS 51-A.
One of the nation’s most decorated astronauts he was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2001. Rick is an emeritus trustee and Tufts parent (A87P, J92P) along with a recipient of the Tufts Presidential Medal, Light on the Hill Award, and an honorary doctorate in public service.