Bill McArthur has flown on a Soyuz spacecraft (2005) and three different NASA spaceplanes: Columbia (1993), Atlantis (1995), and Discovery (2000).
McArthur conducted a total of four spacewalks during his Space Shuttle missions and his time on the ISS, accumulating over 24 hours of EVA time. His most notable mission was as the commander of Expedition 12 aboard the International Space Station. Launched on September 30, 2005, on a Soyuz spacecraft, he and his crewmate spent six months on the orbiting laboratory until April 8, 2006. As commander, he was responsible for the safety and operations of the station. He also served as the ISS science officer during this expedition, overseeing the scientific research being conducted. Expedition 12 was notable for being the first time a two-person crew conducted spacewalks in both U.S. and Russian spacesuits and the first ISS crew to dock at every Russian docking port.
Following his final spaceflight, McArthur continued to serve NASA in key leadership roles. He managed the Space Shuttle Safety and Mission Assurance Office and the Space Shuttle Orbiter Project. From 2011 until his retirement from NASA in June 2017, he served as the Director of the Safety and Mission Assurance directorate at the Johnson Space Center.
Bill McArthur is married to Cynthia Kathryn Lovin, and they have two daughters and four grandchildren. His personal interests include biking, photography, and working with personal computers. Throughout his career, Bill McArthur has demonstrated a strong commitment to service, exploration, and the advancement of human knowledge in space.