Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame 2025 Inductee

ROBERT D. CABANA 1949 -

Robert Cabana was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he grew up on his family's farm. He graduated from Washburn High School in 1967 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1971.

Upon graduation, Cabana was commissioned as a Marine Second Lieutenant and went on to Quantico, Virginia to attend The Basic School. Following that he began his aviation career in Pensacola, Florida. After completing naval flight officer training, he became an A-6 Intruder bombardier/navigator (BN). After serving as BN in the Intruder community, he went back to Pensacola in 1975 for pilot training and was designated as a naval aviator in September the following year. He then returned to the Intruder community as a pilot.

In 1981, he graduated from the Naval Test Pilot School and took on key roles, including the A-6 Program Manager, project officer for the X-29 advanced technology demonstrator, and ordnance testing officer. He was Assistant Operations Officer of Marine Aircraft Group Twelve at Iwakuni, Japan. By the time he retired from the Marine Corps in 2000, Cabana had accumulated approximately 7,000 hours in 36 different aircraft.

Cabana's career took a pivotal turn in 1985 when he was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA. He served as lead astronaut in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory and later became the Shuttle Flight Software Coordinator and Deputy Chief of Aircraft Operations at the Johnson Space Center. As a Shuttle Commander, Cabana flew on four shuttle missions from 1990 to 1998. STS-41 and STS-53 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. STS-65 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia and the 1998 STS-88 mission aboard Space Shuttle Endeavor, this was the first mission to begin assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). Over his career, he spent a total of 37 days and 22 hours in space.

Cabana continued to play an influential role at NASA, culminating in his appointment as Director of the Kennedy Space Center from 2008 to 2021and then as the NASA Associate Administrator. He retired from NASA in 2023

In recognition of his contributions, Cabana was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2008. His awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the De La Vaulx Medal from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, among others.