Astronaut Stephen Frick's post-NASA career

Astronaut Stephen Frick has retired from NASA to accept a position in the private sector. Frick, who flew as both a space shuttle pilot and commander, left the agency July 13.

"Steve has been a great asset to the astronaut office and NASA, and we are sad to see him leave," Chris Cassidy, chief of the Astronaut Office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, said. "We wish him continued success as he transitions to a new career."

Frick grew up in Gibsonia, Penn., and holds degrees from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. A retired captain in the U.S. Navy, he has accumulated more than 4,300 hours in 38 different kinds of aircraft and has completed 370 carrier-arrested landings.

Frick joined NASA as an astronaut candidate in 1996. He went on to fly two space shuttle missions, accumulating more than 23 days of spaceflight experience.

He served as a pilot for STS-110 on space shuttle Atlantis in April 2002. The flight delivered the central integrated truss segment to the orbiting complex. His second mission also was on Atlantis for STS-122 in February 2008. That mission delivered the European Space Agency's Columbus Laboratory, preparing it for future scientific work benefiting life on Earth.