CARLOS NORIEGA Biography - Famous Scientists

 
 

Biography » famous scientists » carlos noriega

CARLOS NORIEGA

PERSONAL DATA:                                                                           
                                                                                         
Born October 8, 1959, in Lima, Peru. Considers Santa Clara, California, to be             
his hometown. Married to the former Wendy L. Thatcher. They have five children.           
He enjoys flying, running, snow skiing, racquetball, and chasing after his small         
children. His parents, Rodolfo and Nora Noriega, reside in Gilbert, Arizona. Her         
parents, John and Elizabeth Thatcher, reside in Honolulu, Hawaii.                         
                                                                                         
EDUCATION:                                                                               
                                                                                         
Graduated from Wilcox High School, Santa Clara, California, in 1977. Bachelor of         
science degree in computer science from University of Southern California, 1981.         
Master of science degree in computer science from the Naval Postgraduate School,         
1990. Master of science degree in space systems operations from the Naval                 
Postgraduate School, 1990.                                                               
                                                                                         
ORGANIZATIONS:                                                                           
                                                                                         
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.                                       
                                                                                         
SPECIAL HONORS:                                                                           
                                                                                         
Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device,           
Air Medal (Strike Flight Award), Navy Achievement Medal.                                 
                                                                                         
EXPERIENCE:                                                                               
                                                                                         
Noriega was a member of the Navy ROTC unit and received his commission in the             
United States Marine Corps at the University of Southern California in 1981.             
Following graduation from flight school, he flew CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters             
with HMM-165 from 1983 to 1985 at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Kaneohe Bay,           
Hawaii. Noriega made two 6-month shipboard deployments in the West Pacific/Indian         
Ocean including operations in support of the Multi-National Peacekeeping Force           
in Beirut, Lebanon. He completed his tour in Hawaii as the Base Operations               
Officer for Marine Air Base Squadron 24. In 1986 he was transferred to MCAS               
Tustin, California, where he served as the aviation safety officer and                   
instructor pilot with HMT-301. In 1988, Noriega was selected to attend the Naval         
Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where he earned two master of               
science degrees. Upon graduation in September 1990, he was assigned to United             
States Space Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In addition to serving as a           
Space Surveillance Center Commander, he was responsible for the acquisition of           
several software development projects and was ultimately the command                     
representative for the development and integration of the major space and                 
missile warning computer system upgrades for Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base.           
At the time of his selection, he was serving on the staff of the 1st Marine               
Aircraft Wing in Okinawa, Japan.                                                         
                                                                                         
He has logged approximately 2,000 flight hours in various fixed wing and rotary           
wing aircraft.                                                                           
                                                                                         
NASA EXPERIENCE:                                                                         
                                                                                         
Selected by NASA in December 1994, Noriega reported to the Johnson Space Center           
in March 1995. He completed a year of training and evaluation, and was qualified         
for assignment as a mission specialist in May 1996. He has had technical                 
assignments in the Astronaut Office EVA/Robotics and Operations Planning                 
Branches.                                                                                 
                                                                                         
Most recently, he served as a mission specialist on STS-84 (May 15-24, 1997),             
NASA's sixth Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space               
Station Mir. During this 9-day mission the crew aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis             
also conducted a number of secondary experiments, and transferred nearly 4 tons           
of supplies and experiment equipment between Atlantis and the Mir station.               
During the STS-84 he logged a total of 221 hours and 20 minutes in space                 
traveling 3.6 million miles in 144 orbits of the Earth.                                   
                                                                                         
CURRENT ASSIGNMENT:                                                                       
                                                                                         
Major Noriega will serve on the crew of STS-97, the third Space Shuttle mission           
to carry hardware to space for the assembly of the International Space Station.           
He is scheduled to conduct 2 space walks on this mission. Launch is targeted for         
March 1999.                                                                               
                                                                                         
JULY 1997                                                                                 
                                                                                         
Noriega Spaceflight Log                                                                   
                                                                                         
15 May 1997 Flight: STS-84. Flight Up: STS-84. Flight Back: STS-84. Flight Time:         
9.22 days.                                                                               
                                                                                         
1 December 2000 Flight: STS-97. Flight Up: STS-97. Flight Back: STS-97. Flight           
Time: 10.83 days.