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{{short description|Canadian born engineer and NASA astronaut (born 1962)}}

factoids

|birth_place = Montreal, Quebec, Canada|death_date = |death_place = California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Bachelor of Science>BS)California Institute of Technology (Master of Science)Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Doctor of Philosophy>PhD)University of Houston (MS)|type = NASA astronaut|time = 198d 18h 2mNASA Astronaut Group 17>NASA Group 17 (1998)STS-124/STS-126>126 (Expedition 17/18)STS-13458px) (File:ISS Expedition 17 patch.png50px) (File:STS-126 patch.png50px)|module =

factoids

}}Gregory Errol Chamitoff (born 6 August 1962) is a Canadian-born AmericanWEB,weblink Former Montrealer heading into space, Lazarus, David, March 26, 2008, The Canadian Jewish News, NEWS,weblink CBC News, Shuttle lifts off with Montreal-born astronaut aboard, 31 May 2008, Now a U.S. citizen, Chamitoff was born in Montreal{{nbsp, ...}} engineer and former NASA astronaut. He has been to space twice, spending 6 months aboard the ISS across Expedition 17 and 18 in 2008, and another 15 days as part of STS-134 in 2011. STS-134 was the last of Space Shuttle Endeavour which delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and completed the US Orbital Segment.WEB,weblink Biographical Data:GREGORY ERROL CHAMITOFF (PH.D.) NASA ASTRONAUT, NASA, January 10, 2021, July 2011, In 2008, Chamitoffand fellow astronaut Michael Fincke voted from outer space;NEWS

Early life and education

Chamitoff was born 6 August 1962 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to a Jewish family of Russian origin.WEB, my whole family's from Montreal, although a generation before that they're from Russia,weblink Preflight Interview: Gregory Chamitoff, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, He was inspired to become an astronaut after watching the Apollo 11 Moon landing at the age of six.WEB, ABC News,weblink Former NASA astronaut Greg Chamitoff talks deep space with Canberra students, Alkira Reinfrank, 23 July 2016, 18 May 2018, His education includes:

• Blackford High School, San Jose, California, 1980.
• B.S., Electrical Engineering, California Polytechnic State University, 1984.
• M.S., Aeronautical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1985.
• Ph.D., Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1992.
• M.S., Physical Sciences (Space Science), University of Houston–Clear Lake, 2002.

Early career

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 and Draper Labs (1985–1992), Chamitoff worked on several NASA projects. He performed stability analyses for the deployment of the Hubble 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 the University 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.

NASA career

In 1995, Chamitoff joined the Motion Control Systems Group in the Mission Operations Directorate at the Johnson 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 lead CAPCOM for ISS Expedition 9, acted as crew support astronaut for ISS Expedition 6, and helped develop onboard procedures and displays for Space Station system operations.In July 2002, Chamitoff was a crew-member on the Aquarius undersea research habitat for 9 days as part of the (NEEMO#NEEMO 3: July 15–21, 2002|NEEMO 3) mission (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations).WEB,weblink Life Sciences Data Archive : Experiment, NASA, April 21, 2011, NASA, September 22, 2011, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20111024024749weblink">weblink October 24, 2011, He served as the backup Expedition 15/16 Flight Engineer 2 and STS-117/STS-120 Mission Specialist 5 for Clayton Anderson.While aboard the space shuttle, he spoke with Michael Sobell Sinai School students via a live satellite link.NEWS

Expedition 17 and 18

(File:20180706 Garriott Juggling Johnson Space Center.jpg|thumb|Tennis balls that Chamitoff and Garriott juggled while aboard the ISS)Chamitoff served on a long-duration mission to the International Space Station. He launched as a mission specialist on board Space Shuttle mission STS-124. He was flight engineer 2 and science officer on Expedition 17. He returned home as a mission specialist on STS-126, completing a tour that lasted six months.As part of his personal allowance, Chamitoff brought the first bagels into space, 3 bags (18 sesame seed bagels) of Fairmount Bagels with him, from his cousin's bagel bakery.CTV.ca Montreal-born astronaut brings bagels into space {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602184347weblink |date=2008-06-02 }} Sun. Jun. 1 2008 7:29 PM ET ; CTV National News - 1 June 2008 - 11pm TV newscastThe Gazette (Montreal), Here's proof: Montreal bagels are out of this world {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080604161249weblink |date=2008-06-04 }}, IRWIN BLOCK, Tuesday June 3, 2008, Section A, Page A2 He also bought a velcro chess set and started playing games against mission control, which got quite competitive.NEWS,weblink New York Times, Space Station to Mission Control: It's Your Move, DYLAN LOEB McCLAIN, 7 September 2008, 18 May 2018, Chamitoff also placed a Mezuzah shaped like a rocket made by British-Israeli silversmith Laura Cowan "on the door post near his bunk bed" on the International Space Station.MAGAZINE, Community Magazine (Brooklyn) DATE=2008-06-04LANGUAGE=ENLAST1=HALILY, Yaniv, While Richard Garriott was aboard the ISS at the beginning of Expedition 18, Chamitoff and Garriott filmed the first magic show in space, and along with Yury Lonchakov, Michael Fincke and Richard Garriott, filmed a science-fiction movie made in space, Apogee of Fear.MAGAZINE,weblink Wired, NASA Relents: Apogee of Fear, First Sci-Fi Film Shot in Space, Will Be Released, Matt Blum, 17 May 2018, After conducting experiments with the SPHERES during his mission, he founded the Zero Robotics competition, where high school students program the robots.WEB,weblink Zero Robotics History,

STS-134

Chamitoff served as a mission specialist on STS-134, the penultimate Space Shuttle mission, during which he made two spacewalks, the last of which completed the construction of the ISS.WEB,weblink STS-134 Mission Summary, NASA, May 2011, NASA, January 14, 2012,

Gallery

{{Gallery| title = | align =| footer =| style =| state =| height = 180| width = 220| cellwidth =| captionstyle =| File:Exp18home nasa big.jpg }}

Post-NASA career

Chamitoff is currently the Lawrence Hargrave Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Sydney, AustraliaWEB, Aeronautical Engineering, K, Srinivas, Grant, Steven,weblink University of Sydney, January 15, 2023, and a Professor of Engineering Practice in the Aerospace Engineering Department at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. He instructs senior design, human spaceflight operations, and dynamics and controls for aerospace vehicles.

Awards and honors

Chamitoff has received the following honors and awards:

• California Astronaut Hall of Fame
• NASA Distinguished Service Medal
• NASA Exceptional Service Medal
• NASA Space Flight Medal
• Honored Alumnus CalPolyWEB, Cal Poly Alumni Association Announces 2008 Honored Alumni,weblink November 3, 2008, California Polytechnic State University, January 15, 2023,
• AIAA Associate Fellow
• AIAA Technical Excellence Award
• NASA Silver Snoopy award
• NASA/USA Space Flight Awareness Award
• C.S. Draper Laboratory Graduate Fellowship
• IEEE Graduate Fellowship
• Tau Beta Pi Honor Society Fellowship
• Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society
• Eta Kappa Nu Honor Society
• Applied Magnetics Scholarships
• Academic Excellence Award
• Most Outstanding Senior Award
• Degree of Excellence and California Statewide Speech Finalist
• Eagle Scout.WEB, Astronauts and the BSA, Boy Scouts of America,weblink 2010-06-07,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110622104220weblink">weblink 2011-06-22, dead,

Personal life

Chamitoff is married to Alison Chantal Caviness, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D. They have two children.Chamitoff's recreational interests include scuba diving, backpacking, flying, skiing, racquetball, Aikido, juggling, magic and guitar. He is a certified divemaster and instrument rated pilot. Chamitoff also enjoys chess and has played games with people on earth while living in the ISS.WEB,weblink Chess in Space: Houston, we have a checkmate, August 29, 2008, ChessBase, October 10, 2013,

References

{{Include-NASA}}{{reflist}}

External links

• {{Twitter}}
• Chamitoff interview
• Space Station Expedition 17
• Spacefacts biography of Gregory Chamitoff

{{NASA Astronaut Group 17}}{{Underwater diving|unddiv}}{{Authority control}}