Charles D. Walker

Charles D. Walker
Payload Specialist
Time in space	19d 21h 56m
Missions	STS-41-D, STS-51-D, STS-61-B
Mission insignia

Charles David "Charlie" Walker (born August 29, 1948) is an American

Born in Bedford, Indiana, Walker is married to the former Susan Y. Flowers, of Joplin, Missouri. They have one daughter, Catherine Lunde, one grandson, Jacob Lunde and one granddaughter, Haley Curtner.

His recreational interests include photography, running, hiking,

• 1966: Graduated from Bedford High School, Bedford, Indiana
• 1971: Received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

Awards and honors

• U.S. Patent No. 4,394,246, Electrophoresis
  Apparatus with Flow Control, issued 19 July 1983
• NASA Space Flight Medals, 1984 and twice in 1985
• Sagamore of the Wabash
  , State of Indiana (November 1984)
• honoris causa
  , St. Louis College of Pharmacy (1985)
• Aerospace Laurels Award, Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine (1985)
• Lindbergh Award, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – St. Louis Section (1986)
• NASA Group Achievement Award, as consultant to the 1987–1988 Space Station Operations Task Force
• Engineering Astronaut Alumnus Award, Purdue University Schools of Engineering (September 1989)
• Kentucky Colonel, Commonwealth of Kentucky (May 1990)

Career

Following graduation from Purdue University he worked as a

Houston, Texas. He was responsible for training the NASA astronaut crews in the operation of the CFES payload on STS-4, STS-6, STS-7, and STS-8 shuttle flights during 1982 and 1983.^[2] In May 1986, Walker was appointed Special Assistant to the President of McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Company, working in Washington, D.C.

Walker has been an industry member of the NASA Microgravity Material Science Assessment Task Force, the NASA Space Station Office Quick-is Beautiful/Rapid Response Research Study Group, and the NASA Space Station Operations Task Force. He has been a member of the National Research Council's Space Applications Board. Walker was Faculty Course Advisor and lecturer for the International Space university 1988 summer session. He was a participant in the 1988

U.S. Department of Education/Ohio State University science education center. He has been a board director of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education. Walker has served as the volunteer chairman of the board of directors of Spacecause, and is past president and board director of the National Space Society. He has also been a board director of the Association of Space Explorers

. As an advisor, Walker works with commercial space firms Space Adventures, Ltd and Deep Space Industries, Inc., and the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Walker is a professional engineer registered in California. He has been an expert witness testifying before committees of the U.S. Congress. He has authored several papers and book contributions on the EOS electrophoresis program, space development, commercialization, and space history. Walker has also written columns and articles appearing in national newspapers and numerous other publications.

Walker retired in 2005 as the Director for NASA Systems Government Relations with the Washington D.C. Operations office of The Boeing Company.[1]^[4] In 2018, Walker, joined Solstar as an advisor.^[5] Walker is currently a consultant, author and lecturer.

NASA activities

capsule communicator and two other people approved and relayed all messages to space. McDonnell Douglas proposed that Walker fly as a payload specialist to operate the CFES himself. NASA calculated that flying Walker would cost McDonnell Douglas $40,000 per flight, and in May 1983 he was assigned to STS-41-D.^[2][3]

Walker's flight was part of a NASA effort in the 1980s to fly civilians on the shuttle. Although Europeans were training for

Vomit Comet". He later stated that his experience showed that a "working passenger" could fly after an abbreviated training program of a few months.^[2][6]

Although Walker believed at the time that 41-D would be his only flight,

destruction of Challenger in January 1986 ended commercial shuttle payloads.^[8]

Since 1986 Walker has served in various NASA study and review team capacities including as a member of the NASA Microgravity Material Science Assessment Task Force, the NASA Space Station Office Quick-is-Beautiful/Rapid Response Research Study Group, the NASA Space Station Operations Task Force, and the International Space Station Strategic Roadmap Committee. He has served on the national panels of the NASA/Industry Manned Flight Awareness Program and the NASA/Industry Education Initiative. He also makes a public appearance occasionally to sign memorabilia at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and also appears for the complex's "Lunch with an Astronaut" program.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "CHARLES D. WALKER, MDC PAYLOAD SPECIALIST" (PDF). NASA. February 1999. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
2. ^
   ISBN 978-0-8032-1610-5
   .
3. ^ ^{a b} Walker, Charles D. (2004-11-19). "Oral History Transcript" (PDF). NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project (Interview). Interviewed by Ross-Nazzal, Jennifer. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 2, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
4. ^ McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing in 1997.
5. ^ "Solstar Space Company: WiFi for astronauts (First Internet Service Provider in space)". Solstar Space Company on Wefunder. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
6. ^ "Engineer In Space (1984)". Archived from the original on 2011-06-04.
7. ^ Walker, Charles D. (2005-03-17). "Oral History 2 Transcript" (PDF). NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project (Interview). Interviewed by Ross-Nazzal, Jennifer. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
8. ^ Walker, Charles D. (2006-11-07). "Oral History Transcript" (PDF). NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project (Interview). Interviewed by Johnson, Sandra. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2011.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Walker.

• "CHARLES D. WALKER, MDC PAYLOAD SPECIALIST" (PDF). NASA. February 1999. Retrieved June 20, 2021.