[1] As a member of the U.S. Air Force, Covey was an operational fighter pilot from 1970 to 1974, flying the F-100 Super Sabre, A-37 Dragonfly and A-7 Corsair II.

Prior to the first flight of the Space Shuttle, he provided astronaut support in Orbiter engineering development and testing.

The Space Shuttle Discovery completed 112 orbits before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on September 3, 1985.

Mission duration was 97 hours during which crew members successfully deployed the TDRS-C satellite and operated eleven secondary payloads which included two student experiments.

Discovery completed 64 orbits of the Earth before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on October 3, 1988.

On STS-38 Covey was the spacecraft commander of a five-man crew that launched at night from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on November 15, 1990.

After having traveled 4,433,772 miles (7,135,464 km) in 163 orbits of the Earth, Covey landed the Endeavour at night on the runway at the Kennedy Space Center on December 13, 1993.

Covey was featured in a 2005 issue of Eagletter, a magazine for members of the National Eagle Scout Association.

In September 2007, Covey succeeded fellow astronaut Michael J. McCulley as chief executive officer of United Space Alliance.

Additionally, he is a Fellow of both the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.