Christopher Cassidy
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Christopher John "Chris" Cassidy (born January 4, 1970) is a retired
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
astronaut and
United States Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting s ...
. Chris Cassidy achieved the rank of captain in the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
. His first spaceflight was on a
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...
mission in 2009. He was the
Chief of the Astronaut Office The Chief of the Astronaut Office is the most senior leadership position for active astronauts at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Chief Astronaut serves as head of the NASA Astronaut Corps and is the principal advis ...
at NASA from July 2015 until June 2017.


Early life and education

Cassidy was born in
Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...
on January 4, 1970. He attended York High School, in
York, Maine York is a town in York County, Maine, United States, near the southern tip of the state. The population in the 2020 census was 13,723. Situated beside the Atlantic Ocean on the Gulf of Maine, York is a well-known summer resort town. It is home ...
. He then graduated from the Naval Academy Preparatory School in
Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...
, in 1989. He received a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree in
mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
at the
United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...
in 1993 and a
Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...
degree in
ocean engineering Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circl ...
at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
in 2000


Military experience

Cassidy graduated from BUD/S class 192 in 1993 as Honor man. He served for ten years as a member of the
Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sm ...
. His specializations in military tactics include long range special reconnaissance (vehicular and foot patrols), direct action building assaults, non-compliant ship-boardings, desert reconnaissance patrols, combat diving, underwater explosives, and a variety of air operations, including parachuting, fast roping, and rappelling. He made four six-month deployments: two to
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, and two to the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
. Cassidy served as Executive Officer and Operations Officer of Special Boat Team 20 in Norfolk, Virginia, and SEAL Platoon Commander at SEAL Team 3 in
Coronado, California Coronado (Spanish for "Crowned") is a resort city located in San Diego County, California, United States, across the San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego. It was founded in the 1880s and incorporated in 1890. Its population was 24,697 at th ...
. He deployed to the Afghanistan region two weeks after the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
. He served as Ground Assault Force Commander for international and U.S.-only combat missions in Afghanistan. Cassidy led two months of non-compliant ship-boardings in the Northern
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...
. Cassidy was also a
SEAL Delivery Vehicle The SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) is a crewed submersible and a type of swimmer delivery vehicle used to deliver United States Navy SEALs and their equipment for special operations missions. It is also operated by the Royal Navy's Special Boat Serv ...
(SDV) platoon commander at SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team Two in Norfolk. He accumulated over 200 hours underwater as pilot, navigator, or mission commander of a two-man flooded submersible SDV, which is launched and recovered from a host-ship submarine. He also served as drydeck shelter platoon commander at SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team Two in Norfolk. Cassidy volunteered for and completed a week-long, charity kayak paddle from Norfolk, Virginia to
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
to raise money and awareness for the
Special Operations Warrior Foundation The Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF) is an American tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1980 to provide college scholarships and educational counseling to the surviving children of American Special Operations per ...
.


NASA career

Cassidy was selected as an astronaut candidate by
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
in May 2004. In February 2006 he completed Astronaut Candidate Training, which included scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...
and
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
systems, physiological training,
T-38 Talon The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first, and the most produced, supersonic trainer. The T-38 remains in service in several air forces. The United States Air Force (USAF) operates the most ...
flight training, and water and wilderness survival training. Completion of this initial training qualified him for various technical assignments within the Astronaut Office and future flight assignment as a mission specialist.


STS-127

In February 2008, Cassidy was assigned to his first spaceflight as a mission specialist on
STS-127 STS-127 ( ISS assembly flight 2J/A) was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It was the twenty-third flight of . The primary purpose of the STS-127 mission was to deliver and install the final two components of t ...
, a Space Shuttle mission to deliver the Exposed Facility of the
Japanese Experiment Module Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
(JEM-EF) to the ISS aboard Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. Cassidy and his six fellow crew members lifted off aboard ''Endeavour'' from the
Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...
on July 15, 2009. The seven astronauts docked with the ISS on July 17, joining the six-person
Expedition 20 Expedition 20 was the 20th long-duration flight to the International Space Station. The expedition marked the first time a six-member crew inhabited the station. Because each Soyuz-TMA spacecraft could hold only three people, two separate laun ...
crew commanded by Russian cosmonaut
Gennady Padalka Gennady Ivanovich Padalka (russian: Гeннадий Иванович Падалка; born 21 June 1958 in Krasnodar, Soviet Union) is a Russian Air Force officer and a Roscosmos cosmonaut. Padalka currently holds the world record for List of spac ...
. This marked the first time that 13 people had been in space together, a record that has not been surpassed since. On July 22, 2009, Cassidy stepped outside the ISS with NASA astronaut David Wolf for his first spacewalk. The two began work replacing batteries on the P6
Truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...
and continued work on installing the JEM-EF. The EVA was called off after 5 hours and 59 minutes for excess
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is trans ...
in Cassidy's suit. Over the course of STS-127, Cassidy participated in two more spacewalks with NASA astronaut
Thomas Marshburn Thomas Henry Marshburn (born August 29, 1960) is an American physician and a NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of three spaceflights to the International Space Station and holds the record for the oldest person to perform a spacewalk at 61 years ol ...
. The two completed replacing the batteries on the P6 truss and completed the installation of the JEM-EF during two excursions lasting 7 hours and 12 minutes and 4 hours and 57 minutes, respectively. Cassidy's third spacewalk marked the completion of the Japanese Experiment Module, a feat that took three space shuttle missions starting with STS-123. On July 31, 2009, Cassidy returned to the KSC
Shuttle Landing Facility The Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) also known as Launch and Landing Facility (LLF) is an airport located on Merritt Island in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is a part of the Kennedy Space Center and was used by Space Shuttle for ...
, wrapping up his first spaceflight after 15 days in space.


Expedition 35/36

Cassidy was assigned to the
Expedition 35 Expedition 35 was the 35th long-duration mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The expedition started 13 March 2013, and marked the first time a Canadian astronaut – Colonel Chris Hadfield – was in command of the station. Expedi ...
crew as a flight engineer and flew to the ISS aboard Soyuz TMA-08M (''US designation: 34S''), which launched on March 28, 2013. On May 11, 2013, Cassidy and
Thomas Marshburn Thomas Henry Marshburn (born August 29, 1960) is an American physician and a NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of three spaceflights to the International Space Station and holds the record for the oldest person to perform a spacewalk at 61 years ol ...
performed an unplanned spacewalk to replace a pump controller box suspected to be the source of an ammonia coolant leak. Cassidy participated in two US spacewalks from the ISS in June/July 2013. On July 16, 2013, he was joined by
Luca Parmitano Colonel Luca Parmitano (born 27 September 1976 in Paternò, Sicily) is an Italian astronaut in the European Astronaut Corps for the European Space Agency (ESA). He was selected as an ESA astronaut in May 2009. Parmitano is also a Colonel and ...
on a spacewalk. The EVA was cut short when Parmitano reported water floating behind his head inside his helmet. During the EVA, Cassidy took his space selfie. That photo became one of the best selfies of 2013 listed by many news sites.


Chief of the Astronaut Office

Cassidy was named
Chief of the Astronaut Office The Chief of the Astronaut Office is the most senior leadership position for active astronauts at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Chief Astronaut serves as head of the NASA Astronaut Corps and is the principal advis ...
at NASA in July 2015, succeeding Robert L. Behnken. On June 2, 2017, Cassidy was replaced by
Patrick G. Forrester Patrick Graham Forrester (born March 31, 1957) is a NASA astronaut, engineer, and former Chief of the Astronaut Office. He is a retired United States Army colonel and Army aviator. He is married and has two children. Forrester flew on three Space ...
as Chief of the Astronaut Office and was returned to normal flight status.


Expedition 62/63

Cassidy launched onboard Soyuz MS-16 on April 9, 2020, as part of Expedition 62. He was the ISS Commander for
Expedition 63 Expedition 63 was the 63rd long duration mission to the International Space Station, which began on 17 April 2020 with the undocking of the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft and continued until the undocking of the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft on 21 October 20 ...
, which consisted of Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts
Ivan Vagner Ivan Viktorovich Vagner (born 10 July 1985) is a Russian engineer and cosmonaut who was selected in October 2010. He graduated from the Baltic State Technical University in 2008, before working as an engineer for RKK Energia. He began his first ...
and
Anatoli Ivanishin Anatoli Alekseyevich Ivanishin (russian: link=no, Анатолий Алексеевич Иванишин; born 15 January 1969) is a former Russian cosmonaut. His first visit to space was to the International Space Station on board the Soyuz TM ...
. Cassidy was joined by fellow NASA astronauts
Doug Hurley Douglas Gerald Hurley (born October 21, 1966) is an American engineer, former Marine Corps pilot and former NASA astronaut. He piloted Space Shuttle missions STS-127 (July 2009) and STS-135 (July 2011), the final flight of the Space Shuttle pro ...
and
Bob Behnken Robert Louis Behnken (; born July 28, 1970, in St. Ann, Missouri) is a NASA astronaut, engineer, and former Chief of the Astronaut Office. Behnken holds a Ph.D in mechanical engineering and the rank of colonel in the U.S. Air Force, where he s ...
on May 31, 2020, with the docking of
Crew Dragon Demo-2 Crew Dragon Demo-2 (officially Crew Demo-2, SpaceX Demo-2, or Demonstration Mission-2) was the first crewed test flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft, named '' Endeavour'', launched on 30 May 2020 on a Falcon 9 booster, and ca ...
. Cassidy and his crew returned to Earth on October 21, 2020. They landed in Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan at 10:54 pm. Cassidy's last two years as an astronaut were the central feature of the Disney+ docuseries Among The Stars.


Post-NASA Career

Cassidy joined the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation as President and CEO in August 2021 after retiring from the Navy and the NASA Astronaut Corps earlier that year. Since his retirement from government service, Cassidy has also been active on the boards of directors for several non-profits, including the Navy SEAL Foundation and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. He also serves as an advisor for New Vista Acquisition Corp, a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC).


Awards and honors

Cassidy was awarded the
Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...
with "V" device and the Presidential Unit Citation for leading a nine-day operation at the
Zhawar Kili Zhawar is an area within the Khost Province of Afghanistan. Zhawar Kili Jalaluddin Haqqani was (is) known by Afghani mujahideen as master of the Zhawar Kili cave complex. (B.G. Williams 2013). Mir Bahmanyar writes of the caves during 1986. He ...
cave complex, a national priority objective directly on the Afghan–Pakistan border, during Operation Enduring Freedom. Cassidy was a guest speaker at the
USNA The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is ...
Combat Leadership Seminars in 2003 and 2004. He was awarded a second Bronze Star for combat leadership service in 2004 during Operation Enduring Freedom in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. Chris Cassidy is also the 500th person in space. He achieved this when his crewmates so designated him during the STS-127 mission. He is also the second SEAL to fly in space, following
William Shepherd William McMichael "Bill" Shepherd (born July 26, 1949), ( Capt, USN, Ret.), is an American former Navy SEAL, aerospace, ocean, and mechanical engineer, and NASA astronaut, who served as Commander of Expedition 1, the first crew on the Interna ...
, a veteran of four missions.


Awards and decorations


Personal life

Cassidy is married to the former Peggy Yancer from
Elyria, Ohio Elyria ( ) is a city in the Greater Cleveland metropolitan statistical area and the county seat of Lorain County, Ohio, Lorain County, Ohio, United States, located at the forks of the Black River (Ohio), Black River in Northeast Ohio 23 miles sou ...
. They have five children between the two of them. Recreational interests include traveling, biking, camping, snow skiing, weight lifting, running, basketball, real estate, and home improvement. Cassidy is a licensed Amateur Radio operator (ham), holding U.S. Technician level license KF5KDR. Cassidy has participated in several
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), operating in the Amateur-satellite service, is a project sponsored by various entities and carried out by astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station who also have an a ...
events with students in the United States. Cassidy announced his retirement from both the Navy and NASA Astronaut Corps on May 28, 2021.


References


External links


NASA biography


{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassidy, Christopher 1970 births Living people United States Navy astronauts United States Navy SEALs personnel People from York, Maine United States Naval Academy alumni MIT School of Engineering alumni United States Navy officers United States Naval Special Warfare Command United States Navy personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal Space Shuttle program astronauts Commanders of the International Space Station Spacewalkers