Richards, Richard Noel (1946- )

US astronaut. His four space shuttle flights include commanding Discovery (October 1990) to launch the Ulysses spacecraft; and commanding Columbia (June 1992) on a two-week flight conducting microgravity experiments. He logged more than 33 days in space. Richards was selected as an astronaut in 1980, and resigned in 1995 to manage missions for NASA's Space Shuttle Program Office.