Alan Poindexter, AE 86, one of the 14 Georgia Tech alumni to serve on a NASA space shuttle mission, died July 1 after a jet ski accident in Florida.
Poindexter, known as “Dex” to family and friends, graduated from Tech with highest honors and became a naval aviator, piloting the F14 Tomcat during operations Desert Storm and Southern Watch.
He was selected for astronaut training in 1998 and piloted the STS-122 shuttle mission in 2008. The crew delivered the Columbus Laboratory to the International Space Station.
In 2010, Poindexter served as commander of the STS-131 mission to deliver supplies to the space station. He logged 669 hours in space and traveled more than 11 million miles, including 441 orbits of Earth.
Poindexter retired from the Astronaut Corps in 2010 and was serving as the dean of students and executive director of programs at the Naval Postgraduate School.
The accident occurred in Little Sabine Bay at Pensacola Beach in Florida. Poindexter and his son Samuel were on a jet ski that was struck by a jet ski driven by another son, Zachary. Poindexter was knocked into the water and died later at a hospital.
“The NASA family was sad to learn of the passing of our former friend and colleague …” NASA said in a statement. “Our thoughts and hearts are with his family.”
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