Robert L. Curbeam Jr. was born on March 5, 1962, in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County in 1980 and earned a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering from the United States Naval Academy in 1984, followed by a Master of Science in aeronautical engineering in 1990 and a degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering in 1991 from the Naval Postgraduate School. Curbeam was selected by NASA in December 1994 and began his astronaut training at the Johnson Space Center in March 1995. He flew on three space shuttle missions — STS-85 Discovery in August 1997, STS-98 Atlantis in February 2001, and STS-116 Discovery in December 2006. His missions included atmospheric research and major contributions to the construction of the International Space Station, including delivery and installation of the U.S. laboratory module Destiny. Curbeam performed extensive extravehicular activities (EVAs) and holds the record for the most spacewalks on a single shuttle flight (four during STS-116). Over his NASA career, he logged more than 901 hours in space and completed seven spacewalks totaling 45 hours 34 minutes.