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National Aeronautics and Space Administration Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston, Texas 77058 AC 713 483-5111

Rh Jeffrey E. Carr Release No. 90-020

Veteran Shuttle Astronaut Williams to Retire from NASA, Navy

Navy Capt. Donald E. Williams, veteran of two Shuttle flights, will retire from NASA and the Navy, effective March 1, to pursue a career in private industry.

"I reached my goal as a pilot, which was to command a mission," said Williams. "Now it's time to go on to other challenges. JSC and NASA have been wonderful place to work and I'm proud to have been part of the team."

Williams was selected by NASA as an astronaut in 1978, and made his first space flight in April 1985 as pilot of Discovery on mission STS-51D, which included the first unscheduled rendezvous and spacewalk. He flew again as crew commander of Atlantis in October 1989 on mission STS-34, highlighted by the deployment of the Jupiter probe, Galileo.

Prior to STS-34, Williams served as chief of the Astronaut Office Mission Support Branch. He also served as Deputy Manager of Operations Integration in the NSTS Program Office, and as Deputy Chief, Aircraft Operations Division during his years with NASA.

Williams will be joining Science Applications International Corporation in Houston as Senior Systems Engineer.