Gregory C. Johnson

Gregory Carl "Ray J" Johnson (born July 30, 1954), (CAPT, USNR, Ret.), is a retired American naval officer and naval aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, and NASA astronaut. He spent his military career in both the regular United States Navy and the Navy Reserve. Johnson was the pilot on Space Shuttle mission STS-125, the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.

This article is about the astronaut. For the comedic character, see Ray J. Johnson.
This article is about Gregory C. Johnson. For information about another astronaut with a similar name, see Gregory H. Johnson.
Gregory C. Johnson
Born (1954-07-30) July 30, 1954
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
StatusRetired
NationalityAmerican
Other namesGregory Carl Johnson
Alma materUniversity of Washington, B.S. 1977
Occupation(s)Naval aviator, test pilot
Space career
NASA Astronaut
Rank Captain, USNR
Time in space
12d 21h 38m
Selection1998 NASA Group 17
MissionsSTS-125
Mission insignia

Personal data

Johnson was born on July 30, 1954, in Seattle, Washington. He attended and graduated from West Seattle High School in 1972. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Washington in 1977. While in college, he also earned his civilian commercial pilot certificate with multi-engine landplane and single-engine seaplane ratings.

Johnson enjoys athletics, cycling, swimming, and auto repair, and has two grown sons from a previous marriage, Scott Johnson and Kent Johnson. He is married to Nanette Faget, who has three children.[1]

Johnson received his commission as an Ensign in the United States Navy Reserve through Aviation Officer Candidate School at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida in September 1977, and received his Naval Aviator wings via the Strike Jet training pipeline in December 1978. Upon completion of flight training, he was designated as a Selectively Retained Graduate (SERGRAD) and spent 1979 and part of 1980 as an instructor pilot in the TA-4J Skyhawk II aircraft.

In 1980, then Lieutenant, junior grade Johnson transferred to Attack Squadron 128 (VA-128), the A-6 Intruder Fleet Replacement Squadron at NAS Whidbey Island, Washington and transitioned to the A-6E Intruder attack bomber. Upon completion of the syllabus at VA-128, he was assigned to Attack Squadron 52 (VA-52), completing two 2 deployments in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean aboard USS Kitty Hawk. During this time, he was promoted to Lieutenant and selected for augmentation of his commission to the Regular Navy.

In 1984, Johnson reported to the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. After graduation, he reported to Naval Weapons Center China Lake, California, performing flight tests in the A-6E Intruder and F/A-18A Hornet aircraft. Following his flight test tour, then Lieutenant Commander Johnson returned to NAS Whidbey Island for his department head tour in an operational A-6 squadron. Following refresher training and an instructor tour at VA-128, he reported to Attack Squadron 196 (VA-196), serving as both an A-6 pilot/mission commander and the squadron's Aircraft Maintenance Department Head. During this tour he completed another Western Pacific and Indian Ocean deployment as well as a Northern Pacific deployment.

Johnson resigned his Regular Navy commission in 1990 and transferred back to the Naval Reserve while accepting a concurrent civil service position with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) Aircraft Operations Division at Ellington Field, Texas. In his concurrent military capacity from 1990 to 2007, he was promoted to Commander and later to Captain in the Navy Reserve and was the Commanding Officer of four Navy Reserve units. He also served as a Senior Research Officer in a Science and Technology Unit of the Office of Naval Research based at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

He has logged over 10,800 flight hours in 50 aircraft types and has accumulated over 500 carrier landings. He retired from the U.S. Navy with over 30 years of service effective October 1, 2007.[1]

NASA career

In April 1990, Johnson was accepted as an aerospace engineer and research pilot at the NASA JSC Aircraft Operations Division, Ellington Field, Texas. He qualified as a T-38 Talon instructor pilot, functional check flight and examiner pilot, as well as Gulfstream I aircraft commander, WB-57F Canberra high altitude research pilot and KC-135 co-pilot. Additionally, he conducted flight test programs in the T-38 aircraft including JET-A airstart testing, T-38N avionics upgrade testing and the first flight of the T-38 inlet redesign aircraft. In 1994 he assumed duties as the Chief, Maintenance & Engineering Branch responsible for all maintenance and engineering modifications on NASA JSC's 44 aircraft.

Selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in June 1998, he reported for training in August 1998. Johnson was the class leader for the seventeenth group of astronauts, with 31 U.S. and international members. Johnson was initially assigned as an Astronaut Support Personnel (ASP) responsible for configuring the Orbiter switches prior to launch and strapping astronauts in their seats for launch. More recently he served as the Astronaut Office representative for all technical aspects of orbiter landing and roll out issues. From June 2004 to November 2005, Johnson served as Manager, Launch Integration, for the Space Shuttle program at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.[1] He also served as the Astronaut Office Deputy, Shuttle Branch and Return to Flight Representative.

Johnson graduated with fellow astronaut Gregory H. Johnson, in the 1998 NASA Group 17. Gregory H. served as ascent/reentry CAPCOM on mission STS-125, while Gregory C. piloted STS-125 on Atlantis. They are not related and can be distinguished by their call signs. Gregory H. Johnson is known as "Box", while Gregory C. Johnson is known as "Ray J".[1]

STS-125
Main article: STS-125
Johnson uses the Portable In-Flight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT) on the flight deck of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Atlantis during the STS-125 mission

Johnson was the pilot on STS-125, the final Space Shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. It lasted from May 11–24, 2009, traveling 5,276,000 miles in 197 Earth orbits. Atlantis carried two new instruments to the telescope, the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and the Wide Field Camera 3. The mission also replaced a Fine Guidance Sensor, six gyroscopes, and two battery unit modules to allow the telescope to continue to function at least through 2014. The crew also installed new thermal blanket insulating panels to provide improved thermal protection, and a soft-capture mechanism that would aid in the safe de-orbiting of the telescope by an unmanned spacecraft at the end of its operational lifespan. The mission also carried an IMAX camera and the crew documented the progress of the mission for the movie Hubble.[2]

Organizations

Awards and honors

Johnson also received many other awards and decorations.[1]

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

  1. "Johnson's official NASA biography" (PDF). NASA. February 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  2. Pearlman, Robert Z. (May 19, 2009). "Hubble's Last Visit To Be Relived in 3-D". space.com. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
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