Bernard A. Harris, Jr.
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| Astronaut | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born | June 26, 1956 Temple, Texas |
| Occupation1 | Medical Doctor |
| Space time | 18d 06h 08m |
| Selection | 1990 NASA Group |
| Mission(s) | STS-55, STS-63 |
| Mission insignia |   |
| This infobox needs updating. Please see Template talk:Infobox Astronaut for information | |
| 1 previous or current | |
Bernard Anthony Harris, Jr. M.D. (born June 26, 1956 in Temple, Texas) is a former NASA astronaut.
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[edit] Education
Harris graduated from Sam Houston High School, San Antonio, Texas, in 1974 and received a bachelor of science degree in biology from University of Houston in 1978. He earned a doctorate in medicine from Texas Tech University School of Medicine in 1982. Dr. Harris completed a residency in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic in 1985, and completed a National Research Council Fellowship at NASA Ames Research Center in 1987. While at Ames, he conducted research in the field of musculoskeletal physiology and disuse osteoporosis. After completing his fellowship, he joined NASA's Johnson Space Center as a clinical scientist and flight surgeon, where he conducted clinical investigations of space adaptation and developed countermeasures for extended duration space flight.
He also trained as a flight surgeon at the Aerospace School of Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio in 1988. Dr. Harris received a master's degree in biomedical science from The University of Texas Medical Branch in 1996.
Harris is also a licensed pilot.
[edit] Organizations and honors
Harris is a member of many professional, academic and service organizations, including the American College of Physicians, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and the Boys and Girls Club of Houston, of which he is a member of the board of directors.
He has been recognized several times by NASA and other organizations for his professional and academic achievements. In 1996 he received an honorary doctorate from the Morehouse College School of Medicine.
In August of 2006 a middle school in San Antonio, Texas was named after him.
[edit] Astronaut experience
Selected by NASA in January 1990, Dr. Harris became an astronaut in July 1991, and qualified for assignment as a mission specialist on future Space Shuttle flight crews. He served as the crew representative for Shuttle Software in the Astronaut Office Operations Development Branch.
Dr. Harris was assigned as a mission specialist on STS-55, Spacelab D-2, in August 1991, and later flew on board Columbia for ten days, (April 26 to May 6, 1993), marking the Shuttle's one year of total flight time. Dr. Harris was part of the payload crew of Spacelab D-2, conducting a variety of research in physical and life sciences. During this flight, Dr. Harris logged over 239 hours and 4,164,183 miles in space.
His second mission was as the Payload Commander on STS-63 (February 2–11, 1995), the first flight of the new joint Russian-American Space Program. Mission highlights included the rendezvous with the Russian space station Mir, operation of a variety of investigations in the Spacelab module, and the deployment and retrieval of Spartan 204. During the flight, Dr. Harris became the first African-American to walk in space. He logged 198 hours, 29 minutes in space, completed 129 orbits, and traveled over 2.9 million miles.
Harris left NASA in April 1996.
