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cleanup-date|August 2005
Charles "Charlie" Camarda (b. 8 May 1952 in
Queens, New York) is an astronaut who flew his
first mission into space onboard the NASA Space
Shuttle program|Space Shuttle mission STS-114.  

==Personal Data==
Camarda is a native of Ozone Park, Queens, New
York and graduated from Archbishop Molloy High
School in 1970. Speaking of his early interest in
space flight, Camarda said, "It was a time when
spaceflight was so intriguing. It was natural for
me to want to be an astronaut, to dream of being
an astronaut."

==Education==
Camarda graduated with a bachelor's degree in
aerospace engineering from Polytechnic Institute
of Brooklyn in 1974, a master's degree in
engineering science from George Washington
University in 1980, and a doctorate in aerospace
engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University in 1990. 

After receiving his bachelors degree, Camarda
began work as a research scientist at the NASA's
Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. In
the Thermal Structures Branch, he was responsible
for demonstrating the viability of a heat-pipe
cooled leading edge for the Space Shuttle. Camarda
then headed up the High-Speed Research and
Reusable Launch Vehicle programs and oversaw
several test facilities such as the Thermal
Structure Laboratory, where he worked on numerous
Shuttle component developments.

==Experience==
Camarda holds seven patents on various
innovations, including NASA's Heat-Pipe-Cooled
Sandwich Panel, named one of the top 100 technical
innovations of 1983 by Industrial Research
Magazine. After more than 20 years of experience
in diverse Shuttle technology applications, he
made a career change that put him closer to his
work while achieving his dream. Camarda was named
a mission specialist in 1996.

==Astronaut Experience==
Camarda served as a back-up crew member for
Expedition 8 of the International Space Station.
His first space flight was STS-114, NASA's "return
to flight" mission following the loss of Columbia
disaster|Space Shuttle Columbia.

==References==
*
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/camarda.html
Official NASA Bio
*
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/preparingtravel/c
harles_camarda_profile.html STS-114 Charles
Camarda Crew Profile

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