Originally from Mississippi, Richard Truly earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. During his time in school, he was a member of the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps. After graduation, he attended Navy flight school and became a naval aviator in October 1960.

After Truly completed the STS-8 mission, he served as the first commander of the Naval Space Command and retired from the Navy as a vice admiral in June 1989. The following day, he was sworn in as the eighth administrator of NASA, serving from 1989 to 1992. After his service, Truly held vice president and director positions at the Georgia Tech Research Institute and the Department of Energy.