posted 12-04-2008 09:52 AM               

NASA astronaut Carl Walz is leaving the agency to take a job in the private sector.

Walz most recently served as director for the Advanced Capabilities Division in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. In the division, he played a key role in developing technologies that will lead to greater capabilities in robotic and human exploration of the solar system. He oversaw work in many fields, including nuclear power and propulsion, human adaptation to spaceflight, and lunar exploration. Many of these programs will help humans return to the moon and develop a sustained presence there.

"NASA owes a great debt to Carl Walz for his service as an astronaut and the expertise and perspective he has shared with us in the Advanced Capabilities Division," said Doug Cooke, associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. "The legacy of his leadership will be strongly felt in the next generation of manned space missions."

A veteran of four space shuttle missions and one International Space Station expedition, Walz spent 231 days in space. He and fellow astronaut Dan Bursch held the U.S. spaceflight endurance record of 196 days in space until April 2007.

Expedition 4, his last mission, launched aboard space shuttle Endeavour in December 2001. Walz, one of the station's earliest inhabitants, set up equipment and experiments for the orbiting laboratory. He also completed two spacewalks during the mission, one in a Russian Orlan suit to outfit the Russian-supplied docking compartment and one in a U.S. spacesuit to prepare the station for its first truss segment. His spacewalks lasted a total of 11 hours, 52 minutes.

A retired U.S. Air Force Colonel, Walz also flew on STS-51 in September 1993, STS-65 in July 1994 and STS-79 in September 1996.

Walz and the STS-51 crew deployed the U.S. Advanced Communications Technology Satellite and the Shuttle Pallet Satellite. He also took a seven-hour spacewalk to evaluate tools for the Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission during that flight.

During STS-65, Walz and the crew worked in the second International Microgravity Laboratory spacelab module and conducted more than 80 materials and life sciences experiments. That mission completed 236 orbits of Earth, traveling 6.1 million miles and setting a new flight duration record for the shuttle program.

On STS-79, the seven-member crew docked with the Russian Mir station and set a record for docked mass in space. That mission also completed a crew transfer, provided vital supplies to the Mir, and conducted important research and technology demonstrations.

NASA selected Walz as an astronaut in January 1990. In addition to his flights, he served in a variety of technical and management positions within the Astronaut Office in Houston.

posted 12-04-2008 08:41 PM               

Carl Walz is leaving the agency to take a job in the private sector.

posted 04-07-2009 09:24 AM               

Orbital Names Carl Walz Vice President of Human Space Flight Operations

Former NASA Astronaut Joins Orbital's Advanced Programs Group at Company's Dulles, VA Headquarters

Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE:ORB) announced today that Mr. Carl E. Walz has joined the company as Vice President for Human Space Flight Operations in its Advanced Programs Group, based in Dulles, VA. Mr. Walz will be responsible for mission operations for Orbital's activities under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) research and development program with NASA, as well as for the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program missions that will utilize Orbital's system for resupplying the International Space Station (ISS) with vital cargo and life-sustaining supplies.

Prior to joining Orbital, Mr. Walz served at NASA's Washington, DC headquarters as Director for the Advanced Capabilities Division in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. In this role he was responsible for a broad range of activities that included human space flight research, space technology development, space nuclear power and propulsion, the Lunar Precursor Robotic Program, and NASA's physical and life science experiments on the ISS and Space Shuttle.

Before his assignment to NASA headquarters, Mr. Walz had a distinguished career as both a NASA astronaut and as an Air Force officer. Mr. Walz was selected as a NASA astronaut candidate in 1990 and for the next 12 years gained extensive space flight experience. Mr. Walz flew as a crew member aboard three Space Shuttle missions and served as an ISS crew member in a separate mission, enabling him to log a total of 231 days in space. His experience aboard the Space Shuttle includes serving as a mission specialist on STS-51 in 1993; as the Shuttle's flight engineer on STS-65 in 1994; and as a mission specialist on the STS-79 in 1996. During 2001-2002, he served 196 days in space as Expedition 4 flight engineer aboard the ISS. During the STS-51 mission, Mr. Walz deployed the U.S. Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) and its Orbital-provided Transfer Orbit Stage (TOS) and conducted his first spacewalk. During Expedition 4, Mr. Walz and his U.S. and Russian colleagues performed flight tests of ISS hardware, conducted internal and external maintenance and outfitting tasks, operated the Space Station Robotic Manipulator System, and conducted numerous experiments in a variety of scientific disciplines. Mr. Walz also completed two spacewalks from the ISS totaling almost 12 hours in both Russian and U.S. spacesuits.

Mr. Walz's career in the U.S. Air Force included work as a nuclear scientist and as a flight test engineer with the F-16 Combined Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base (EAFB), CA. Mr. Walz is a graduate of the Air Force Test Pilot School. He retired from active duty as a Colonel in 2003.

Mr. Walz earned a B.S. degree in Physics from Kent State University in 1977 and a M.S. degree in Physics from John Carroll University in 1979.

About Orbital

Orbital develops and manufactures small- and medium-class rockets and space systems for commercial, military and civil government customers. The company's primary products are satellites and launch vehicles, including low-Earth orbit, geosynchronous-Earth orbit and planetary spacecraft for communications, remote sensing, scientific and defense missions; human-rated space systems for Earth-orbit, lunar and other missions; ground- and air-launched rockets that deliver satellites into orbit; and missile defense systems that are used as interceptor and target vehicles. Orbital also provides satellite subsystems and space-related technical services to government agencies and laboratories.