Shriver graduated from
Paton High School in 1962. He received a
Bachelor of Science degree in
aeronautical engineering from the
United States Air Force Academy in 1967, and a
Master of Science degree in
astronautical engineering from
Purdue University in 1968. Shriver was commissioned in 1967, and served from 1969 to 1973 as a T-38 academic instructor pilot at
Vance Air Force Base,
Oklahoma. In 1973 he was then assigned to an overseas tour in Thailand until October 1974. Beginning in 1975, he attended the
United States Air Force Test Pilot School at
Edwards Air Force Base,
California. He was later assigned to the 6512th Test Squadron, and in 1976, he began serving as a test pilot for the F-15 Joint Test Force. Shriver was selected as an astronaut by NASA in January 1978, participated in three space flights, and logged over 386 hours in space. In September 1982, he was selected as pilot of
STS-10, the first Department of Defense mission for the Space Shuttle, but the mission was cancelled. He was pilot of
STS-51-C, launched from Kennedy Space Center on January 24, 1985. He commanded a crew of five on his second mission,
STS-31 which launched on April 24, 1990. This five-day flight deployed the
Hubble Space Telescope. He also commanded mission
STS-46 in 1992. Before his retirement, Shriver was of Deputy Director for Launch and Payload Processing at
Kennedy Space Center,
Florida. Before taking this position in 1997, he served as the
Space Shuttle program Manager for Launch Integration. He was the vice-president of engineering and integration and chief technology officer with United Space Alliance until his retirement from NASA in 2011. ==Personal life==