Garrett Erin Reisman (; born February 10, 1968) is 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 former

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 was a backup crew member for

Expedition 15 Expedition 15 was the 15th expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). Four crew members participated in the expedition, although for most of the expedition's duration only three were on the station at any one time. During Expedition 15, ...

and joined

Expedition 16 Expedition 16 was the 16th expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). The first two crew members, Yuri Malenchenko and Peggy Whitson, launched on 10 October 2007, aboard Soyuz TMA-11, and were joined by spaceflight participant Sheikh ...

aboard 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 ...

for a short time before becoming a member of Expedition 17. He returned to Earth on June 14, 2008 on board

STS-124 STS-124 was a Space Shuttle mission, flown by Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' to the International Space Station. ''Discovery'' launched on 31 May 2008 at 17:02 EDT, moved from an earlier scheduled launch date of 25 May 2008, and landed safely at t ...

on Space Shuttle ''Discovery''. He was a member of the

STS-132 STS-132 ( ISS assembly flight ULF4) was a NASA Space Shuttle mission, during which Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' docked with the International Space Station on 16 May 2010. STS-132 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on 14 May 2010. The prima ...

mission that traveled to the International Space Station aboard Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' from May 14 to 26, 2010. He is a consultant at

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of ...

and a Professor of Astronautics Practice at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

Viterbi School of Engineering The USC Viterbi School of Engineering (formerly the USC School of Engineering) is the engineering school of the University of Southern California. It was renamed following a $52 million donation by Andrew J. Viterbi, co-founder of Qualcomm. ...

Biography

Reisman was born in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

to a Jewish family and is a 1986 graduate of

Parsippany High School Parsippany High School (also known as PHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school, one of two high schools in the township of Parsippany-Troy Hills, in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Parsippany-Tr ...

, a 1991 graduate of the

Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universiti ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, and received his masters and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering from the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

in 1992 and 1997, respectively. While at Caltech he shared a doctoral advisor, Christopher E. Brennan, with another future NASA astronaut,

Bob Behnken Robert Louis Behnken (; born July 28, 1970, in St. Ann, Missouri) is a NASA astronaut, engineer, and former Chief of the Astronaut Office. Behnken holds a Ph.D in mechanical engineering and the rank of colonel in the U.S. Air Force, where he se ...

. Later both astronauts would launch on their first flights into space together on

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 ...

NASA career

In June 2003, Reisman 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 5 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 under water for fourteen days.

Expedition 16/17

Reisman was assigned as a long duration crewmember on the

. He launched as Mission Specialist 5 aboard the

( Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'') mission on March 11, 2008. After docking, he took part in the first

spacewalk Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable atmosphere of Earth, Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmen ...

of the mission. Reisman stayed on board as Flight Engineer 2 for part of Expedition 16 and part of Expedition 17. Having completed his mission, he returned to Earth as Mission Specialist 5 aboard

on June 14, 2008. During his time on board the ISS he had seen two visiting Space Shuttles and the installation of the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) and the pressurized section of the

Japanese Experiment Module Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

"Kibo". Reisman was the first

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

crew member on the International Space Station. He sent a greeting from space to the people of Israel during the celebration of Israel's 60th Independence Day in May 2008. He also did an entertaining, high definition video of "A day in the life of a space station crew member" while on board as well as demonstrating in the large, and at the time empty, Kibo section, that humans cannot "swim" in the

microgravity The term micro-g environment (also μg, often referred to by the term microgravity) is more or less synonymous with the terms ''weightlessness'' and ''zero-g'', but emphasising that g-forces are never exactly zero—just very small (on the I ...

of orbital space.

STS-132

Reisman was a member of the

mission that traveled to the International Space Station aboard Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' from May 14 to 26, 2010. He participated in two spacewalks during this mission.

Post-NASA career

On March 4, 2011,

announced that Reisman would be joining the company as a senior engineer working on astronaut safety and mission assurance. He was later promoted to director of crew operations. On May 31, 2018, Reisman announced he would leave his position at SpaceX, but remain as a "consultant," stating he could not pass up a job to teach human spaceflight at the nearby

In popular culture

A self-proclaimed member of the " Colbert Universe", Reisman was interviewed live from space on the May 8, 2008 episode of ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...

'' after being seen wearing a "WristStrong" bracelet. On July 24, 2008, after returning to Earth, Reisman appeared in person on ''The Colbert Report'' as that night's featured guest. Reisman presented

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...

with the WristStrong bracelet he had worn while in space. Reisman appeared on the final episode of ''

''. Reisman filmed a cameo appearance as a Colonial Marine for the series finale episode of ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...

''.

Space.com Space.com is an online publication focused on space exploration, astronomy, skywatching and entertainment, with editorial teams based in the United States and United Kingdom. The website offers live coverage of space missions, astronomical discov ...

reported that his scene, in which "someone throws up on him and then he dies", might not be in the final edit of the episode which aired March 20, 2009. In the podcast for the final (as aired) episode, producer Ron Moore confirmed that one of the people seen in the background of a scene where a

Raptor Raptor or RAPTOR may refer to: Animals The word "raptor" refers to several groups of bird-like dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons. * Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunts and feeds on v ...

arms its nuclear payload (shortly before being destroyed) was Reisman. In July 2019 it was reported that producer Ron Moore had created his alternative reality series '' For All Mankind'' after he and Reisman had discussed the possibility of a timeline in which the Soviet Union landed people on the Moon before the US. Reisman also served as technical advisor for the show, and guest appeared as Commander of a Moon Space Shuttle in season 2, episode 2. Reisman appeared on ''

The Joe Rogan Experience ''The Joe Rogan Experience'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian, presenter, and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. It launched on December 24, 2009, on YouTube by Rogan and comedian Brian Redban, who was its sole co-host and producer until ...

'' on February 7, 2020. Reisman was a childhood classmate of actress

Jane Krakowski Jane Krakowski (; ; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress, comedienne, and singer. She is best known for her starring role as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013, 2020), for which she received four ...

. In May 2010, Krakowski said on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' that she and Reisman exchanged e-mails while he was in space on Space Shuttle ''Atlantis''. At the request of the crew, many of whom were ''

30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...

'' fans, Krakowski provided an autographed script of the show which was brought into space.

References

External links

* *
Spacefacts biography of Garrett Reisman

A day in the life of a Space Station Astronaut, filmed by Garrett Reisman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reisman, Garrett Erin 1968 births Living people American astronauts 20th-century American Jews Aquanauts California Institute of Technology alumni Crew members of the International Space Station Parsippany High School alumni People from Morristown, New Jersey People from Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey University of Pennsylvania alumni Space Shuttle program astronauts Spacewalkers 21st-century American Jews