Washington and Lee University
David Low during his 1993 spacewalk.
On June 21, 1993, David Low was on top of the world - literally.
David graduated from W&L in 1978 with a B.S. in Physics-Engineering. While at W&L, he was a member of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity. Since 1996, he was with Orbital Sciences Corporation, an aerospace and defense firm, where he worked as Senior Vice President and Deputy General Manger of the Advanced Programs Group. David passed away on March 15, 2008.
Prior to joining Orbital, David was a NASA astronaut from 1984 until 1996. During this time he flew on three Space Shuttle missions as a mission specialist, flight engineer, and Payload Commander. During his more than 700 hours in space, he helped deploy two communications satellites and retrieve two scientific satellites using the Shuttle’s robotic arm. He also conducted a six-hour spacewalk, and participated in numerous scientific and medical experiments. From 1980 until 1984 he worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a spacecraft systems engineer. In 1993 he was part of the team coordinating the transition to the international Space Station, and he also worked in NASA's legislative affairs office.
In addition to his degree from W&L, David earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, an M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University, an MBA from Johns Hopkins University, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He was an honorary member of Omicron Delta Kappa, and a recipient of the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, three NASA Space Flight Medals, and an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
David lived for many years in Potomac Falls, Virginia with his wife, JoAnn, and their three children, Maggie, Christopher, and Abigail.