On this day in 1962 Col. George Zamka (USAF, Ret.)
On this day in 1962 Col. George Zamka (USAF, Ret.), raised in Rochester Hills, MI, was born.
Colonel Zamka received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the United States Naval Academy in 1984 and a Master of Science degree in engineering management from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1997. 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, and later 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). Zamka was selected in the seventeenth group of astronauts in 1998. Col. Zamka’s first shuttle mission was as pilot of STS-120 Discovery October 27-November 7, 2007, which delivered the Harmony Node module to the International Space Station. On his second spaceflight he commanded STS-130 Endeavour February 8–22, 2010, where he participated in the installation of the Tranquility Node and the Cupola, a large robotics workstation with seven windows providing views of the station as well as Earth. He has been awarded six Navy Strike Air Medals, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V, three NASA Superior Accomplishment Awards, has been honored as a Distinguished Graduate, United States Naval Academy, and has also received the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. Over his two spaceflights he spent 28 days, 20 hours, and 29 minutes in space and orbited Earth 455 times. He currently serves as the Director of Bigelow Aerospace’s BA 330 (expandable space habitat) Crew and Cargo Program. Col. Zamka’s Air Force uniform, astronaut flightsuit and other items he has donated can be seen at Michigan’s Military and Space Heroes Museum 10am-5pm daily. Honor. Respect. Remember.
