In March 2011, Bowen completed his third spaceflight as a mission specialist on STS-133, which was Space Shuttle Discovery's final planned flight.

Originally Tim Kopra was scheduled to fly on STS-133, but had a bicycle injury shortly before the mission, and so he was replaced by Bowen.

[1] On December 16, 2021, NASA assigned Bowen as commander of SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the ISS, launched in March 2023.

[2] In his spare time, Stephen Bowen has also had connections with the organisation ISSET, through him being the resident astronaut during a few of their Mission Discovery programs.

For nine months in 1999, he was the Reactor and Propulsion inspector for the Navy's Submarine Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV).

[2] Bowen was originally assigned to STS-124 but was moved to a later flight to allow the Shuttle to rotate an ISS crew member.

While docked to the station, Bowen conducted two spacewalks and logged 14 hours and 34 minutes of EVA time.