Ronald Garan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Ronald John Garan Jr. (1961-10-30)October 30, 1961 (age 64) Yonkers, New York, U.S. |
| Education | State University of New York, Oneonta (BS) Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (MS) University of Florida (MS) |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Colonel,USAF |
Time in space | 177d 23h 54m |
| Selection | NASA Group 18 (2000) |
TotalEVAs | 4 |
Total EVA time | 27h 3m |
| Missions | STS-124 Soyuz TMA-21 (Expedition 27/28) |
Mission insignia |    |
Ronald John Garan Jr. (born October 30, 1961)[1][2] is a retiredNASAastronaut. After graduating fromState University of New York College at Oneonta in 1982, he joined theAir Force, becoming a Second Lieutenant in 1984. He became anF-16 pilot, and flew combat missions inDesert Shield and Desert Storm. Before becoming an astronaut he was the Operations Officer of the40th Flight Test Squadron (FTS). He first flew in space as a mission specialist on the May 2008STS-124 mission to theInternational Space Station (ISS).[1] He returned to ISS on April 4, 2011, for a six-month stay as a member ofExpedition 27.[1][2] Garan is a highly decorated former NASA astronaut who flew on the US Space Shuttle, Russian Soyuz, and International Space Station. In total he spent 178 days in space and more than 71 million miles in 2,842 orbits of Earth, 27 hours and 3 minutes of EVA in four spacewalks, and 18 days on the bottom of the ocean during the NEEMO-9 undersea mission.
Born on October 30, 1961, inYonkers, New York, Ron Garan is ofRussian Jewish descent.[3][4] He is married to Carmel Courtney. They have three sons.
His father, Ronald Garan Sr., resides in Yonkers with his wife Yisela Garan. His mother, Linda Lichtblau, resides inPort St. Lucie, Florida, with her husband, Peter Lichtblau.[1]
His description of coming back to Earth in a Soyuz capsule was "like going over Niagara Falls in a barrel (that's on fire) followed by a high speed crash".[5]
Garan serves on the advisory council ofRepresent.Us, anonpartisan anti-corruption organization[6] and is on the Board of Advisors or Board of Directors of the following organizations:
Garan graduated fromRoosevelt High School inYonkers, New York in 1979. He earned aBachelor of Science degree inbusiness economics from theState University of New York College at Oneonta in 1982, a Master of Aeronautical Science degree fromEmbry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1994, and aMaster of Science degree inaerospace engineering from theUniversity of Florida in 1996.[1]
Garan is the founder of the Fragile Oasis project, aimed at further integrating space and planetary sciences and the promotion of user projects "connecting space and Earth". He is also the vice president ofSpaceship Earth Grants, whose mission is to makespace more accessible throughhuman spaceflight andparabolic flight awards to individual applicants.[9]
Garan's military decorations include theDistinguished Flying Cross for Combat Valor,Meritorious Service Medal,Air Medal,Aerial Achievement Medal,Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor,National Defense Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Award,Kuwait Liberation Medal, NASA Superior Accomplishment Award,NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, and various other service awards. He received the Distinguished Graduate and Top Academic AwardUSAF Fighter Weapons School; was twice selected as Top Academic Instructor Pilot: USAF Weapons School; USAF Weapons School and USAF Weapons and Tactics Center: Lt. Gen. Claire Lee Chennault Award; Distinguished Graduate Squadron Officers School; Top Academic Award F-16 Replacement Training Unit (RTU). He received an honoraryDoctor of Science degree from theState University of New York.[1]
Garan received his commission as aSecond Lieutenant in theUnited States Air Force from the Air Force Officer Training School atLackland Air Force Base,Texas, in 1984. Upon completion, he attendedUndergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) atVance AFB,Oklahoma and earned his wings in 1985. He then completedF-16 training atLuke Air Force Base,Arizona and reported toHahn Air Base in formerWest Germany where he served as a combat ready F-16pilot in the496th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS), from 1986 to 1988. In March 1988, he was reassigned to the 17th TFS,Shaw Air Force Base,South Carolina, where he served as aninstructor pilot, evaluator pilot, and combat ready F-16 pilot. While stationed at Shaw he attended theUSAF Fighter Weapons School, graduating in 1989, and then returned to the 17th TFS to assume the position of Squadron Weapons Officer. From August 1990 through March 1991, he deployed toSouthwest Asia in support of OperationsDesert Shield/Desert Storm where he flew combat missions in the F-16.[1]
In 1991, Garan was reassigned to the USAF Weapons School, where he served as an F-16 Weapons School instructor pilot, flight commander and assistant operations officer. In 1994, he was reassigned to the39th Flight Test Squadron (39th FTS),Eglin Air Force Base,Florida, where he served as a developmental test pilot and chief F-16 pilot. Garan attended theU.S. Naval Test Pilot School at theNaval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, from January to December 1997, after which he was reassigned to the 39th FTS, Eglin Air Force Base, where he served as the director of the Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile Combined Test Force. Garan was the operations officer of the40th Flight Test Squadron when he was selected as anastronaut forNASA. He has logged over 5,000 hours in more than thirty different aircraft.[1]
On June 1, 2009, Garan retired from the Air Force.[1]
Selected as a pilot byNASA in July 2000, Colonel Garan reported for training in August 2000. Following the completion of two years of training and evaluation, he was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Station and Shuttle Operations Branches.[1]
In April 2006, Garan became anaquanaut through his participation in the joint NASA-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,NEEMO 9 (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) project, an exploration research mission held inAquarius, the world's onlyundersea research laboratory. During this eighteen-day mission, the six-person crew of NEEMO 9 developedlunar surface exploration procedures and telemedical technology applications in support of the United States'Vision for Space Exploration.[1][10] Ron Garan completed his first space flight in 2008 onSTS-124 as mission specialist 2 for ascent and entry, and has logged over 13 days in space and 27 hours and 3 minutes ofEVA in four spacewalks.[1]
STS-124 also delivered a new station crew member,Expedition 17 Flight EngineerGreg Chamitoff. He replacedExpedition 16 Flight EngineerGarrett Reisman, who returned to Earth with the STS-124 crew. The STS-124 mission was completed in 218 orbits, traveling 5,735,643 miles in 13 days, 18 hours, 13 minutes and 7 seconds.[1]
The Soyuz TMA-21 "Gagarin" descent module is in permanent exhibition at the German Titov Museum in Polkovnikovo, Altai Kray, Siberia.
Before his flight aboard Discovery in 2008, Garan asked the religious women of aCarmelite community inNew Caney, Texas, for their prayers and told them he could take an item into space for them. The sisters gave him relics ofSt. Thérèse of Lisieux and quoted her words:
I have the vocation of the Apostle. I would like to travel over the whole earth to preach Your Name and to plant Your glorious Cross on infidel soil. But O my Beloved, one mission alone would not be sufficient for me, I would want to preach the Gospel on all the five continents simultaneously and even to the most remote isles. I would be a missionary, not for a few years only but from the beginning of creation until the consummation of the ages.[14]
Garan is the founder of the Manna Energy Foundation, which is assisting the villages ofRwanda to make potable water.[15]
On June 24, 2009, Garan met Pope Benedict XVI at his general audience.[15]
In 2014, Garan retired from NASA to work on communicating what he called the "Orbital Perspective". He has published a book calledThe Orbital Perspective - Lessons in Seeing the Big Picture from a Journey of 71 Million Miles and is working on a documentary calledOrbital.[16]
On February 23, 2016,World View Enterprises has announced that Ron Garan will be chief pilot for current robotic flight operations and upcoming human spaceflights via balloon.[17][18]
  | Distinguished Flying Cross withValor device |
  | Meritorious Service Medal with two bronzeoak leaf clusters |
 | Air Medal |
 | Aerial Achievement Medal |
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor device |
 | National Defense Service Medal with bronzeservice star |
 | Humanitarian Service Medal |
  | Air Force Longevity Service Award with silver oak leaf cluster |
 | Air Force Training Ribbon |
_ribbon.svg) | Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) |
 | NASA Exceptional Service Medal |
 | NASA Space Flight Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster |
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromAstronaut Bio: Ronald J. Garan (1/2011).National Aeronautics and Space Administration. RetrievedJuly 28, 2011.
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