Oct. 1, 2024
3-time Spacewalker Josh Cassada to Retire from NASA
NASA astronaut Josh Cassada retired Oct. 1, after 11 years of carrier to the company throughout more than one techniques, together with 157 days in area and 3 spacewalks. Cassada is also a retired United States Army captain and naval aviator with greater than twenty years of carrier.
Cassada served as pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Group-5 undertaking and Expedition 68 flight engineer aboard the World Area Station, executing myriad repairs, contingency, and improve actions within the station whilst additionally contributing to loads of experiments and era demonstrations. His 3 spacewalks outdoor of the orbiting laboratory totaled greater than 21 hours, effectively putting in a couple of World Area Station Roll-Out Sun Arrays (IROSAs) to spice up the station’s electric capability. Cassada, along crewmate NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, additionally assembled the infrastructure for a long run IROSA set up and entirely restored a malfunctioning legacy sun array.
“I need to lengthen my trustworthy gratitude to Josh for his determination and repair to human area exploration,” mentioned NASA Johnson Area Middle Director Vanessa Wyche. “Josh’s contributions and achievements to the development of science and exploration will encourage the following era of explorers, the Artemis era, and get advantages humanity for many years to return.”
During Expedition 68, Cassada and his crewmates finished in depth problem-solving with flooring groups, together with the amendment of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to house an extra group member within the tournament of an emergency go back, and leveraged the group’s more than a few talent units and coaching to make sure persisted secure and tremendous operations for present and long run crews.
In Houston, Cassada served as a tablet communicator in NASA’s Project Keep watch over Middle and assistant to the executive of the Astronaut Place of work for area station operations. As a physicist and check pilot, Cassada additionally contributed to the improvement of NASA’s Business Group Program and Orion spacecraft and represented the Astronaut Place of work in technical and operational critiques of clinical experiments such because the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and Chilly Atom Lab.
“Josh has performed an important function in NASA’s deliverance of dependable and cost-effective human transportation to and from the distance station,” mentioned Norm Knight, director of flight operations at NASA Johnson. “Thru his determination and dedication to human spaceflight exploration, Josh’s paintings will proceed to push us ahead on our adventure again to the Moon, and past. We will be able to leave out him and are excited to peer what his subsequent adventure includes.”
As he transitions from govt carrier, Cassada will go back to the non-public sector, operating on extraordinarily low mild detection applied sciences with large and rising packages in more than a few spaces, together with quantum networks and computing, far flung sensing, long-range conversation, semiconductor production, and scientific imaging.
“I’m extremely thankful for my many alternatives right here at NASA,” Cassada mentioned, “and particularly to have served along one of the most maximum wonderful other folks each off and on our planet, conducting issues which might be handiest conceivable after we paintings and innovate in combination as a group. As people, we discover . And each and every clinical journey, whether or not in a lab on Earth or in area, calls for braveness to discover and advance society. I’m extremely lucky to had been surrounded by way of explorers right through my whole occupation to this point and going ahead. An expedition would possibly appear daunting, however it’s so much much less so whilst you’re ready and with the best crewmates.”
Earlier than his variety by way of NASA in 2013 as a member of NASA’s twenty first Elegance, Cassada earned his doctorate in Top Power Particle Physics from the College of Rochester, New York and was once a U.S. Army pilot, trainer pilot, check pilot, and trainer check pilot. During his occupation, Cassada has amassed greater than 4,000 flight hours in over 50 other airplane and has been awarded more than a few army and civilian awards.
Cassada graduated from White Undergo Lake House Top Faculty in Minnesota in 1991 and won his bachelor’s in Physics in 1995 from Albion School in Michigan.
Be informed extra about World Area Station analysis and operations at:
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Courtney Beasley
Johnson Area Middle, Houston
281-483-5111
courtney.m.beasley@nasa.gov
