Bridges, Roy D.: - Major General (USAF, Retired) Roy D. Bridges Jr.'s Air Force career included being the Commander, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base; Commander, Eastern Space and Missile Center, Patrick AFB; and Commander, 412th Test Wing, Edwards AFB. As a pilot, test pilot and astronaut, he flew 4460 hours in a wide variety of aircraft. As a NASA astronaut, he piloted the Space Shuttle Challenger on the 8-day Space Lab 2 mission. Roy was the Center Director of both NASA's Langley Research Center and Kennedy Space Center.After retiring from NASA, Roy held a variety of leadership positions during his 13-year tenure at Northrop Grumman. Bridges is a distinguished graduate of the US Air Force Academy, with a BS in Engineering Science. He received an MS in Astronautics from Purdue University in 1966. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, he now lives with his wife Benita in Colorado Springs, where he tends his most cherished roles as husband, father, and grandfather.