[1] Following additional graduate work at the University of Washington, he served 4 years on the faculty of the Aeronautics Department at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado where he was a tenured associate professor.

During the following years, he worked extensively on satellite deployment and retrieval activities, including development of the Canadian Remote Manipulator System.

Fabian instead left NASA on January 1, 1986, to become Director of Space, Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Operations, Headquarters USAF.

Fabian continues to serve as an independent consultant and public speaker on the NASA space program and environmental stewardship.

Fabian first flew as a mission specialist on STS-7, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on June 18, 1983.

During the mission, the crew deployed satellites for Canada (ANIK C-2) and Indonesia (PALAPA B-1); operated the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System (RMS) to perform the first deployment and retrieval exercise with the Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS-01); conducted the first formation flying of the Orbiter with a free-flying satellite (SPAS-01); carried and operated the first U.S./German cooperative materials science payload (OSTA-2): and operated the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES) and the Monodisperse Latex Reactor (MLR) experiments, in addition to activating seven Getaway Specials, Mission duration was 147 hours before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on June 24, 1983.

This international crew deployed communications satellites for Mexico (Morelos), the Arab League (Arabsat), and the United States (AT&T Telstar).

They used the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) to deploy and later retrieve the SPARTAN satellite which performed 17 hours of x-ray astronomy experiments while separated from the Space Shuttle.

Founder of Hood Canal Coalition, a statewide organization of nearly 4000 members with the support of more than 60 other, independent environmental, political, recreational, tribal, and community groups.

[10] Distinguished Member, Association of Space Explorers (2010); Eleanor Stopps Environmental Leadership Award,[9] Port Townsend Marine Science Center (2017).