Frederick D. Gregory
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Frederick Drew Gregory (born January 7, 1941) is a former
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 ...
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
,
military engineer Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics b ...
,
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
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 ...
as well as former NASA Deputy Administrator. He also served briefly as NASA Acting Administrator in early 2005, covering the period between the departure of
Sean O'Keefe Sean Charles O'Keefe (born January 27, 1956) is a university professor at Syracuse University Maxwell School, former chairman of Airbus Group, Inc., former Secretary of the Navy, former Administrator of NASA, and former chancellor of Louisiana S ...
and the swearing in of
Michael D. Griffin Michael Douglas Griffin (born November 1, 1949) is an American physicist and aerospace engineer who served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering from 2018 to 2020. He previously served as Deputy of Technology for the Str ...
.


Early life and education

Frederick Gregory was born on January 7, 1941, in
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, ...
His father was Francis A. Gregory, an educator who was assistant superintendent for D.C. Public Schools as well as the first Black president of the D.C. Public Library Board of Trustees. His father was given the honors of having the
Francis A. Gregory Neighborhood Library Francis A. Gregory Neighborhood Library is part of the District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) System. It was originally opened to the public in 1961. A new building on the same site, designed by award-winning architect David Adjaye opened on J ...
named after him. His mother was Nora Drew Gregory, a lifelong educator as well as public library advocate. She was also the sister of noted African-American physician, surgeon and researcher Dr. Charles Drew, who developed improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge in developing large-scale blood banks early in World War II, saving thousands of Allied lives. Gregory's great-grandfather was educator
James Monroe Gregory James Monroe Gregory (January 23, 1849 – December 17, 1915) was a Professor of Latin and Dean at Howard University. During the American Civil War, he worked in Cleveland for the education and aid of escaped slaves. He initially attended Oberlin ...
. His family lore suggests he has an ancestor from Madagascar. Gregory was raised in Washington, D.C. and graduated from
Anacostia High School Anacostia High School is a public high school in Anacostia, in the Southeast quadrant of the District of Columbia. History In August 2009, Friendship Public Charter School partnered with DC Public Schools to manage the high school. As a result, ...
. He attended the
United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...
after being nominated by
Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (November 29, 1908 – April 4, 1972) was an American Baptist pastor and politician who represented the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the United States House of Representatives from 1945 until 1971. He was t ...
; there, he received his Air Force commission and an undergraduate degree in military engineering.


Military career

After graduating from the Air Force Academy, Gregory earned his wings after helicopter school, flew in Vietnam, transitioned to fighter aircraft, attended the Navy Test Pilot School, and then conducted testing as an engineering test pilot for both the Air Force and NASA. He also received a master's degree in
information systems An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, information storage, store, and information distribution, distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems a ...
from
George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...
. During his time in the Air Force, Gregory logged approximately 7,000 hours in more than 50 types of aircraft as a helicopter, fighter and test pilot. He flew 550 combat rescue missions in Vietnam.


NASA career

Gregory was selected as an astronaut in January 1978. His technical assignments included: Astronaut Office representative at the Kennedy Space Center during initial Orbiter checkout and launch support for STS-1 and
STS-2 STS-2 was the second Space Shuttle mission conducted by NASA, and the second flight of the orbiter ''Columbia''. The mission, crewed by Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly, launched on November 12, 1981, and landed two days later on November 14, ...
; Flight Data File Manager; lead spacecraft communicator (
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' ...
); Chief, Operational Safety, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.; Chief, Astronaut Training; and a member of the Orbiter Configuration Control Board and the Space Shuttle Program Control Board. Notably, he was one of the
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' ...
during the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster. A veteran of three Shuttle missions he has logged about 456 hours in space. He served as pilot on
STS-51B STS-51-B was the 17th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the seventh flight of Space Shuttle ''Challenger''. The launch of ''Challenger'' on April 29, 1985, was delayed by 2 minutes and 18 seconds, due to a launch processing failure ...
(April 29 to May 6, 1985), and was the spacecraft commander on
STS-33 STS-33 was a NASA Space Shuttle program, Space Shuttle mission, during which Space Shuttle Discovery, Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' deployed a payload for the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It was the 32nd shuttle mission overall, the ...
(November 22–27, 1989), and
STS-44 STS-44 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission using ''Atlantis'' that launched on November 24, 1991. It was a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) space mission. Crew Backup crew Crew seating arrangements Mission highlights The launch was ...
(November 24 to December 1, 1991).


STS-51B

STS-51B STS-51-B was the 17th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the seventh flight of Space Shuttle ''Challenger''. The launch of ''Challenger'' on April 29, 1985, was delayed by 2 minutes and 18 seconds, due to a launch processing failure ...
/Spacelab-3 launched from
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, on April 29, 1985, with Gregory serving as pilot. The crew aboard the Orbiter ''
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 ...
'' included spacecraft commander,
Robert Overmyer Colonel Robert Franklyn "Bob" Overmyer (July 14, 1936 – March 22, 1996) was an American test pilot, naval aviator, aeronautical engineer, physicist, United States Marine Corps officer, and USAF/NASA astronaut. Overmyer was selected by the Air ...
; mission specialists,
Norman Thagard Norman Earl Thagard, M.D. (born July 3, 1943; Capt, USMC, Ret.), is an American scientist and former U.S. Marine Corps officer and naval aviator and NASA astronaut. He is the first American to ride to space on board a Russian vehicle, and ca ...
,
William E. Thornton William Edgar Thornton (April 14, 1929 – January 11, 2021) was an American NASA astronaut. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from University of North Carolina and a doctorate in medicine, also from UNC. He flew on ''Challeng ...
, and
Don Lind Don Leslie Lind (May 18, 1930 – August 30, 2022) was an American scientist, naval officer, aviator, and NASA astronaut. He graduated from the University of Utah with an undergraduate degree in physics in 1953. Following his military service o ...
; and payload specialists,
Taylor Wang Taylor Gun-Jin Wang (; born June 16, 1940) is a Chinese-born American scientist and in 1985, became the first person of Chinese origin to go into space. While an employee of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Wang was a payload specialist on the Sp ...
and
Lodewijk van den Berg Lodewijk van den Berg (; March 24, 1932 – October 16, 2022) was a Dutch-born American chemical engineer. He studied crystal growth and flew on a 1985 Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' mission as a payload specialist. Van den Berg was born in t ...
. On this second flight of the laboratory developed by the
European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...
(ESA), the crew conducted a broad range of scientific experiments ranging from space physics to the suitability of animal-holding facilities. The crew also deployed the
Northern Utah Satellite Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...
(NUSAT). After seven days of around-the-clock scientific operations, ''Challenger'' and its laboratory cargo landed on the dry lakebed 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, on May 6, 1985. Mission duration was 168 hours, 8 minutes, 47 seconds.


STS-33

When
STS-33 STS-33 was a NASA Space Shuttle program, Space Shuttle mission, during which Space Shuttle Discovery, Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' deployed a payload for the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It was the 32nd shuttle mission overall, the ...
launched at night, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on November 22, 1989, Gregory became the first
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
to command a space fligh

On board the Orbiter '' Space Shuttle Discovery, Discovery'', Gregory's crew included the pilot,
John Blaha John Elmer Blaha (born August 26, 1942, in San Antonio, Texas) is a retired United States Air Force colonel and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of five space missions aboard the Space Shuttle and Mir. Blaha is married to the former Bren ...
, and three mission specialists, Manley (Sonny) Carter,
Story Musgrave Franklin Story Musgrave (born August 19, 1935) is an American physician and a retired NASA astronaut. He is a public speaker and consultant to both Disney's Imagineering group and Applied Minds in California. In 1996, he became only the second as ...
, and
Kathryn Thornton Kathryn Ryan Cordell Thornton (born August 17, 1952) is an American scientist and a former NASA astronaut with over 975 hours in space, including 21 hours of extravehicular activity. She was the associate dean for graduate programs at the Univer ...
. The mission carried
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...
payloads and other secondary payloads. After 79 orbits of the Earth, this five-day mission concluded on November 27, 1989, with a hard surface landing on Runway 04 at Edwards AFB, California. Mission duration was 120 hours, 7 minutes, 32 seconds.


STS-44

STS-44 STS-44 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission using ''Atlantis'' that launched on November 24, 1991. It was a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) space mission. Crew Backup crew Crew seating arrangements Mission highlights The launch was ...
launched at night from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on November 24, 1991. During 110 orbits of the Earth, the crew successfully deployed their prime payload, the Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite. They worked on a variety of secondary payloads ranging from the Military Man in Space experiment designed to evaluate the ability of a space borne observer to gather information about ground troops, equipment and facilities, and also participated in extensive studies evaluating medical countermeasures to long duration space flight. The crew aboard the Orbiter ''
Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...
'' included the pilot
Tom Henricks Terence Thomas "Tom" Henricks (born July 5, 1952) is a retired Colonel (United States), colonel in the United States Air Force and a former NASA astronaut. He served on four Space Shuttle missions. Personal life and education Henricks was born on ...
; three mission specialists, Story Musgrave,
Jim Voss James Shelton Voss (born March 3, 1949) is a retired United States Army colonel and NASA astronaut. During his time with NASA, Voss flew in space five times on board the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. He also served as deputy of F ...
, and Mario Runco Jr.; and Army payload specialist Tom Hennen. The mission concluded on December 1, 1991, with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Mission duration was 166 hours, 50 minutes, 42 seconds.


NASA administration

Gregory served at NASA Headquarters as Associate Administrator for the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (1992–2001), and was Associate Administrator for the Office of Space Flight (2001–2002). On August 12, 2002, Mr. Gregory was sworn in as NASA Deputy Administrator. In that role, he was responsible to the Administrator for providing overall leadership, planning, and policy direction for the Agency. The Deputy Administrator performs the duties and exercises the powers delegated by the Administrator, assists the Administrator in making final Agency decisions, and acts for the Administrator in his or her absence by performing all necessary functions to govern NASA operations and exercise the powers vested in the Agency by law. The Deputy Administrator articulates the Agency's vision and represents NASA to the Executive Office of the President, Congress, heads of Federal and other appropriate Government agencies, international organizations, and external organizations and communities. From the departure of
Sean O'Keefe Sean Charles O'Keefe (born January 27, 1956) is a university professor at Syracuse University Maxwell School, former chairman of Airbus Group, Inc., former Secretary of the Navy, former Administrator of NASA, and former chancellor of Louisiana S ...
on February 20, 2005, to the swearing in of
Michael D. Griffin Michael Douglas Griffin (born November 1, 1949) is an American physicist and aerospace engineer who served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering from 2018 to 2020. He previously served as Deputy of Technology for the Str ...
on April 14, 2005, he was the NASA Acting Administrator. He returned to the post of Deputy Administrator and on September 9, 2005, submitted his resignation. He was replaced on November 29, 2005, by
Shana Dale Shana L. Dale (born 1964 in Georgia) is an American politician and lawyer. She served as the Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the George W. Bush administration from 2005 to 2009. Education and ...
.


Personal life

Gregory was married to the former Barbara Archer of Washington, D.C. until her death in 2008. They had two grown children. Frederick, D. Jr., a Civil Servant working in the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (DOD), and a graduate of
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
and the University of Florida. Heather Lynn is a social worker and graduate of
Sweet Briar College Sweet Briar College is a private women's college in Sweet Briar, Virginia. It was established in 1901 by Indiana Fletcher Williams in memory of her deceased daughter, Daisy. The college formally opened its doors in 1906 and granted the B.A. deg ...
and the University of Maryland. He is now married to the former Annette Becke of Washington, D.C. and together they have three children and six grandchildren. His recreational interests include
reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
, boating, hiking, diving, biking and traveling.


Education

*1958: Graduated from
Anacostia High School Anacostia High School is a public high school in Anacostia, in the Southeast quadrant of the District of Columbia. History In August 2009, Friendship Public Charter School partnered with DC Public Schools to manage the high school. As a result, ...
, Washington, D.C. *1964: Received a Bachelor of Science degree from the
United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...
*1977: Received a master's degree in information systems from
George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...


Organizations

Mr. Gregory is a member of the following organizations: *Order of Daedalians *The Air Force Association *The Tuskegee Airmen, Inc *United States Air Force Academy Endowment board member *United States Air Force Association of Graduates board member *
Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty advi ...
fraternity *
Sigma Pi Phi Sigma Pi Phi (), also known as The Boulé, founded in 1904, is the oldest fraternity for African Americans among those named with Greek letters. The fraternity does not have collegiate chapters and is designed for professionals at mid-career or o ...
fraternity *Society of Experimental Test Pilots *American Helicopter Society *National Aviation Hall of Fame board member *National Museum of the Air Force trustee *Chairman of the NASA Alumni League *National Technical Association *Association of Space Explorers officer *Astronaut Scholarship Foundation board member


Special honors

Mr. Gregory holds the following honors and awards: *Air Force Legion of Merit *Defense Superior Service Medal *Distinguished Flying Cross – 3 *Defense Meritorious Service Medal *Air Force Meritorious Service Medal *Air Medal - 16 *Air Force Commendation Medal *NASA Distinguished Service Medal - 2 *NASA Spaceflight Medal – 3 *NASA Outstanding Leadership Award - 2 *National Intelligence Medal *Astronaut Hall of Fame *
National Society of Black Engineers The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) is a society that was founded in 1975 at Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. It is one of the largest student-run organizations in the United States, with core activities centered o ...
Distinguished Scientist Award *Designated an "Ira Eaker Fellow" by the Air Force Association *Presidential Rank Award *United States Air Force Academy Distinguished Graduate *The George Washington University Distinguished Graduate *Anacostia High School Hall of Fame *Honorary Doctorates from: The University of the District of Columbia, Southwestern University, The College of Aeronautics *The Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science President's Medal *The Consolidated Education and Training Facility at the United States Air Force Academy was renamed “Gregory Hall” in September 2021 in honor of Frederick Gregory


See also

*
List of African-American astronauts African-American astronauts are Americans of African descent who have either traveled into space or been part of an astronaut program. African-American astronauts Traveled into space Never traveled into space Often cited as the first ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, Frederick D. 1941 births Living people American people of Malagasy descent Aviators from Washington, D.C. Deputy Administrators of NASA United States Air Force Academy alumni United States Air Force colonels United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War Military personnel from Washington, D.C. Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) George Washington University alumni United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal United States Air Force astronauts American astronaut-politicians Space Shuttle program astronauts People from Southeast (Washington, D.C.) George W. Bush administration personnel