Kenneth Dale "Taco" Cockrell (born April 9, 1950) is a retired American astronaut, engineer and a veteran of five Space Shuttle missions.

He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1972 and received his commission in the United States Navy that same year.

In 1987, Cockrell resigned from the Navy and joined the Aircraft Operations Division of Johnson Space Center as a research pilot.

His technical assignments to date include: duties in the Astronaut Office Operations Development Branch, working on landing, rollout, tires and brakes issues; CAPCOM in Mission Control for ascent and entry; Astronaut Office representative for Flight Data File, the numerous books of procedures carried aboard Shuttle flights.

The primary objective of STS-69 was the successful deployment and retrieval of a SPARTAN satellite and the Wake Shield Facility (WSF).

The WSF was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of using a free-flying platform to grow semiconductors, high temperature superconductors and other materials using the ultra-high vacuum created behind the spacecraft.

The ORFEUS instruments, mounted on the reusable Shuttle Pallet Satellite, studied the origin and makeup of stars.

The STS-98 crew continued the task of building and enhancing the International Space Station by delivering the U.S. laboratory module Destiny.

The Shuttle spent seven days docked to the station while Destiny was attached, and three spacewalks were conducted to complete its assembly.

Unacceptable weather conditions in Florida necessitated a landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

The STS-111 mission delivered a new ISS resident crew and a Canadian-built mobile base for the orbiting outpost's robotic arm.