Carl Erwin Walz (Colonel,
USAF, Ret.) is a former NASA
astronaut currently working for Orbital Sciences Corporation's
Advanced Programs Group as Vice President for Human Space Flight
Operations. Walz was formerly assigned to the Exploration
Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC
. He was the Acting Director for the Advanced
Capabilities Division in the Exploration Systems Mission
Directorate, and was responsible for a broad range of activities to
include Human Research, Technology Development,
Nuclear Power and Propulsion and the Lunar
Robotic Exploration Programs to support the
Vision for Space
Exploration.
Personal data
Born
September 6 1955, in
Cleveland,
Ohio
. Married to the former Pamela J.
Glady of
Lyndhurst,
Ohio
. They have two children. He enjoys
piano and
vocal music,
sports, and was the lead singer for
Max Q, a rock-n-roll band comprising
astronauts.
Education
Graduated from
Charles
F. Brush
High School, Lyndhurst,
Ohio, in 1973; received a bachelor of science degree in physics from Kent State University
, Ohio, in 1977, and a master of science in solid state physics from John Carroll
University
, Ohio, in 1979.
Organizations
American Legion, Kent State University Alumni Association, John
Carroll University Alumni Association, and the Association of Space
Explorers.
Honors
Graduated Summa Cum Laude from Kent State University. Awarded the
Defense Superior Service Medal, the USAF Meritorious Service Medal
with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal
with one Oak Leaf, the USAF Commendation Medal, and the USAF
Achievement Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster. Distinguished Graduate
from the USAF Test Pilot School, Class 83A. Inducted into the Ohio
Veterans Hall of Fame. Awarded three NASA Space Flight Medals, NASA
Exceptional Service Medal. Distinguished Alumnus Award, Kent State
University, 1997.
Experience
From 1979
to 1982, Walz was responsible for analysis of radioactive samples
from the Atomic Energy Detection System at the 1155th Technical
Operations Squadron, McClellan Air Force Base
, California. The subsequent year was spent
in study as a
flight test
engineer at the
U.S. Air Force Test Pilot
School, Edwards Air Force Base
, California. From January 1984 to June 1987,
Walz served as a Flight Test Engineer to the
F-16 Combined Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base,
where he worked on a variety of F-16C airframe avionics and
armament development programs.
From July 1987 to June 1990, he served as a
Flight Test Manager at Detachment 3,
Air Force Flight Test Center
.
NASA experience
Selected by NASA in January 1990, Walz is a veteran of four space
flights, and has logged 231 days in space. He was a mission
specialist on
STS-51 (1993), was the Orbiter
flight engineer (MS-2) on
STS-65 (1994), was
a mission specialist on
STS-79 (1996), and
served as flight engineer on
ISS Expedition 4 (2001-2002). Carl Walz and fellow
astronaut
Dan Bursch currently hold the
U.S. space flight endurance record of 196 days in space.
Space flight experience
STS-51 Discovery (
September 12-22, 1993). During the mission, the
five-member crew deployed the U.S. Advanced Communications
Technology Satellite (ACTS), and the Shuttle Pallet Satellite
(SPAS) with NASA and German scientific experiments aboard. Walz
also participated in a 7-hour space walk (
EVA) to evaluate tools for the
Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. The mission was
accomplished in 9 days, 22 hours, and 12 minutes.
STS-65 Columbia (
July
8-23, 1994). STS-65 flew the second International Microgravity
Laboratory (IML-2) spacelab module, and carried a crew of seven.
During the 15-day flight the crew conducted more than 80
experiments focusing on materials and life sciences research in
microgravity. The mission completed 236 orbits of the Earth,
traveling 6.1 million miles, setting a new flight duration record
for the Shuttle program.
STS-79 Atlantis (
September 16-26, 1996). On STS-79 the
six-member crew aboard Atlantis docked with the Russian
Mir station, delivered food, water, U.S. scientific
experiments and Russian equipment, and exchanged NASA long duration
crewmembers. During the mission, the Atlantis/Mir complex set a
record for docked mass in space. STS-79 was the first flight of the
double
Spacehab module, and landed at KSC
after 10 days 3 hours and 13 minutes.
The
Expedition 4 crew launched on
December 5,
2001
aboard
STS-108 and docked with the
International Space Station on
December 7 2001.
During a 6-1/2 month stay aboard the Space Station, the crew of
three (two American astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut) performed
flight tests of the station hardware, conducted internal and
external maintenance tasks, and developed the capability of the
station to support the addition of science experiments. The crew
spent 196 days in space establishing a U.S. space flight endurance
record for Carl Walz and crew mate Dan Bursch. Wearing the Russian
Orlan space suit, Walz logged 11
hours and 52 minutes of EVA time in two separate spacewalks.
The
Expedition 4 crew returned to Earth aboard STS-111, with Endeavour landing at Edwards Air
Force Base, California, on June 19
2002.
References
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