Timothy "TJ" Creamer (born November 15, 1959) is a
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 ...
flight director, retired
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 ...
and a
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
. Creamer was born in
Fort Huachuca
Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation, established on 3 March 1877 as Camp Huachuca. The garrison is now under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is in Cochise County in southeast Arizona, appr ...
,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, but considers
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Upper Marlboro, officially the Town of Upper Marlboro, is the seat of Prince George's County, Maryland. Aso of the 2020 census, the population was 652. although Greater Upper Marlboro is many times larger.
Etymology
Upper Marlboro was establ ...
, to be his hometown. He is married to the former Margaret E. Hammer. They have two children.
Education
Bishop McNamara High School
Bishop McNamara High School (BMHS or McNamara) is a private, Catholic coed high school in Forestville CDP in unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland.[Forestville, Maryland
Forestville is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 12,831. The community is a mixture of garden apartments, single-family homes, and ...]
, 1978. B.S., Chemistry,
Loyola College,
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, 1982. M.S., Physics,
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 ...
, 1992.
Military career
Creamer graduated from Loyola College in May 1982 with a bachelor of science degree in
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
, and was commissioned through the
ROTC
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces.
Overview
While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...
program as a
second lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
in the U.S. Army. He entered the
U.S. Army Aviation School
The U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, formerly known as the Army Aviation Center and School, is the United States Army Aviation Branch's headquarters and training and development center, located at Fort Rucker, Alabama. It coordinates a ...
in December 1982 and was designated as an
Army Aviator
An army aviation unit is an aviation-related unit of a nation's army, sometimes described as an air corps. These units are generally separate from a nation's dedicated air force, and usually comprise helicopters and light support fixed-wing airc ...
in August 1983, graduating as the Distinguished Graduate from his class. He was subsequently assigned to the
1st Armored Division as a section leader, platoon leader, flight operations officer, and as a personnel staff officer for the
501st Attack Helicopter Battalion
5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...
. In 1987, he was assigned to the
82nd Airborne Division
The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...
as a commander of an air cavalry troop in the
17th Cavalry
The 15th Lancers (Baloch) is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 17th Cavalry and the 37th Lancers (Baluch Horse).Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottab ...
, and later as the personnel officer of the
82nd Aviation Brigade
The 82nd Aviation Brigade (''Serbo-Croatian: / 82. авијацијска бригада'') was a Yugoslavian aviation regiment established in 1945 as 42nd Bomber Aviation Regiment (''Serbo-Croatian: / 42. ваздухопловни бомбар ...
. Following this assignment, he completed a Master of Science degree in
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
at
MIT
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 m ...
in 1992, and was subsequently assigned to the Department of Physics at the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
as an assistant professor. Other military schools include the Army Parachutist Course, Army Jumpmaster Course, the Combined Arms Services Staff School, and the Command and General Staff College. Prior to his astronaut selection in 1998, he had been working as a space operations officer, with the
Army Space Command, stationed in
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. He is now the Army's NASA Detachment commander.
NASA career
![Flickr - The U](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Flickr_-_The_U.S._Army_-_U.S._Army_Soldier_and_NASA_flight_engineer_Col._Timothy_J._Creamer.jpg)
Creamer was assigned to NASA at the
Johnson Space Center
The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U ...
(JSC) in July 1995 as a Space Shuttle vehicle integration test engineer. His duties primarily involved engineering liaison for launch and landing operations of the
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 ...
. He was actively involved in the integrated tests of the systems for each Orbiter for its preparations for its next flight, and directly supported eight Shuttle missions as a vehicle integration test team lead. Additionally, he focused his efforts in coordinating the information technologies for the Astronaut Office to aid personnel in their electronic communications both on JSC as well as through their travels to other centers.
Selected by NASA in June 1998, Creamer reported for Astronaut Candidate Training in August 1998. Having completed the initial two years of intensive Space Shuttle and Space Station training, he was assigned technical duties in the Space Station Branch of the Astronaut Office, where his primary focus involved the command and control computers on Space Station, as well as the office automation support computers, and the operational Local Area Network encompassing all international partners and modules.
Beginning November 2000, Creamer became the crew support astronaut for the
Expedition 3
Expedition 3 was the third expedition to the International Space Station. Commander Frank L. Culbertson Jr. was the only American crew member, and as such the only American not on Earth during the 9/11 attacks, which the crew photographed and vi ...
crew, which was on orbit from August 2001 to December 2001. He was the primary contact for all the crew needs, coordination, planning and interactions, and was the primary representative of the crew while they were on orbit.
Starting March 2002, Creamer headed the Hardware Integration Section of the Space Station Branch, responsible for ensuring all hardware configurations were properly integrated, and that all operational aspects of the future
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 ...
(ISS) hardware are accounted for. In October 2004, he was assigned to be the astronaut office representative and coordinator for all things relating to on-orbit information technologies.
Creamer was next assigned to the Robotics Branch, dealing with the international partners on all computer aspects of
Robotics
Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...
operations, as well as all of the command and control software and user interfaces. Additionally, he was the real-time support lead for
Expedition 12
Expedition 12 (2005) was the 12th expedition to the International Space Station, launched from Kazakhstan using the Russian Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft. The crew landed back in Kazakhstan on 8 April 2006 with the addition of the first Brazilian astrona ...
for all things involving the robotics operations on the International Space Station.
In September 2006, Creamer served as an
aquanaut
An aquanaut is any person who remains underwater, breathing at the ambient pressure for long enough for the concentration of the inert components of the breathing gas dissolved in the body tissues to reach equilibrium, in a state known as satura ...
during the
NEEMO 11 mission aboard the
Aquarius
Aquarius may refer to:
Astrology
* Aquarius (astrology), an astrological sign
* Age of Aquarius, a time period in the cycle of astrological ages
Astronomy
* Aquarius (constellation)
* Aquarius in Chinese astronomy
Arts and entertainme ...
underwater laboratory, living and working underwater for seven days.
Expedition 22/23
In 2009 Creamer served as backup for
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 launc ...
Flight Engineer
Timothy Kopra
Timothy Lennart "Tim" Kopra (born April 9, 1963) is an engineer, a Colonel in the United States Army and a retired NASA astronaut. He served aboard the International Space Station as a flight engineer for Expedition 20, returning to Earth aboar ...
, who launched toward the ISS 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 ...
.
Following His time as Kopra's backup, Creamer was assigned to the prime crew of
Expedition 22
Expedition 22 was the 22nd long duration crew flight to the International Space Station (ISS). This expedition began on December 1, 2009 when the Expedition 21 crew departed. For a period of 3 weeks, there were only 2 crew members; it was the fi ...
/
Expedition 23
Expedition 23 (russian: МКС-23) was the 23rd long-duration mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Expedition 23 began with the Soyuz TMA-16 undocking on 18 March 2010. Shortly thereafter cosmonauts Aleksandr Skvortsov and Mikhail Ko ...
, alongside
Roscosmos
The State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" (russian: Государственная корпорация по космической деятельности «Роскосмос»), commonly known simply as Roscosmos (russian: Роскосмос) ...
cosmonaut
Oleg Kotov
Oleg Valeriyevich Kotov (russian: Олег Валериевич Котов) was born on 27 October 1965 in Simferopol, Crimean oblast in the Ukrainian SSR. After a career as a physician assigned to the Soviet space program, he joined the Russian ...
and
JAXA
The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orb ...
astronaut
Soichi Noguchi
is a Japanese aeronautical engineer and former JAXA astronaut. His first spaceflight was as a Mission Specialist aboard STS-114 on 26 July 2005 for NASA's first "return to flight" Space Shuttle mission after the ''Columbia'' disaster. He was ...
, the trio launched onboard
Soyuz TMA-17
Soyuz TMA-17 was a human spaceflight mission to the International Space Station (ISS). TMA-17 crew members participated in ISS Expedition 22 and Expedition 23. The mission ended when the Soyuz TMA-17 capsule landed on 2 June 2010.
Crew
Cr ...
from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...
in
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
on 20 December 2009. The trio docked to the ISS two days later, joining Expedition 22 crew members
Jeff Williams of NASA and
Maksim Surayev
Maksim Viktorovich Surayev (russian: Максим Викторович Сураев, born 24 May 1972) is a retired Russian cosmonaut and politician. He served in the State Duma between 2016 and 2021.
Personal
Surayev was born in Chelyabinsk. D ...
of Roscosmos.
Because science is the prime reason for the ISS, Creamer also certified as a payload operations director in Huntsville, AL, helping to coordinate real-time operations of all ISS-based science events, the first flown astronaut to do so.
On January 22, 2010, Creamer was the first astronaut to live tweet from the space.
Flight Director
On August 16, 2016, Creamer was the first astronaut to be certified as a flight director at NASA's Johnson Space Center.
Awards and honors
*
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 ...
*
Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include:
*Meritorious Civilian Service Award
*Meritorious Service Med ...
(2nd Oak Leaf Cluster)
*
Army Achievement Medal
The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to recei ...
(1st Oak Leaf Cluster)
*
Air Force Space and Missile Badge
*
National Defense Service Medal
The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four sp ...
* Russian Federation of Astronautics
Yuri Gagarin Medal Yuri may refer to:
People and fictional characters
Given name
*Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc.
*Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Jap ...
*
Senior Army Aviator
* Senior Parachutist
* Jump Master
* Distinguished Graduate of the
U.S. Army Aviation School
The U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, formerly known as the Army Aviation Center and School, is the United States Army Aviation Branch's headquarters and training and development center, located at Fort Rucker, Alabama. It coordinates a ...
Awards
Organizations
He is a member of
Alpha Sigma Nu
Alpha Sigma Nu () is the honor society of Jesuit colleges and universities. ΑΣΝ is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies. Founded in 1915 at Marquette University as Alpha Sigma Tau, it adopted the current name in 1930. The ...
,
Phi Kappa Phi
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of education ...
,
Sigma Pi Sigma
Sigma Pi Sigma (), founded at Davidson College on December 11, 1921, is the oldest and only American honor society for physics and astronomy. It is an organization within the Society of Physics Students and the American Institute of Physics and ...
,
Army Aviation Association of America
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
,
Association of the United States Army
The Association of the United States Army (AUSA) is a private, non-profit organization that serves as the professional association of the United States Army. Founded in 1950, it has 121 chapters worldwide. Membership is open to everyone, not ju ...
, and the
British-American Project
The British-American Project (BAP) is a transatlantic fellowship of more than 1,200 leaders and opinion formers from a broad spectrum of occupations, backgrounds and political views. BAP operates on a not-for-profit basis, funded through its member ...
.
References
External links
*
*
Spacefacts biography of Timothy Creamer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Creamer, Timothy
1959 births
Living people
Aquanauts
United States Army astronauts
NASA civilian astronauts
Crew members of the International Space Station
NASA flight controllers
People from Cochise County, Arizona
People from Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Loyola University Maryland alumni
United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni
United States Military Academy faculty
United States Army officers
Recipients of the Legion of Merit
Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal
MIT Department of Physics alumni