AWARDED DFC: 1
CONFLICT/SPACE FLIGHT/EVENT:  Space
MODEL:  Space Shuttle "Enterprise"

Citation:  1.) The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Commander Richard H. Truly, United States Navy, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as a National Aeronautics and Space Administration Astronaut, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas from June 1977 to October 1977. During his tenure, Commander Truly served as a spacecraft pilot for the Approach and Landing Test Program, a series of Space Shuttle orbiter experimental test flights conducted at the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California. Commander Truly participated in control of the orbiter vehicle during one captive-active test flight atop the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and in two air-launched, unpowered glide, approach and landing free flights. The series of approach and landing test flights provided valuable real-time data, duplicating the last five minutes of an operational shuttle mission which significantly advanced the progress of the Space Shuttle Program. By his professional competence, aerial skill, and unswerving devotion to duty, Commander Truly reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Naval Service.