Former NASA astronaut Gordon Fullerton suffers massive stroke, said to be improving
By APFriday, January 8, 2010
Former astronaut Fullerton treated for stroke
LOS ANGELES — Retired astronaut and NASA test pilot C. Gordon Fullerton is being treated in a Southern California hospital after suffering a massive stroke.
His wife, Marie, said in a statement Friday that the 73-year-old Fullerton suffered the stroke during an outpatient procedure on Dec. 31 and is improving at a facility specializing in stroke treatment.
The former Air Force fighter and bomber pilot flew approach and landing tests of the space shuttle prototype Enterprise. He was also the pilot on a Columbia mission in 1982 and commander of a Challenger mission in 1985.
Fullerton then transferred to NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center and flew major research projects and shuttle ferry flights until retiring in 2007.
Fullerton’s family asked for privacy.
