Beneath a sliver of moon and the hum of a small plane, the first astronaut to graduate from the Air Force Academy, Col. Karol “Bo” Bobko, was buried Friday morning at the base’s cemetery.

Bobko is the only astronaut to fly on the maiden voyages of two shuttles, the Challenger and the Atlantis, as part of a career with NASA that spanned almost 20 years.

A member of the Academy’s first class of 1959, Bobko died on Aug. 17 at 85 in Half Moon Bay, California.

At the service Friday, he was remembered for his calm leadership and humble spirit.

“He was soft spoken and not at all arrogant,” said Patrice Welsh-Benjamin, his sister-in-law.

When asked about his work at NASA, he would say that he worked at NASA as an engineer. Only when someone pressed would they find out he was an astronaut, she said.

Bobko went to space three times and logged 386 hours in space, according to NASA. In 1983, he served as a pilot on the Challenger, followed by a trip to space on Atlantis as a commander in 1985. Both maiden expeditions for the shuttles.

Also in 1985, he commanded the Space Shuttle Discovery and landed it safely even though the main gear tire was blown, according to NASA. Sen. Jake Garn was on the flight, the first senator to go to space.

All three missions involved deploying communications satellites, among other experiments, NASA said.

His friend and Air Force Academy classmate Max Miller recalled him as his smartest roommate and the one with the greatest sense of humor. He also pursued his passion.

“I would say, if you had to give one word to Bo’s life, it would be space,” Miller said.

Bobko left the Air Force after flying F-100s, supersonic jets, and F-105s, a fighter bomber, among other aircraft.

“He was always at the leading edge of technology,” Miller said.

During his later career in private industry, he worked on space-related projects such as space station development and training simulations.

In 2011, he was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame alongside Susan Helms, who completed a world-record spacewalk.

At the time, he recalled always choosing a career path toward space.

“All spaceflight is beautiful and inspiring,” Bobko said at the time.

While he retired in California, Colorado Springs held special significance for Bobko, who met his wife Dianne as a freshman at the Academy, while she was still in high school. The couple had two children, Michelle and Paul.

Throughout his career, his family provided solid support and he had an amazing relationship with his wife, over their 62 years together, Welsh-Benjamin said.

“I think today part of it is recognition of a life that’s bigger than your work,” she said.