Charles Joseph Camarda (born May 8, 1952) is an American engineer and a NASA astronaut who flew his first mission into space on board the Space Shuttle mission STS-114. He served as Senior Advisor for Engineering Development at NASA Langley Research Center. and was a senior advisor for innovation at the office of Chief Engineer in the Johnson Space Center.

NASA career

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 Space Shuttle Columbia.

Camarda continued to work for NASA and pioneered an engineering pedagogical approach called EPIC — that explores how to develop a mission as a collaborative training project. He toured with this including in Finland in 2018.

Following his flight, he was the Director of Engineering at NASA's Johnson Space Center and served as Senior Advisor for Innovation to the Office of Chief Engineer, NASA Headquarters. Camarda retired from NASA in 2019.

References

  • STS-114 Charles Camarda Crew Profile
  • Spacefacts biography of Charles Camarda
  • http://charliecamarda.com/