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Robert Lee Curbeam Jr. (born March 5, 1962) is a former NASA astronaut and captain in the United States Navy. He currently holds the record for the most spacewalks during a single spaceflight, accomplished during the STS-116 mission, when Curbeam completed four spacewalks.
Curbeam was named Fighter Wing One Radar Intercept Officer of the Year in 1989 and received the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School Best Developmental Thesis (DT-II) Award.
Upon graduation of United States Naval Test Pilot School in December 1991, he reported to the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate, where he was the project officer for the F-14A/B Air-to-Ground Weapons Separation Program. In August 1994, he returned to the U.S. Naval Academy as an instructor in the Weapons and Systems Engineering Department.
Between the first two flights, Curbeam was a spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) responsible for relaying all voice communication between Mission Control and crews aboard the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. After his second flight, he also was the CAPCOM Branch Chief. During the spring of 2002, he was Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety and Mission Assurance, at NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
STS-98 (February 7–20, 2001) continued the task of building and enhancing the International Space Station by delivering the U.S. laboratory module Destiny. The Space Shuttle spent seven days docked to the station while Destiny was attached. In helping to complete its assembly, Curbeam logged over 19 EVA hours in 3 space walks.
STS-116 (December 9–22, 2006) was a mission to the International Space Station. The mission involved the installation of a new truss segment and the rewiring of the station's electrical system. During the mission, Curbeam was the EVA crewmember for the record-breaking four spacewalks, three of which were conducted along with astronaut Christer Fuglesang (Sweden) and one along with astronaut Sunita Williams.
Having played lacrosse as a student athlete at the Naval Academy, Curbeam became an assistant coach for the boys lacrosse team at Clear Lake High School in Houston, Texas. In 2011, Curbeam led Clear Lake to the semifinal match of the Texas High School Lacrosse League South District Championship game.
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