Gregory Chamitoff | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Gregory Errol Chamitoff (1962-08-06)6 August 1962 (age 63) |
| Education | California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (BS) California Institute of Technology (MS) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD) University of Houston–Clear Lake (MS) |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
Time in space | 198d 18h 2m |
| Selection | NASA Group 17 (1998) |
| Missions | STS-124/126 (Expedition 17/18) STS-134 |
Mission insignia |      |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Aeronautics |
| Thesis | Robust Intelligent Flight Control for Hypersonic Vehicles (1992) |
Gregory Errol Chamitoff (born 6 August 1962) is a Canadian-born Americanengineer and formerNASAastronaut. He has been to space twice, spending 6 months aboard theISS acrossExpedition 17 and18 in 2008, and another 15 days as part ofSTS-134 in 2011. STS-134 was the last ofSpace ShuttleEndeavour which delivered theAlpha Magnetic Spectrometer and completed theUS Orbital Segment.[1]
Chamitoff was born 6 August 1962 inMontreal, Quebec, Canada. He was inspired to become an astronaut after watching theApollo 11 Moon landing at the age of six.[2]
His education includes:
As an undergraduate student at Cal Poly, Chamitoff taught lab courses in circuit design and worked summer internships at Four Phase Systems, Atari Computers, Northern Telecom, and IBM. He developed a self-guided robot for his undergraduate thesis project. While at MIT andDraper Labs (1985–1992), Chamitoff worked on several NASA projects. He performed stability analyses for the deployment of theHubble Space Telescope, designed flight control upgrades for the Space Shuttle autopilot, and worked on the attitude control system for Space Station Freedom. His doctoral thesis developed a new approach for robust intelligent flight control of hypersonic vehicles.
From 1993 to 1995, Chamitoff was a visiting professor at theUniversity of Sydney, Australia, where he led a research group in the development of autonomous flight vehicles, and taught courses in flight dynamics and control. He has published numerous papers on aircraft and spacecraft guidance and control,trajectory optimization, and Mars mission design.[1]
In 1995, Chamitoff joined the Motion Control Systems Group in the Mission Operations Directorate at theJohnson Space Center, where he developed software applications for spacecraft attitude control monitoring, prediction, analysis, and maneuver optimization.
Selected by NASA for the Astronaut Class of 1998, Chamitoff started training in August 1998 and qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist in 2000. He worked in the Space Station Robotics branch, was leadCAPCOM for ISSExpedition 9, acted as crew support astronaut for ISSExpedition 6, and helped develop onboard procedures and displays for Space Station system operations.[1]
In July 2002, Chamitoff was a crew-member on theAquariusundersea research habitat for 9 days as part of theNEEMO 3 mission (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations).[3]
He served as the backup Expedition 15/16 Flight Engineer 2 andSTS-117/STS-120 Mission Specialist 5 forClayton Anderson.
Chamitoff served on a long-duration mission to the International Space Station. He launched as a mission specialist on board Space Shuttle missionSTS-124. He was flight engineer 2 and science officer onExpedition 17. He returned home as a mission specialist onSTS-126, completing a tour that lasted six months.[1]
As part of his personal allowance, Chamitoff brought the firstbagels into space, 3 bags (18 sesame seedbagels) ofFairmount Bagels with him, from his cousin's bagel bakery.[4][5] He also bought a velcro chess set and started playing games against mission control, which got quite competitive.[6] In 2008, Chamitoff voted from outer space.[7]
While Richard Garriott was aboard the ISS at the beginning ofExpedition 18, Chamitoff and Garriott filmed the first magic show in space, and along withYury Lonchakov,Michael Fincke andRichard Garriott, filmed a science-fiction movie made in space,Apogee of Fear.[8]
After conducting experiments with theSPHERES during his mission, he founded theZero Robotics competition, where high school students program the robots.[9]
Chamitoff served as a mission specialist onSTS-134, the penultimate Space Shuttle mission, during which he made twospacewalks, the last of which completed the construction of the ISS.[10]
Chamitoff is currently a Professor of Engineering Practice in the Aerospace Engineering Department atTexas A&M University inCollege Station, Texas. He instructs senior design, human spaceflight operations, and dynamics and controls for aerospace vehicles.[1] Chamitoff has also served as the Lawrence Hargrave Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at theUniversity of Sydney, Australia.[11]
Chamitoff has received the following honors and awards:[1]
Chamitoff is married to Alison Chantal Caviness, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D. They have two children.[1]
Chamitoff's recreational interests includescuba diving,backpacking,flying,skiing,racquetball,Aikido,juggling,magic andguitar. He is a certifieddivemaster and instrument rated pilot. Chamitoff also enjoyschess and has played games with people on earth while living in the ISS.[14]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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