George Driver "Pinky" Nelson (born July 13, 1950) is an American physicist, astronomer,

science educator Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process (the scientific method), some ...

, and retired NASA

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 ...

Early life and education

Nelson was born on July 13, 1950, in

Charles City, Iowa Charles City is a city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Iowa. Charles City is a significant commercial and transportation center for the area. U.S. Routes 18 and 218, Iowa Highway 14, and the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railr ...

, but considers Willmar, Minnesota, to be his hometown. He graduated from Willmar Senior High School, Willmar, Minnesota, in 1968. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from

Harvey Mudd College Harvey Mudd College (HMC) is a private college in Claremont, California, focused on science and engineering. It is part of the Claremont Colleges, which share adjoining campus grounds and resources. The college enrolls 902 undergraduate students ...

in 1972, and a Master of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Astronomy from the University of Washington in 1974 and 1978, respectively. Nelson was a

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

and earned the rank of First Class Scout. His wife, Susie, is from Alhambra, California. They have two daughters, Aimee Tess (born April 25, 1972) and Marti Ann (born February 27, 1975). Pinky enjoys playing golf, reading, swimming, running, and music.

Research

Nelson performed astronomical research at the Sacramento Peak Solar Observatory,

Sunspot, New Mexico Sunspot is an unincorporated community in the Sacramento Mountains in the Lincoln National Forest in Otero County, New Mexico, United States, about south of Cloudcroft. Its elevation is . The Sunspot Solar Observatory and Apache Point Observa ...

; the Astronomical Institute at Utrecht ( Utrecht, Netherlands) and the University of Göttingen Observatory, ( Göttingen, West Germany), and at the

Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics JILA, formerly known as the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, is a physical science research institute in the United States. JILA is located on the University of Colorado Boulder campus. JILA was founded in 1962 as a joint institute of ...

(

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

). His last research was in systemic education reform and the preparation of science teachers.

NASA career

George was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978. He flew as a scientific equipment operator in the WB 57-F earth resources aircraft and served as the Astronaut Office representative in the Space Shuttle Extravehicular Mobility Unit (space suit) development effort. During STS-1 he was the photographer in the prime chase plane. He also served as support crewman and

CAPCOM is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...

for the last two OFT flights, STS-3 and STS-4, and as head of the Astronaut Office Mission Development Group. A veteran of three space flights, Nelson served aboard

STS-41-C STS-41-C (formerly STS-13) was NASA's eleventh Space Shuttle mission, and the fifth mission of Space Shuttle ''Challenger''. The launch, which took place on April 6, 1984, marked the first direct ascent trajectory for a Space Shuttle mission. ...

in 1984, STS-61C in 1986 and STS-26 in 1988. He has logged a total of 411 hours in space, including 10 hours of EVA flight time.

Spaceflight experience

STS-41-C ''Challenger''

This was a seven-day (April 6–13, 1984) mission during which the crew successfully deployed the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), retrieved the ailing Solar Maximum satellite, repaired it on board the Orbiter, and replaced it in orbit. The mission also included flight testing of

Manned Maneuvering Unit The Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) is an astronaut propulsion unit that was used by NASA on three Space Shuttle missions in 1984. The MMU allowed the astronauts to perform untethered extravehicular spacewalks at a distance from the shuttle. T ...

s (MMUs) in two extravehicular activities (EVAs), and operation of the Cinema 360 and

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...

Camera Systems.

STS-61-C ''Columbia''

This mission, from January 12–18, 1986, launched from the Kennedy Space Center and returned to a night landing at

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...

, California. During the six-day flight, the crew deployed the SATCOM KU satellite and conducted experiments in

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

and materials processing.

STS-26 ''Discovery''

This mission (September 29–October 3, 1988) was the first flown after the ''Challenger'' accident. During the four-day flight, the crew successfully deployed the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-C) and operated eleven mid-deck science experiments.

Post-NASA career

Nelson left NASA in June 1989, became an assistant provost at the University of Washington,Stricherz, Vince
UW grads are astronaut candidates.
''University Week'', 9 July 1998. and now directs the Science, Mathematics and Technology Education program at Western Washington University in Bellingham. He is also the principal investigator of the North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership, a mathematics and science partnership grant from the National Science Foundation. Nelson served as faculty on the Fall 2013 Semester at Sea voyage, where he taught introductory astronomy and celestial navigation, and in 2019 as the faculty traveler for thei
Alumni Travel Program
to Chile, which coincided with the total solar eclipse on July 2, 2019.From The Skies to the Sea and Back Again.
''Shipmates Magazine'', Spring 2019.

Honors

NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal, NASA Exceptional Service Medal, 3

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 ...

s, AIAA Haley Space Flight Award,

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...

V. M. Komarov Diploma, Western Washington University Faculty Outstanding Service Award. In 2009, Nelson was inducted into the

U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame The United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, located inside the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Heroes & Legends building on Merritt Island, Florida, honors American astronauts and features the world's largest collection of their personal memora ...

.U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame at KSC Visitor Complex - Astronaut Scholarship Foundation
, United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, retrieved 2009-05-04 He is also an elected member of Washington State Academy of Science and an Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

References

External links

*
Astronautix biography of George D. Nelson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, George 1950 births Living people 1984 in spaceflight 1986 in spaceflight 1988 in spaceflight NASA civilian astronauts 21st-century American physicists American astronomers Harvey Mudd College alumni University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Göttingen alumni People from Willmar, Minnesota People from Charles City, Iowa United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees Western Washington University faculty Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal Space Shuttle program astronauts Spacewalkers