NAME:
George D. Zamka
Colonel, USMC
NASA Astronaut
PERSONAL
DATA: Born in
1962 in Jersey City, New Jersey. Raised in New York City;
Irvington, New York; Medellin, Colombia and Rochester
Hills, Michigan. Married to the former Elisa P.
Walker of Mississippi. They have two children. He enjoys
weight lifting, running, bicycling, scuba and boating. His mother, Sofia Zamka
and brother Conrad P. Zamka both live in Florida. His father, Conrad Zamka resides in Indiana.
EDUCATION: Graduated from Rochester Adams High
School, Rochester Hills Michigan, in 1980; received a Bachelor of Science degree in
Mathematics from the United
States Naval Academy in 1984; received a Masters of Science degree in
Engineering Management from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1997.
ORGANIZATIONS: United States Naval Academy Alumni Association, Marine Corps Association,
and Society of Experimental Test Pilots.
SPECIAL
HONORS: Navy
Strike Air Medal (6), Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V, and various other
military service and campaign awards. Distinguished Graduate, United States Naval Academy. Commodore's list and Academic Achievement
Award, Training Air Wing Five. Recipient of four NASA Superior Accomplishment
Awards and a GEM Award.
EXPERIENCE: Zamka was commissioned as a Second
Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps after graduating from the United States Naval Academy in May 1984. After basic flight
training, he was trained as an A-6E pilot at Whidbey Island, Washington in 1987-88. He then flew with
Marine All Weather Attack Squadron VMA(AW)-242 in El Toro, California. He served in administration and flight safety roles and
also as Squadron Weapons and Tactics Instructor. In 1990, he trained to be an
F/A-18 pilot and was assigned to Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron VMFA(AW)-121,
also in El Toro. He flew the F/A-18D Night Attack
Hornet during overseas deployments to Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Southwest
Asia. Zamka flew 66
combat missions over occupied Kuwait and Iraq during Desert Storm. In 1993 he served with First
Battalion, Fifth Marines in Camp Pendleton, California and the 31st Marine
Expeditionary Unit in the Western Pacific. He was selected to attend the United
States Air Force Test Pilot School class 94A and graduated in December 1994. Zamka
was then assigned as an F/A-18 test pilot/project officer and the F/A-18
Operations Officer for the Naval Strike Aircraft Test Squadron (NSATS). While
assigned to NSATS, Zamka flew a wide variety of tests in the F/A-18 Hornet to
include high angle of attack, loads, flutter, crew equipment, and weapon system
programs. Zamka returned to VMFA(AW)-121 in 1998 and was serving as the
Aircraft Maintenance Officer, deployed to Iwakuni, Japan, when selected for the astronaut
program.
He has over
4000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft.
NASA
EXPERIENCE:
Selected as a pilot by NASA in June 1998, he reported for astronaut candidate
training in August 1998. He has served in various technical and leadership
roles in the astronaut office, to include space rendezvous and proximity
operations, landing and rollout instructor, and lead for shuttle systems within
the Shuttle Operations Branch. Zamka served as lead for the shuttle training
and procedures division and as supervisor for the astronaut candidate class of
2004. He is assigned to serve as pilot on STS-120, the mission that will
deliver the Node 2 connecting module to the International Space Station.
advertisement
