Steven was born in Ottawa, Kansas but, considers Salina, Kansas his hometown. He graduated from Salina Central High School, received his Bachelor of Arts degree in both physics and astronomy (graduating with highest distinction) from the University of Kansas and a doctor of philosophy in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of California.
Dr. Hawley spent three summers employed as a research assistant at the U.S. Naval observatory in Washington, D.C. and at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia. He attended graduate school at Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz. The results of his research have been published in major astronomical journals.
Dr. Hawley was selected as a NASA astronaut in January of 1978. Prior to STS-1 , he served as a simulator pilot for software checkout at the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory. For STS-2, 3 and 4, Hawley was a member of the astronaut support crew at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Dr. Hawley’s most recent space flight was STS-31, which launched on April 24, 1990. During the 5-day mission, crewmembers deployed the Hubble Space Telescope and conducted a variety of middeck experiments involving the study of protein crystal growth, polymer membrane processing and the effects of weightlessness and magnetic fields on ion arc. They also operated a variety of cameras including both the IMAX in-cabin and cargo bay cameras for earth observations from their record setting altitude of 380 miles. Following 76 orbits of the earth in 121 hours, Discovery landed at Edwards AFB, California on April 29, 1990.
For more information on Steven Haley, visit his NASA bio page.