Buchli became a NASA astronaut in August 1979, selected as part of Group 8. He was a member of the support crew for STS-1 and STS-2, and On-Orbit CAPCOM for STS-2. A veteran of four space flights, Buchli has orbited the Earth 319 times, traveling 7.74 million miles in 20 days, 10 hours, 25 minutes, 32 seconds. He served as a mission specialistonSTS-51-C, STS-61-A, STS-29, and STS-48. From March 1989 till May 1992 he also served as Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office.
On September 1, 1992, Buchli retired from the Marine Corps and the NASA Astronaut Office to accept a position as manager of space station systems operations and requirements with Boeing Defense and Space Group, at Huntsville, Alabama. In April 1993, he was reassigned as Boeing deputy for payload operations, Space Station Freedom Program. Buchli currently serves as operations and utilization manager for space station, Boeing Defense and Space Group, at Houston, Texas.
STS-51-C flew the Space Shuttle Discovery, and was the first dedicated Department of Defense mission. Launched January 24, 1985, from Kennedy Space Center, STS-51-C performed its mission to deploy a modified Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) vehicle from the Space Shuttle. Landing occurred on January 27, 1985, after slightly more than three days on orbit, ending a mission lasting 73 hours, 33 minutes, and 27 seconds.
STS-61-A, launched October 30, 1985, and landing November 6, saw the Space Shuttle Challenger perform a West German D-1 Spacelab mission. It was the first to carry eight crew members, then the largest crew to fly in space, and the first in which payload activities were controlled from outside the United States. More than 75 scientific experiments were completed in the areas of physiological sciences, materials processing, biology, and navigation, and the mission duration was 168 hours, 44 minutes, and 51 seconds.
STS-29, flew the Discovery from March 13, 1989, to March 18, a five-day mission during which the crew deployed a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, and performed numerous secondary experiments, including a space station "heat pipe" radiator experiment, two student experiments, a protein crystal growth experiment, and a chromosome and plant celldivision experiment. In addition, the crew took over 3,000 photographs of the Earth using several types of cameras, including the IMAX 70 mm movie camera, during the 119 hours, 39 minutes, 40 second mission.
STS-48, from September 12, to September 18, 1991, was a five-day mission during which the crew of the Discovery deployed the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) designed to provide scientists with their first complete data set on the upper atmosphere's chemistry, winds, and energy inputs. The crew also conducted numerous secondary experiments ranging from growing protein crystals, to studying how fluids and structures react in weightlessness. Mission duration was 128 hours, 27 minutes; 34 seconds.
