Bernard A. Harris Jr.

Last updated
Bernard Harris
Bernard Anthony Harris Jr.jpg
Born
Bernard Anthony Harris Jr.

(1956-06-26) June 26, 1956 (age 68)
Temple, Texas, U.S.
Education University of Houston (BS, MBA)
Texas Tech University (MD)
University of Texas, Galveston (MS)
Space career
NASA astronaut
Time in space
18d 6h 8m
Selection NASA Group 13 (1990)
Total EVAs
1
Total EVA time
4h 39m
Missions STS-55
STS-63
Mission insignia
 Sts-55-patch.png Sts-63-patch.png

Bernard Anthony Harris Jr. (born June 26, 1956) is a former NASA astronaut. On February 9, 1995, Harris became the first African American to perform an extra-vehicular activity (spacewalk), during the second of his two Space Shuttle flights.

Contents

Early life

Harris was born on June 26, 1956 in Temple, Texas. His parents were Bernard A. Harris, Sr. and Gussie Emanual Harris. [1] His parents divorced when he was six years old and seeing his father, who had only a tenth grade education, struggle to find work inspired Harris to pursue STEM. [2]

Harris first became interested in being an astronaut after watching the Apollo 11 mission on TV in 1969 at 13 years old. With the help of his science teacher, he formed a science club and a rocket club with some other students. [3]

Education

Harris graduated from Sam Houston High School in San Antonio, Texas, in 1974, where he was actively involved in science fairs, book clubs and other school activities[ citation needed ]. He received a B.S. degree in biology from University of Houston in 1978. [4] [5] He earned his MD degree from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in 1982. Harris completed a residency in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic in 1985. Harris is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. [5]

Harris completed a National Research Council Fellowship at NASA's Ames Research Center in 1987. [6] While at Ames, he conducted research in musculature physiology and disuse. [5]

He also trained as a flight surgeon at the Aerospace School of Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio in 1988. [4] [6] Dr. Harris received a master's degree in biomedical science from The University of Texas Medical Branch in 1996, and an MBA from the University of Houston (1999). Harris is also a licensed private pilot and certified scuba diver. [5]

After completing his fellowship at NASA Ames, he joined NASA's Johnson Space Center as a clinical scientist and flight surgeon, where he conducted clinical investigations of space adaptation and developed countermeasures for extended duration space flight.

He was the first African American man to go in space as one of NASA's research teams and he was involved in the construction of the space rovers.[ citation needed ]

Astronaut experience

Selected by NASA in January 1990, Harris became an astronaut in July 1991, and qualified for assignment as a mission specialist on future Space Shuttle flight crews. He served as the crew representative for Shuttle Software in the Astronaut Office Operations Development Branch. Harris was assigned as a mission specialist on STS-55, Spacelab D-2, in August 1991. He flew on board Columbia for ten days, (26 April 1993 – 6 May 1993); on the mission the Shuttle reached one year of accumulated flight time. Harris was part of the payload crew of Spacelab D-2, conducting a variety of research in physical and life sciences. During this flight, Harris logged over 239 hours and 4,164,183 miles in space. [5]

His second mission was as the payload commander on STS-63 ( February 2, 1995 – February 11, 1995), the first flight of the new joint Russian-American Space Program. Mission highlights included the first rendezvous (but not docking) with the Russian space station Mir and retrieval of Spartan 204 satellite. During the flight, Harris became the first African-American to walk in space, while fellow astronaut Michael Foale became the first British-born spacewalker. [7] (It was also on this flight that Eileen Collins became the first female Shuttle pilot.) On this mission, Harris logged 198 hours, 29 minutes in space, completed 129 orbits, and traveled over 2.9 million miles. [5]

Post-NASA career

Harris at the 2014 TouchTomorrow Festival held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. Bernard Harris WPI 2014.jpg
Harris at the 2014 TouchTomorrow Festival held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Harris left NASA in April 1996, but has continued research.[ citation needed ] He served as Vice President of SPACEHAB, Inc., and innovative space commercialization company, where he directed the company's space science business. He also served as Vice President of Business Development for Space Media, Inc., an Informatics company, establishing an e-commerce initiative that is now part of the United Nations' education program.[ citation needed ]

In 1998, he founded The Harris Foundation, a Houston, Texas-based non-profit organization, whose stated mission is "to invest in community-based initiatives to support education, health and wealth. THF supports programs that empower individuals, in particular minorities and other economically and/or socially disadvantaged, to recognize their potential and pursue their dreams." [8]

In 2008, he appeared in Microsoft's "I'm a P.C." ad campaign.[ citation needed ] Harris also gave a keynote speech at the Exxon Mobil Texas State Science and Engineering Fair.[ citation needed ]

In 2009, he was elected vice president of the American Telemedicine Association.[ citation needed ] He was elected president of the American Telemedicine Association in 2011, serving for a one-year term that ended in 2012. [9]

In 2010, he was part of the Dream Tour where he travelled to over 30 schools around the country.[ citation needed ]

Currently, Harris is CEO of the National Math and Science Initiative and president and chief executive officer of Vesalius Ventures, Inc., a venture capital accelerator, that invests in early-stage companies in medical informatics and technology. [10] [11]

As of April 19, 2021, Harris serves on the board of directors for commercial aerospace and weapons manufacturer Raytheon Technologies. [12]

Organizations and honors

Harris is a member of many professional, academic and service organizations, including the following:

He has served as a board member for the following organizations:

He has been recognized several times by NASA and other organizations for his professional and academic achievements. Harris has also received a number of other honorary doctorates from the following institutions:

He has also received the following awards:

In 2005, the North East Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas named a middle school under construction after Harris. [28] Bernard Harris Middle School opened August 14, 2006, to have a capacity of 1500 students. [29]

Personal life

In 1989, Harris married Sandra Fay Lewis. In 1992, the couple had a daughter named Brooke Alexandria Harris. Harris and Lewis divorced in 2008. [30]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnson Space Center</span> NASA field center for human spaceflight

The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight in Houston, Texas, where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U.S. president and Texas native, Lyndon B. Johnson, by an act of the United States Senate on February 19, 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guion Bluford</span> First African-American in space (born 1942)

Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. is an American aerospace engineer, retired United States Air Force (USAF) officer and fighter pilot, and former NASA astronaut, in which capacity he became the first African American to go to space. While assigned to NASA, he remained a USAF officer rising to the rank of colonel. He participated in four Space Shuttle flights between 1983 and 1992. In 1983, as a member of the crew of the Orbiter Challenger on the mission STS-8, he became the first African American in space as well as the second black person in space, after Cuban cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John M. Fabian</span> American astronaut (born 1939)

John McCreary Fabian is a former NASA astronaut and Air Force officer who flew two Space Shuttle missions and worked on the development of the Shuttle's robotic arm. He later led the Air Force's space operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew M. Allen</span> American astronaut (born 1955)

Andrew Michael "Andy" Allen is a retired American astronaut. A former Marine aviator and lieutenant colonel, he worked as a test pilot before joining NASA in 1987. He flew three Space Shuttle missions before retiring in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey A. Hoffman</span> American astronaut (born 1944)

Jeffrey Alan Hoffman is an American former NASA astronaut and currently a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles E. Brady Jr.</span> American astronaut, physician and Navy captain (1951–2006)

Charles Eldon Brady Jr. was an American physician, a captain in the United States Navy and a NASA astronaut. He spent 16 days in space on the Space Shuttle's STS-78 flight in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonnie J. Dunbar</span> American astronaut (born 1949)

Bonnie Jeanne Dunbar is an American engineer and retired NASA astronaut. She flew on five Space Shuttle missions between 1985 and 1998, including two dockings with the Mir space station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard F. Gordon Jr.</span> American astronaut and lunar explorer (1929–2017)

Richard Francis "Dick" Gordon Jr. was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, and a football executive. He was one of 24 people to have flown to the Moon, as command module pilot of the Apollo 12 mission, which orbited the Moon 45 times. Gordon had already flown in space as the pilot of the 1966 Gemini 11 mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregory J. Harbaugh</span> American astronaut and engineer (born 1956)

Gregory Jordan "Greg" Harbaugh is an aeronautical/astronautical engineer and former NASA astronaut. He flew on four space shuttle missions as a mission specialist with responsibilities that included Remote Manipulator System (RMS) operation and Extravehicular Activity (EVAs). He performed three spacewalks during the shuttle missions including in support of repair/refurbishment of the Hubble Space Telescope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven R. Nagel</span> American test pilot, astronaut and engineer (1946–2014)

Steven Ray Nagel, , was an American astronaut, aeronautical and mechanical engineer, test pilot, and a United States Air Force pilot. In total, he logged 723 hours in space. After NASA, he worked at the University of Missouri College of Engineering as an instructor in its Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Parise</span> Italian-American astronaut (1951–2008)

Ronald Anthony Parise was an Italian American scientist who flew aboard two NASA Space Shuttle missions as a payload specialist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn C. Thornton</span> American scientist and astronaut (born 1952)

Kathryn Ryan Cordell Thornton 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 University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science, currently a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Ellen Weber</span> American astronaut (born 1962)

Mary Ellen Weber is an American executive, scientist, aviator, and a former NASA astronaut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephanie Wilson</span> American astronaut and engineer (born 1966)

Stephanie Diana Wilson is an American engineer and a NASA astronaut. She flew to space onboard three Space Shuttle missions, and is the second African American woman to go into space, after Mae Jemison. As of 2022, her 42 days in space are the second most of any female African American astronaut, having been surpassed by Jessica Watkins in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Kopra</span> American astronaut

Timothy Lennart "Tim" Kopra is an American 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 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-128 mission on September 11, 2009. He returned to the ISS for the second time in December 2015, as part of Expedition 46 and as the commander of 47.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew J. Feustel</span> American-Canadian NASA astronaut and geophysicist

Andrew Jay "Drew" Feustel is a former American/Canadian NASA astronaut and geophysicist. Following several years working as a geophysicist, Feustel was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in July 2000. He is the veteran of 3 space flights with NASA. His first spaceflight in May 2009, STS-125, lasted just under 13 days. This was a mission with six other astronauts to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. Feustel performed three spacewalks during the mission. His second spaceflight was STS-134, which launched on May 16, 2011, and landed on June 1, 2011. STS-134 was the penultimate Space Shuttle flight. Feustel returned to space on March 21, 2018, on Soyuz MS-08 with Expedition 55/56. For expedition 56, he commanded the International Space Station, before handing over to Alexander Gerst on October 3, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Creamer</span> NASA flight director, astronaut and US Army officer

Timothy John "T. J." Creamer is a NASA flight director, retired astronaut and a colonel in the United States Army. Creamer was born in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, but considers Upper Marlboro, Maryland, to be his hometown. He is married to the former Margaret E. Hammer. They have two children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregory Chamitoff</span> Canadian born engineer and NASA astronaut (born 1962)

Gregory Errol Chamitoff is a Canadian-born American engineer and former NASA astronaut. He has been to space twice, spending 6 months aboard the ISS across Expedition 17 and 18 in 2008, and another 15 days as part of STS-134 in 2011. STS-134 was the last of Space Shuttle Endeavour which delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and completed the US Orbital Segment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Barratt (astronaut)</span> American aerospace medicine physician and astronaut born 1959

Michael Reed Barratt is an American physician and a NASA astronaut. Board certified in internal and aerospace medicine, he served as a flight surgeon for NASA before his selection as an astronaut and has played a role in developing NASA's space medicine programs for both the Shuttle–Mir program and International Space Station. His first spaceflight was a long-duration mission to the International Space Station as a flight engineer on the Expedition 19 and 20 crew. In March 2011, Barratt completed his second spaceflight as a crew member of STS-133. Barratt made a second long-duration mission to the International Space Station as a flight engineer on the Expedition 70, 71, and 72 crew and also served as the pilot on the SpaceX Crew-8 mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Bowen (astronaut)</span> American astronaut

Stephen Gerard"Steve"Bowen is a United States Navy submariner and a NASA astronaut; he was the second submariner to travel into space. Bowen has been on four spaceflights, the first three of which were Space Shuttle missions to the International Space Station. His first mission, STS-126, took place in November 2008, and his second was STS-132 in May 2010. His third was STS-133 in February 2011, and his fourth was SpaceX Crew-6 in March 2023.

References

  1. ↑ "Dr. Bernard Harris, Jr". History Makers. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  2. ↑ "NASA Astronaut Looks to Inspire Next Generation". The Vineyard Gazette - Martha's Vineyard News. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  3. ↑ Holeywell, Ryan (2019-06-28). "Astronaut and TMC Board Member Bernard A. Harris Jr. reflects on the moon landing". TMC News. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  4. 1 2 3 "Bernard A. Harris". Horatio Alger. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "BERNARD A. HARRIS, JR., (M.D.) NASA ASTRONAUT" (PDF). NASA. January 1999. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Bernard Harris Jr. | Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University". business.rice.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  7. ↑ "1995: Space pioneers take first small steps". On This Day: February 9. London: BBC. 1995-02-09. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
  8. ↑ "Bernard Harris, ExxonMobil Announce 20 New Summer Camps". ExxonMobil. Business Wire. 2 March 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
  9. ↑ "Past Presidents". ATA. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  10. ↑ "National Math and Science Initiative - Bernard A. Harris, Jr". Archived from the original on 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
  11. ↑ "MANAGEMENT TEAM". Vesalius Ventures. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Raytheon Technologies Appoints Bernard A. Harris Jr. To Board of Directors".
  13. ↑ "Phi Kappa Phi Celebrates Black History Month". Phi Kappa Phi. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  14. ↑ watchtheyard (2017-02-21). "The First Black Person to Walk in Outer Space was a Member of Kappa Alpha Psi". Watch The Yard. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  15. ↑ Adam, Young (2010-12-03). "First black space walker, former Texas Tech regents talks education with Lubbock audience". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal . Archived from the original on 2010-12-06. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  16. ↑ "Learn about Spacewalker Bernard Harris". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  17. 1 2 "Congratulations to Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr., 2022 Recipient of the James Bryant Conant Award". National Math and Science Initiative. 2022-06-22. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  18. 1 2 3 "Dr. Bernard Harris". Concordia. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  19. ↑ "UHart Celebrates Black History Month". www.hartford.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  20. ↑ "Honorary Degrees | Special Collections and University Archives". www.stonybrook.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  21. ↑ "W&J Receives Select ExxonMobil Grant to Offer Summer Science Camp". Washington & Jefferson College. 2014-04-10. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  22. ↑ "Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr. Pioneering Astronaut and President of the Harris Foundation, Named WPI's 2015 Commencement Speaker". www.wpi.edu. 2015-04-24. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  23. ↑ Gonsalves, Susan (2015-05-16). "WPI graduation: Astronaut tells Class of 2015 to pursue 'infinite possibilities'". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  24. ↑ "Honorary Degree - University of Houston". www.uh.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  25. ↑ "Honorary Doctoral Degree Recipients: University of Houston" (PDF). University of Houston. 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  26. ↑ "Physician, Astronaut Bernard Harris to Address Graduates at Bicentennial Commencement | Saint Joseph's University". www.sju.edu. 2021-02-22. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  27. ↑ "National Space Grant Distinguished Service Award". National Space Grant Foundation. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  28. ↑ "Our Campus / Harris Campus Tour". www.neisd.net. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  29. ↑ "Harris Middle School". neisd.net. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  30. ↑ Wilson, Claire (2022-01-11). "From Trekkie to Space Traveler: Texas Astronaut Inspires Youth to Dream Big". Texasliving. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.