Owen Garriott

American scientist, selected by NASA for astronaut training on 28 June 1965. He served as science-pilot for Skylab-3, the second manned Skylab mission that took place from 28 July to 25 September 1973, as well as mission specialist on STS-9, which launched on 28 November 1983. The latter shuttle flight was the first to have an international crew. After graduating from Enid High School, Garriott enrolled at the University of Oklahoma, and in 1953, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. He went on to earn his Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering from Stanford in 1957 and 1960, respectively. Phillips University of Oklahoma presented him with an honorary Doctor of Philosophy in Science in 1973. From 1953 to 1956, Garriott served as an electronics officer with the U.S. Navy. In 1961, he became an associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Stanford where he stayed until his selection by NASA. Following his last Skylab flight, he worked in Science and Applications and eventually moved into the position of Assistant Director for Space and Life Science at Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. He was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1973. On 1 August 1986, he resigned from NASA and became Vice President of Space Programs for Teledyne Brown Engineering from 1988-1993. Garriott was married twice and had four children from his first marriage, Randall, Robert, Richard and Linda. His second wife was Evelyn (Eve). He enjoyed sailing, scuba diving, skiing, and amateur (ham) radio. His son Richard was launched as a space tourist on board Soyuz TMA-13 on 12 October 2008, the first American and the second person worldwide to follow a parent into space. Owen Garriott was in mission control at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for the launch and was in attendance when his son returned 12 days later. Garriott died on 15 April 2019, aged 88, at his home in Huntsville, Alabama. Link to Wikipedia biography Read less