Full Colour 8"x10" Glossy Photo of NASA Astronaut Christopher Cassidy.
CHRISTOPHER J. CASSIDY (COMMANDER, USN) NASA Astronaut
PERSONAL DATA: Born January 4, 1970 in Salem, Massachusetts. Considers York, Maine, to be his hometown. Married. He and his wife are the proud parents of three children.
EDUCATION: York High School, York, Maine. Naval Academy Prep School, Newport, Rhode Island, 1989. B.S., Mathematics, U.S. Naval Academy, 1993. M.S., Ocean Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2000.
ORGANIZATIONS: USNA Alumni Association; M.I.T. Alumni Association; Fraternal Order of UDT/SEAL Association
SPECIAL HONORS: Honor graduate of Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) Class 192. Awarded the Bronze Star with combat ‘V’ and Presidential Unit Citation for leading a 9-day operation at the Zharwar Kili cave complex – a national priority objective directly on the Afghan/Pakistan border. Quest speaker at the USNA Combat Leadership Seminar (2003 & 2004). Awarded a second Bronze Star for combat leadership service in Afghanistan in 2004.
EXPERIENCE: Ten years as a member of the U.S. Navy SEAL Teams. Specialized tactics include long range special reconnaissance (vehicular and foot patrols), direct action building assaults, non-compliant ship-boardings, desert reconnaissance patrols, combat diving, underwater explosives, and a variety of air operations, to include parachuting, fast roping, and rappelling. He made four six-month deployments: two to Afghanistan, and two to the Mediterranean. Cassidy served as Executive Officer and Operations Officer of Special Boat Team Twenty in Norfolk, Virginia, and SEAL Platoon Commander at SEAL Team THREE in Coronado, California. He deployed to the Afghanistan region two weeks after 9/11/01. He served as Ground Assault Force Commander for international and U.S. only combat missions in Afghanistan. Led two months of non-compliant ship-boardings in the Northern Arabian Gulf. Was SEAL Delivery Vehicle Platoon Commander at SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team TWO in Norfolk, VA. He accumulated over 200 hours underwater as Pilot / Navigator / Mission Commander of a 2-man flooded submersible (SDV), which is launched and recovered from a host-ship submarine. He also served as Dry Deck Shelter Platoon Commander at SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team TWO in Norfolk, VA Cassidy volunteered for and completed a week-long, 180-mile charity kayak paddle from Norfolk, VA to Washington, D.C. to raise money and awareness for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in May 2004. In February 2006 he completed Astronaut Candidate Training that included scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training, T-38 flight training, and water and wilderness survival training. Completion of this initial training qualifies him for various technical assignments within the Astronaut Office and future flight assignment as a mission specialist. Cassidy is currently assigned to the crew of STS-127, ISS Assembly Mission 2J/A, that will deliver the Japanese-built Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) and the Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section (ELM-ES) to the International Space Station in April 2009.
SEPTEMBER 2008
