Bidspirit auction | Astronaut John Blaha signed Space

Astronaut John Blaha signed Space Shuttle FDC. Camellia USA 18c. May 1981. John Elmer Blaha (born August 26, 1942, in San Antonio, Texas) is a retired United States Air Force colonel and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of five space missions aboard the Space Shuttle and Mir. Selected as an astronaut in May 1980, Blaha has logged 161 days in space on five space missions. In addition to flying five space missions, Blaha has served as the chairman, NASA Space Flight Safety Panel; weather manager, Mission Management Team; lead spacecraft communicator; member, NASA Space Shuttle Improvement Panel. Blaha also led the design, development, and integration of the Orbiter Head Up Display system. Additionally, he led the development of contingency abort procedures which significantly improve crew survivability in the event of multiple main engine failures during ascent. He has logged more than 7,000 hours of flying time in 34 different aircraft, and has written numerous technical articles on spacecraft performance and control. Blaha retired from NASA in September 1997 to return to his hometown of San Antonio, Texas, where he joined the executive management team of the United Services Automobile Association.