Astronaut William Lenoir, Who Flew on 1st Operational Shuttle Mission, Dies

Former NASA astronaut William "Bill" Lenoir, who flew aboard the first operational mission of the space shuttle in November 1982, died Saturday at age 71.

According to sources close to his family, Lenoir died after suffering head injuries during a bicycle accident Thursday.

Lenoir, who was selected by NASA for its sixth astronaut group and second class of "scientist-astronauts" in 1967, did not fly in space until 15 years later as a member of the STS-5 crew.

Lenoir served as the first flight engineer during the Nov. 11, 1982 launch, aiding commander Vance Brand and pilot Robert Overmyer from his seat on Columbia's flight deck. Five days later, when it came time to return to Earth, he traded places with fellow mission specialist Joseph Allen, becoming the first to experience a shuttle re-entry from the orbiter's middeck.

Lenoir and Allen were scheduled to establish another first together – the first spacewalk from the shuttle. But the outing was delayed a day when Lenoir became ill, was and ultimately canceled due to mechanical issues with both of their spacesuits.

The STS-5 mission successfully deployed its two communication satellites, the first commercial shuttle payloads, leading to the crew displaying a sign dubbing themselves the "Ace Moving Company" with the motto, "We Deliver."

After landing on Nov. 16 at Edwards Air Force Base in California, Lenoir and his three crewmates had logged more than 2.1 million miles (nearly 3.4 million km) in space. For Lenoir, the mission's 81 orbits would be his only spaceflight experience.

Lenoir was offered another mission, the STS-61A flight in October 1985 that flew the German-managed D1 Spacelab aboard orbiter Challenger, but he ultimately declined citing the time that training would require he would be away from his family and his desire to start a new career.