SHREWSBURY – As the entire world has been following the Artemis II lunar mission, it was with great surprise that a bit of history recently came to the surface. Did you know that a Shrewsbury resident became an astronaut back in the 1960s?
Robert Allen Ridley Parker, who was born in New York City on December 14, 1936, grew up in Shrewsbury. He attended schools in Shrewsbury, then went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in astronomy and physics from Amherst College in 1958. He later earned his doctorate degree in astronomy from the California Institute of Technology in 1962. His thesis was entitled “The Physical Conditions Pertaining to Some Possible Supernova Remnants.” After his graduation, he became an associate professor of astronomy at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
In August 1967, Parker was selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to become a scientist-astronaut. He served as a member of the Astronaut Support Crews on the Apollo 15 and 17 missions. Later, he became the program scientist for the Director’s Office of the Skylab program, serving during three Skylab missions…