Owen Kay Garriott,
Ph.D.Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated PhD , for the Latin , meaning "teacher of philosophy", or alternatively, DPhil, for the equivalent , is an advanced academic degree awarded by universities...
(born November 22, 1930) is a former
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
astronautAn astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
who spent 60 days aboard
SkylabSkylab was the United States' first space station, and the second space station visited by a human crew. It was also the only space station NASA launched alone...
in 1973 and 10 days aboard
Spacelab-1STS-9 was the 6th mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia It was Columbia's last flight until early January of 1986, STS-61C...
in 1983. He is also the father of
Robert GarriottRobert K. Garriott is a computer game industry figure and entrepreneur. He co-founded Origin Systems and Destination Games with his brother, Richard Garriott, and was the CEO of NCsoft-North America until 2008. He is the second-eldest son of NASA astronaut Owen K. Garriott...
and fellow spacefarer
Richard GarriottRichard Allen Garriott is an English-American video game developer and entrepreneur.He is also known as his alter egos Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa...
.
Education and background
Garriott was born in
Enid, OklahomaEnid is a city in Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 47,045 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Garfield County.-Geography:...
. He graduated from Enid High School in 1948; received a B.S. in
Electrical EngineeringElectrical engineering, sometimes referred to as electrical and electronic engineering, is a field of engineering that deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after...
from the
University of OklahomaThe University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. As of 2007, the university has 29,931 students enrolled, most...
in 1953, where he was a member of
Phi Kappa PsiPhi Kappa Psi Fraternity is an American collegiate fraternity.-History:Phi Kappa Psi was founded in 1852 in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, on the campus of Jefferson College by William Henry Letterman and Charles Page Thomas Moore...
Fraternity, and a M.S. and Ph.D from
Stanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university located in Stanford, California, United States...
in Electrical Engineering in 1957 and 1960, respectively. Completed one year U.S. Air Force Pilot Training Program (1966), receiving qualification as pilot in jet aircraft.
He served as electronics officer on active duty in the
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
from 1953 to 1956. From 1961 through 1965 he was an Assistant Professor, then Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. He performed research and led graduate studies in
ionospheric physicsThe ionosphere is the uppermost part of the atmosphere, distinguished because it is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an important part in atmospheric electricity and forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere...
after obtaining his doctorate and authored or co-authored more than 45 scientific papers, chapters and one book, principally in areas of the
physical sciencePhysical science is an encompassing term for the branches of natural science and science that study non-living systems, in contrast to the biological sciences...
s.
Astronaut
In 1965 he was one of the
six Scientist-AstronautsAstronaut Group 4 was the fourth group of astronauts selected by NASA in June 1965. While the astronauts of the previous three groups were required to have college and some advanced degrees, they were primarily chosen for their test pilot backgrounds...
selected by NASA. His first space flight, the
Skylab 3Skylab 3 was the second manned mission to Skylab. The Skylab 3 mission started July 28, 1973, with the launch of three astronauts on the Saturn IB rocket, and lasted 59 days, 11 hours and 9 minutes...
mission in 1973, set a new world record for duration of approximately 60 days, more than double the previous record. Extensive experimental studies of our
sunThe Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 99.86% of the Solar System's mass....
, of earth resources and in various
life sciencesWe define Life Sciences to encompass companies in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, biomedical technologies, life systems technologies, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, food processing, environmental, biomedical devices, and organizations and institutions that devote the majority of...
relating to human adaptation to weightlessness were made.
His second space flight was aboard Spacelab-1 in 1983, a multidisciplinary and international mission of 10 days; this was mission
STS-9STS-9 was the 6th mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia It was Columbia's last flight until early January of 1986, STS-61C...
aboard the
space shuttle ColumbiaSpace Shuttle Columbia was the first spaceworthy Space Shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet. First launched on the STS-1 mission, the first of the Space Shuttle program, it flew a total of 27 times before being destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003 on the STS-107 mission , killing all seven...
. Over 70 separate experiments in six different disciplines were conducted, primarily to demonstrate the suitability of Spacelab for research in all these areas. He operated the world's first
amateur radio stationAn amateur radio station is an installation designed to provide radiocommunications in the amateur radio service for an amateur radio operator. Radio amateurs build and operate several types of amateur radio stations, including fixed ground stations, mobile stations, space stations, and temporary...
from space, W5LFL, which has since expanded into an important activity on dozens of
ShuttleThe Space Shuttle, part of the Space Transportation System , is a spacecraft operated by NASA for orbital human spaceflight missions. It began operations in the 1980s and is scheduled to be retired from service in 2010 after 134 launches...
flights, Space Station
MirMir was a Soviet space station. Mir was the world's first consistently inhabited long-term research station in space, and the first of the third generation type of space station, constructed from 1986 to 1996 with a modular design...
and now the
International Space StationThe International Space Station is an internationally developed research facility currently being assembled in Low Earth Orbit. On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998 and is scheduled to be completed by 2011, with operations continuing until at least 2015...
, with scores of astronauts and cosmonauts participating.
Between these missions, he received a NASA fellowship for one year's study at Stanford (1975-76) and held the posts of Deputy, Acting and Director of Science and Applications at Johnson Space Center, (1974-75, 76-78). In the latter post he was responsible for all research in the physical sciences at the Johnson Space Center. From 1984 to 1986, he held the position of Project Scientist in the Space Station Project Office. In this position he worked closely with the external scientific communities and advised the Project Manager concerning the scientific suitability of the Space Station design.
Post NASA
After leaving NASA in June 1986, he consulted for various aerospace companies and served as a member of several NASA and
National Research CouncilThe National Research Council of the USA is the working arm of the United States National Academy of Sciences and the United States National Academy of Engineering, carrying out most of the studies done in their names.-History:...
Committees.
From January 1988 until May 1993, he was Vice President of Space Programs at
Teledyne Brown EngineeringTeledyne Technologies Inc. is an industrial conglomerate primarily based in the United States but with global operations. It was founded in 1960, as Teledyne, Inc., by Henry Singleton and George Kozmetsky....
. This Division, which grew to over 1,000 people, provided payload integration for all Spacelab projects at the
Marshall Space Flight CenterThe George C. Marshall Space Flight Center , the original home of NASA, is a lead center for propulsion, Space Shuttle propulsion, Space Shuttle external tank, crew training and payloads, International Space Station design and construction, for computers, networks, and information management...
and had a substantial role in the development of the U.S. Laboratory for the International Space Station.
He has devoted additional time to several charitable activities in his hometown, including the Enid (OK) Arts and Sciences Foundation of which he was a co-Founder in 1992 and was co-founder of Leonardo's Discovery Warehouse (the other founder was his first wife Helen) in 1995. More recently, he has accepted a position as Adjunct Professor in the Laboratory for Structural Biology at the
University of Alabama in HuntsvilleThe University of Alabama in Huntsville is a state-supported, public, coeducational university, located in Huntsville, Alabama, United States. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degrees...
(UAH) and has participated in research activities there involving new microbes he has returned from extreme environments such as very alkaline lakes and deep sea
hydrothermal ventA hydrothermal vent is a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water issues. Hydrothermal vents are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart, ocean basins, and hotspots....
s. Hyperthermophiles were returned from several dives in Russian MIR submersibles to the Rainbow Vents at a depth of 2,300 meters near the
AzoresThe Azores is a Portuguese archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about from Lisbon and about from the east coast of North America. The two westernmost Azorean islands actually lie on the North American plate...
in the
Atlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...
. Other research activities included three trips to
Antarctica| style="border-top:solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align:top;" | 14,000,000 km
2 280,000 km
2 13,720,000 km
2 |-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top;...
from which 20 meteorites were returned for laboratory study. He formed a 501c-3 public philanthropic "Garriott Family Foundation" to finance the aforementioned adventure travel for himself, his wife and other members of his family.
Honors and affiliations
Garriott is a member of the following organizations:
American Astronautical SocietyFormed in 1954, the American Astronautical Society is the premier independent scientific and technical group in the United States exclusively dedicated to the advancement of space science and exploration. AAS strongly supports NASA's Vision for Space Exploration, and are members of the Coalition...
(Fellow),
American Institute of Aeronautics and AstronauticsThe American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics is the professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA was founded in 1963 from the merger of two earlier societies: the American Rocket Society , founded in 1930 as the American Interplanetary Society , and the Institute...
(Associate Fellow), Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers,
American Geophysical UnionThe American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...
,
American Association for the Advancement of ScienceThe American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation between scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for...
,
Association of Space ExplorersThe Association of Space Explorers is a non-profit organization with a membership composed of people who have completed at least one Earth orbit in space . It was founded in 1985, and the current membership stands at 320 from 34 different countries...
(Board of Directors), Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (Vice President and Vice Chairman).
Garriott has received the following honors:
National Science FoundationThe National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
Fellowship, 1960-61; Honorary Doctorate of Science,
Phillips UniversityPhillips University was a private, coeducational institution of higher education located in Enid, Oklahoma, United States, from 1906 to 1998. It was affiliated with the Christian Church . It included an undergraduate college and a graduate seminary...
(Enid, OK), 1973;
NASA Distinguished Service MedalThe NASA Distinguished Service Medal is the highest award which may be bestowed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States...
, 1973;
Collier TrophyThe Collier Trophy is an annual aviation award administered by the U.S. National Aeronautics Association , presented to those who have made "the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space...
for 1973; Federation Aeronautique International, Komarov Diploma for 1973; Goddard Memorial Trophy for 1975;
NASA Space Flight MedalThe NASA Space Flight Medal is a decoration of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration . According to its statutes, it is awarded "for significant achievement or service during individual participation as a civilian or military astronaut, pilot, mission specialist, payload specialist, or...
, 1983; and additional awards related to his space flights, including the Oklahoma Hall of Fame (1980), Oklahoma Air and Space Hall of Fame (1980), the
Astronaut Hall of FameThe United States Astronaut Hall of Fame is located in Titusville, Florida. It features the world's largest collection of personal astronaut memorabilia, particularly focusing on those astronauts who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, as well as spacecraft.-History:In the 1980s, the then-six...
(1997), the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame (2000) and Enid Public Schools Hall of Fame (2001).
As the first
amateur radioAmateur radio, often called ham radio, is both a hobby and a service in which participants, called "hams," use various types of radio communications equipment to communicate with other radio amateurs for public service, recreation and self-training....
operator to operate from space, Owen and fellow pioneering Astronaut Ham
Tony EnglandAnthony Wayne "Tony" England is a former NASA Astronaut.-Personal data:Dr. England was born on May 15, 1942, in Indianapolis, Indiana, but his hometown is West Fargo, North Dakota. He is married to the former Kathleen Ann Kreutz and has two daughters. His recreational interests include sailing and...
were honored with a Special Achievement Award from the Dayton Hamvention in 2002.
Owen is the father of
Richard GarriottRichard Allen Garriott is an English-American video game developer and entrepreneur.He is also known as his alter egos Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa...
, a leading computer programmer and the creator of the Ultima computer game series. Owen K. Garriott appears in
Ultima IIUltima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress, released on August 24, 1982 , is the second computer role-playing game in the Ultima series....
, apparently looking for a rocket. The shipwright character Owen from
Ultima VIIUltima VII is the seventh installment of the Ultima series of computer role-playing games.The game was released in two parts, Ultima VII: The Black Gate , and Ultima VII, Part Two: Serpent Isle . Aside from the direct continuation of the plot and using essentially the same engine, the two parts are...
is named after him. Richard Garriott was launched as a
space touristSpace tourism is the recent phenomenon of tourists paying for flights into space.As of 2009, orbital space tourism opportunities are limited and expensive, with only the Russian Space Agency providing transport...
aboard
Soyuz TMA-13Soyuz TMA-13 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station . The spacecraft was launched by a Soyuz-FG rocket at 07:01 GMT on 12 October 2008. It undocked at 02:55 GMT on 8 April 2009, performed a deorbit burn at 06:24, and landed at 07:16...
on October 12, 2008, the first American and the second person worldwide to follow a parent into space.
Books
Garriott is the author, along with fellow astronauts Joseph Kerwin and
Alan BeanAlan LaVern Bean is a former NASA astronaut and engineer, and became the fourth person to walk on the moon at the age of thirty-seven years in November 1969.-Biography:...
, of "Homesteading Space," a history of the Skylab program published in 2008.
Garriott was also a contributor to the book "NASA's Scientist-Astronauts" by David Shayler and
Colin BurgessColin Burgess is an Australian author and historian, specializing in space flight and military history. He is a former customer service manager for Qantas Airways, and a regular contributor to the collectSPACE online community. He lives in New South Wales...
.
Honors
A street named after him in Enid, Oklahoma, serves as one of the city's main thoroughfares.
External links