Gregory Bruce Jarvis (August 24, 1944 – January 28, 1986) was an American
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
and astronaut who
died
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
during the destruction of the
Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on mission
STS-51-L
STS-51-L was the 25th mission of the NASA Space Shuttle program and the final flight of Space Shuttle ''Challenger''.
Planned as the first Teacher in Space Project flight in addition to observing Halley's Comet for six days and performing a ...
, where he was serving as
payload specialist for
Hughes Aircraft.
Education
Jarvis graduated from Mohawk Central High School (later renamed to Gregory B. Jarvis High School, which eventually became the Gregory B. Jarvis Middle School in his honor), in
Mohawk, New York, in 1962. 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
electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
from the
State University of New York at Buffalo in 1967, 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 to ...
degree in the same discipline from
Northeastern University
Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...
in 1969.
Jarvis joined the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
the same year and served until 1973, when he was
honorably discharged as a
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
. Thereafter he worked for Hughes Aircraft.
Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster
In June 1984, Jarvis was one of two Hughes Aircraft employees selected as candidates for the
Space Shuttle program
The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its ...
.
He planned to conduct experiments regarding the effects of
weightlessness
Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight. It is also termed zero gravity, zero G-force, or zero-G.
Weight is a measurement of the force on an object at rest in a relatively strong gravitational fi ...
on
fluids. Jarvis was originally scheduled to make his shuttle flight in April 1985, but his spot on that flight was replaced by
U.S. senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
Jake Garn. His flight was rescheduled for early January 1986, but he was again replaced – this time by
U.S. representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
Bill Nelson.
Jarvis was Payload Specialist 2 on
STS-51-L
STS-51-L was the 25th mission of the NASA Space Shuttle program and the final flight of Space Shuttle ''Challenger''.
Planned as the first Teacher in Space Project flight in addition to observing Halley's Comet for six days and performing a ...
which was launched 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 ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, at 11:38:00 EST on January 28, 1986. The crew on board the Orbiter ''Challenger'' included Commander
Dick Scobee, pilot
Michael J. Smith
Michael John Smith (April 30, 1945 – January 28, 1986), (Capt USN) was an American engineer and astronaut. He served as the pilot of the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' when it was destroyed during the STS-51-L mission, when it broke up 73 ...
(USN), mission specialists Dr.
Ronald McNair
Ronald Erwin McNair (October 21, 1950 – January 28, 1986) was an American NASA astronaut and physicist. He died during the launch of the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on mission STS-51-L, in which he was serving as one of three mission spec ...
, Lt. Col.
Ellison Onizuka
was an American astronaut, engineer, and USAF test pilot from Kealakekua, Hawaii, who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' on STS-51-C. He died in the destruction of the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'', on which he wa ...
(USAF), Dr.
Judith Resnik
Judith Arlene Resnik (April 5, 1949 – January 28, 1986) was an American electrical engineer, software engineer, biomedical engineer, pilot and NASA astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster. She was the fourth woman, ...
, and fellow civilian payload specialist
Christa McAuliffe
Sharon Christa McAuliffe ( Corrigan; September 2, 1948 – January 28, 1986) was an American teacher and astronaut from Concord, New Hampshire, who was killed on the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on mission STS-51-L where she was serving as a ...
. The entire STS-51-L crew died on January 28, 1986, when
''Challenger'' broke up during launch.
The remains of all seven astronauts from the ''Challenger'' disaster were discovered in the crew decks on the ocean floor. Jarvis' body was discovered in the lower mid-deck along with McNair and McAuliffe. During salvage operations to raise the crew deck from the ocean floor, his body escaped from the wreckage, floated to the surface, and disappeared back into the sea. On April 15, 1986, on the last scheduled attempt to recover wreckage, it was rediscovered and returned to shore. Jarvis was cremated and his ashes scattered in the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
.
Awards and honors
The East Engineering building on
University at Buffalo (
SUNY) north campus was renamed Jarvis Hall after Gregory Jarvis' death. In Spring of 1986, when the university had not yet named the building in his memory, four students scaled the building and nailed a sign with the name "Jarvis Hall" onto the side of the building as a show of support for the deceased astronaut. In 1987, the name was made official with a dedication ceremony. Jarvis Hall is devoted largely to
Aerospace Engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...
and engineering support services.
Mohawk Central High School in Mohawk, NY was renamed Gregory B. Jarvis Jr/Sr High School. It is now the Gregory B. Jarvis Middle School of the Central Valley Central School District.
Jarvis was portrayed by
Richard Jenkins
Richard Dale Jenkins (born May 4, 1947) is an American actor who is well known for his portrayal of deceased patriarch Nathaniel Fisher on the HBO funeral drama series '' Six Feet Under'' (2001–2005). He began his career in theater at the Tri ...
in the 1990 TV movie ''
Challenger
Challenger, Challengers, or The Challengers may refer to:
Entertainment
Comics and manga
* Challenger (character), comic book character
* ''Challengers'' (manga), manga by Hinako Takanaga
Film and TV
* ''The Challengers'' (TV series), a 1979 ...
''.
In 2004, Jarvis was posthumously awarded the
Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
The hydropower producing dam on Hinckley Lake, NY, operated by the New York Power Authority, is named the Gregory B. Jarvis Dam.
See also
*
List of human spaceflights
This is a list of all human spaceflights throughout history. Beginning in 1961 with the flight of Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1, human spaceflight occurs when a human crew flies a spacecraft into outer space. Human spaceflight is distinguished f ...
*
List of Space Shuttle missions
*
List of Space Shuttle crews
This is a list of persons who served aboard Space Shuttle crews, arranged in chronological order by Space Shuttle missions.
Abbreviations:
* PC = Payload Commander
* MSE = USAF Manned Spaceflight Engineer
* Mir = Launched to be part of the crew ...
References
External links
Official NASA Bio*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20100527130238/http://www.nypa.gov/facilities/hydros.htm New York Power Authority names hydroelectric power plant near Jarvis' hometown the "Gregory B. Jarvis Power Project"Jarvis Hall on University at Buffalo north campusInterview with Marcia Jarvis: ''Looking back: Greg Jarvis' dream remembered* (
cenotaph)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jarvis, Gregory
1944 births
1986 deaths
American astronauts
Military personnel from Detroit
Military personnel from Utica, New York
University at Buffalo alumni
Northeastern University alumni
United States Air Force officers
American electrical engineers
Space Shuttle program astronauts
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster victims
Recipients of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor
NASA sponsored astronauts
Raytheon Company people