Brian Duffy, Retired Colonel, USAF (b. June
20 1953, Boston, Massachusetts) is a former
NASA astronaut.
Personal data
Married to the former Janet M. Helms of West Lafayette, Indiana. They have
two children. He enjoys golf, running, and reading.
His mother, Mrs. Anne C. Duffy, resides in Hingham, Massachusetts. His father,
Mr. Daniel E. Duffy, is deceased. Her father, John J. Helms, resides in Ft. Myers,
Florida. Her mother, Mary Helms, is deceased.
Education
Organizations
Member of:
- the United States Air Force Academy Association of Graduates
- the Air Force Association
- the Association of Space Explorers.
Special honors
- Distinguished Graduate of USAF Undergraduate Pilot Training where
he was awarded the UPT Flying Training Award
- Distinguished Graduate of USAF Test Pilot School Class 82B
- Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
- Defense Meritorious Service Medal
- Defense Superior Service Medal
- Air Force Meritorious Service Medal
- Air Force Commendation Medal
- NASA Space Flight Medals
Experience
Duffy graduated from the USAF Academy in 1975. He completed Undergraduate Pilot Training at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, in 1976, and was selected to fly the F-15. He was stationed at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, until 1979.
At the end of 1979 he transferred to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. He flew F-15’s there until 1982 when he was selected to attend the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. Following graduation, he served as the
Director of F-15 Tests at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
He has logged over 5,000 hours of flight time in more than 25 different aircraft.
NASA experience
Selected by NASA in June 1985, Duffy became an astronaut in
July 1986.
Since then, he has participated in the development and testing of displays, flight crew procedures, and computer software to
be used on Shuttle flights. He served as spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) in
Mission Control during numerous Space
Shuttle missions. He also served as Assistant Director (Technical) and as Deputy Director (Acting) of the Johnson Space Center. In this role he assisted the Center Director in the direction and
management of JSC’s resources, functions, programs, and projects assigned to the Center.
Duffy retired from the Air Force and NASA in 2001. Currently, he is Vice President and Associate Program Manager for the
Lockheed Martin Corporation.
Space flight experience
A veteran of four space flights, he has logged a total of 40 days, 17 hours, 34 minutes and 59 seconds in space. Duffy was the
pilot on STS-45 Atlantis (March 24 to April 2, 1992), the first of the
ATLAS series of missions to address the atmosphere and its interaction with the
Sun. He also was the pilot on STS-57 Endeavour (June 21 to July
1 1993).
Mission highlights included retrieval of the European Retrievable Carrier with the Shuttle’s robotic arm, a spacewalk by two crew members, and an assortment of experiments in the first flight of the
Spacehab middeck augmentation module. Duffy next commanded a six-man crew on STS-72 Endeavour (January 11-20,
1996). During the 9-day flight the crew retrieved the Space Flyer Unit (launched from Japan
10-months earlier), deployed and retrieved the OAST-Flyer, and conducted two spacewalks to demonstrate and evaluate techniques to
be used in the assembly of the International Space Station.
Most recently, Duffy commanded a crew of seven on STS-92 Discovery (October 11 - October 24 2000). During the 13-day flight, the seven member crew attached the
Z1 Truss and Pressurized Mating Adapter 3 to the International Space Station using Discovery’s robotic arm and performed
four space walks to configure these elements. This expansion of the ISS opened the door for future assembly missions and prepared
the station for its first resident crew ([1]).
External links
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