Max Q (astronaut band)

Max Q
Guitarist Dan Burbank and former drummer Jim Wetherbee on stage in 2004.
Background information
OriginHouston, Texas, U.S.
GenresRock
Years active1987–present
Members
Past members

Max Q is a Houston-based informal rock band whose members are all astronauts. It was formed in early 1987 by Brewster Shaw and Robert L. Gibson, recruiting George Nelson. Gibson has stated that he came up with the name "Max Q" (though recognizes that Shaw has also claimed having come up with the name himself) as a reference to the engineering term for the maximum dynamic pressure from the atmosphere experienced by an ascending spacecraft. He joked in a 2018 interview that, like a Space Shuttle, the band "makes lots of noise but no music".

Max Q does not sell albums or have a manager, instead performing on a case-by-case scheduled basis. Band members share the arrangement of transport, venue and payment. The band utilises a rotating line-up due to flight crew assignments, training, and the occasional retirement. In 2009, active members included:

Former members include:

With the original members having been: