Dominic Lee Pudwill Gorie (born May 2, 1957) is a retired

United States 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 ...

officer and

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 An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

. He is a veteran of four

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 na ...

missions.

Personal

Gorie was born in

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcasieu ...

. His father, Capt. Paul Pudwill, was killed when the

B-47 Stratojet The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long-range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraft ...

he was flying developed ice on its wings and crashed; Dominic was only six years old. He enrolled in 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 ...

where he studied

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 ...

. Following graduation in 1979, he trained as a pilot and served tours of duty aboard the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

s and . In 1987, he trained as a

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...

and worked at the Naval Air Test Center until the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, where, stationed aboard the carrier , he flew combat missions in

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. He currently resides in

Salida, Colorado The City of Salida ( ; spanish language, Spanish: , "exit") is the Colorado municipalities#Statutory city, Statutory city that is the county seat and the List of cities and towns in Colorado, most populous municipality of Chaffee County, Colorado ...

Education

Gorie graduated from

Miami Palmetto High School , motto_translation = Strength through knowledge , established = , closed = , type = Public secondary , status = , category_label = , category ...

Pinecrest, Florida Pinecrest is a Village (United States), suburban village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census recorded a population of 18,223; as of 2019, this has increased by over five percent to an e ...

, in 1975. He then obtained his bachelor of science degree in ocean engineering from the

in 1979, and his master of science degree in aviation systems from the

University of Tennessee Space Institute A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

in 1990.

Awards and honors

Military

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

, Distinguished Flying Cross (2) one with Combat “V”,

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

(2),

Defense Meritorious Service Medal The Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM) is an award bestowed upon members of the United States military by the United States Department of Defense. In the order of precedence of the United States Armed Forces, it is worn between the Purple ...

Navy Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

with Combat “V” (2)

NASA

NASA Space Flight Medal The NASA Space Flight Medal is a decoration of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. According to its statutes, it is awarded "for significant achievement or service during individual participation as a civilian or military astronau ...

(3)

Others

National Wrestling Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stillw ...

, 2017

Military career

Designated a

Naval Aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

in 1981. Flew the

A-7E Corsair II The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...

with Attack Squadron 46 aboard from 1981 to 1983. Transitioned to Strike Fighter Squadron 132 (

VFA-132 Strike Fighter Squadron 132 (VFA-132), also known as the "Privateers", was an aviation unit of the United States Navy that was based at Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Florida (USA), in service from 1984 to 1992. Their radio callsign was "Pirate." ...

) in 1983, flying the

F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twinjet, twin-engine, supersonic aircraft, supersonic, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, ...

aboard until 1986. Attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1987 and served as a Test Pilot at the Naval Air Test Center from 1988 to 1990. Then was assigned to VFA-87 flying the F/A-18 aboard until 1992. He participated in Operation Desert Storm, flying 38 combat missions. In 1992 received orders to the U.S. Space Command in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

for two years before reporting to

VFA-106 Strike Fighter Squadron 106 (VFA-106), also known as the "Gladiators", is a United States Navy F/A-18 Hornet and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Fleet Replacement Squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. Mission As the East Coast Flee ...

for F/A-18 refresher training. He was en route to his command tour of VFA-37 when he was selected as an astronaut candidate. Gorie accumulated over 6,000 hours in more than 35 aircraft and has over 600 carrier landings. Gorie retired from the U.S. Navy in September 2005.

NASA career

In 1994, Gorie was selected as an astronaut candidate. He first flew as the pilot of mission

STS-91 STS-91 was the final Space Shuttle mission to the ''Mir'' space station. It was flown by Space Shuttle ''Discovery'', and launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 2 June 1998. Crew Mission highlights STS-91 marked the final Shuttle/''M ...

in 1998 and again as pilot on mission

STS-99 STS-99 was a Space Shuttle mission using ''Endeavour'', that launched on 11 February 2000 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The primary objective of the mission was the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) project. This was also the last s ...

in 2000. In 2001, Gorie was commander of mission

STS-108 STS-108 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle '' Endeavour''. Its primary objective was to deliver supplies to and help maintain the ISS. STS-108 was the 12th shuttle flight to visit the In ...

, a visit to the

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 ...

. In 2008, Gorie completed his 4th mission aboard a shuttle with

STS-123 STS-123 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which was flown by Space Shuttle ''Endeavour''. STS-123 was the 1J/A ISS assembly mission. The original launch target date was 14 February 2008 but after the delay of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorie, Dominic Lee Pudwill 1957 births Living people United States Navy astronauts NASA civilian astronauts People from Lake Charles, Louisiana People from Pinecrest, Florida United States Naval Academy alumni United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni University of Tennessee alumni United States Navy personnel of the Gulf War United States Navy captains United States Naval Aviators Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Space Shuttle program astronauts Mir crew members