posted 05-10-2012 08:24 AM               

ISS Expedition 30 commander Dan Burbank

Just back from his command of the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronaut Dan Burbank spoke with collectSPACE on Thursday, May 10.

During his third space flight, Burbank completed 165 days in space as a member of the Expedition 29 and 30 crews. He has performed one spacewalk and spent 189 days in space.

Burbank and his crewmates, Expedition 30 Flight Engineers Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin of the Russian Federal Space Agency, returned to Earth in their Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft at 6:45 a.m. on April 27. The crew members spent the majority of their time aboard the complex performing science experiments and routine maintenance.

Burbank is a native of Yarmouthport, Mass., and a 1985 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. After earning his commission, Burbank served in various roles as a Coast Guard officer before NASA selected him as an astronaut in 1996. He received a master of science degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1990.