Alan Poindexter dies: Space community mourns NASA astronaut

Poindexter earned an aerospace engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta in 1986 and commissioned in the U.S. Navy after graduation. He became a naval aviator in 1988 and was deployed with Fighter Squadron 124 during Operations Desert Storm and Southern Watch. He became a test pilot in 1995 and joined NASA three years later.

"Dex was a wonderful human being and a pleasure to have in the astronaut office," said astronaut Janet Kavandi, NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations. "His good-natured demeanor made him approachable to his crews and the many people at Johnson and Kennedy who enabled his missions."

NASA mourns

Soon after the announcement of Poindexter's death, astronauts in the United States and abroad expressed their sympathies online via Twitter:

"He was a talented, courageous Navy veteran with gifts," wrote astronaut Greg H. Johnson, a shuttle pilot, in one post.  "Dex was a lovable guy with a strong work ethic. He was selected to command a space shuttle on his 2nd flight: STS-131," Johnson wrote in another.

Japanese astronaut NaokoYamazaki, who served as a mission specialist on Poindexter's STS-131 mission, said Poindexter was a hero to her.

"Commander Poindexter will be in our prayers forever. So [honored] to be able to fly with him," Yamazaki wrote. "I learned a lot from the great hero."

Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi was living on the space station in 2010 when Poindexter flew Discovery to the outpost to deliver vital supplies.

"RIP, my friend Dex; we spent happy 11 days together on #ISS," Noguchi wrote on Twitter. He posted a photo of himself with Poindexter on the station in memoriam.

Perhaps astronaut Clayton Anderson said it best: "America lost a great hero yesterday; I lost my commander, my colleague and my friend. RIP Captain Poindexter."

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