Astronaut Biography: Garrett E. Reisman

Astronaut Garrett E. Reisman, mission specialist on STS-123, poses for a preflight photo. He was flight engineer on Expeditions 16 and 17. CREDIT: NASA

NAME: Garrett E. Reisman (Ph.D.)
NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA: Born February 10, 1968 in Morristown, New Jersey, but considers Parsippany, New Jersey, to be his hometown. Recreational interests include flying, skiing and snowboarding, rock climbing, mountaineering, canyoneering, and SCUBA diving. Dr. Reisman is an FAA Certified Flight Instructor. His parents are Sheila Reisman of Boynton Beach, Florida and the late Robert Reisman. His sister, Lainie Reisman, is an international youth violence prevention specialist and currently resides in Washington D.C.

EDUCATION:
Parsippany High School, Parsippany, New Jersey, 1986.
B.S., Economics, University of Pennsylvania, 1991.
B.S., Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania, 1991.
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1992.
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1997.

EXPERIENCE: From 1996 to 1998 Dr. Reisman was employed by TRW as a Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation and Control Engineer in the Space and Technology Division, Redondo Beach, California. While at TRW, he designed the thruster-based attitude control system for the NASA Aqua Spacecraft.

Prior to his employment at TRW, Dr. Reisman was a Ph.D. Candidate at Caltech in the Division of Engineering and Applied Science in Pasadena, California. His multiphase fluid mechanics research provided the first experimental evidence of the presence of shock waves in unsteady cloud cavitation.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA as a Mission Specialist in June 1998, Dr. Reisman reported for training in August 1998. Astronaut Candidate Training included orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training and ground school to prepare for T-38 flight training, as well as learning water and wilderness survival techniques.

After completing this training, Dr. Reisman was assigned to the Astronaut Office Robotics Branch where he worked primarily on the Space Station robotic arm.

In October 2001, Dr. Reisman was assigned to the Astronaut Office Advanced Vehicles Branch where he worked on the displays and checklists to be used in the next generation Space Shuttle cockpit.

In June 2003, Dr. Reisman was a crewmember on NEEMO V, living on the bottom of the sea in the Aquarius habitat for two weeks.

Dr. Reisman is assigned to serve as a member of both the Expedition-16 and the Expedition-17 crew aboard the International Space Station.. He will launch with the STS-123 Space Shuttle crew currently planned for March 2008. During the STS-123 mission Dr. Reisman is scheduled to perform one spacewalk and numerous tasks with the Space Station robotic arm and the new robotic manipulator, Dextre. He will return to Earth with the crew of STS-124, currently planned for May 2008.

Last Updated January 2008

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