Joseph Richard Tanner (born January 21, 1950) is an American instructor at the University of Colorado Boulder,[1] mechanical engineer, a former naval officer and aviator, and a former NASA astronaut.

He had an identical twin brother, David, who graduated from Indiana University, Phi Beta Kappa, with a double major in mathematics and physics and also held master's degrees in computer science and exercise science and a Ph.D. in human performance from the Department of Kinesiology at Indiana University.

He received his Naval Aviator wings in 1975, before serving as an A-7E pilot with Light Attack Squadron 94 (VFA-94) aboard the USS Coral Sea.

Tanner flew aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-66, November 3–14, 1994, performing the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science-3 (ATLAS-3) mission.

Tanner performed two spacewalks as a member of the STS-82 crew to service the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in February, 1997.

During the flight the crew completed five spacewalks to improve the science capability of the telescope and replace aging support equipment, restoring HST to near perfect working condition.

[8] Tanner joined the University of Colorado Boulder's Aerospace Engineering Science Department as a senior instructor in September 2008.