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Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM

Monday, April 27, 2015 / 10:00 AM, Building 8 Auditorium

Photo of Scott Altman
Photo of F-14 Tomcat

Scott Altman

"Safety Lessons from Topgun"

ABSTRACT -- Scott Altman was one of four Navy pilots chosen to support the filming of the movie Topgun. He had just returned from his first cruise with the F-14 and was excited to be doing flying for the movie. While briefing for each flight supporting filming and also from lessons that were embedded in the film, there are numerous stories and examples that are relevant to work we do at NASA and in our personal lives. Scott's talks will combine humorous anecdotes about working with Hollywood and the flying with several pertinent Safety lessons to be learned from both the film and the flying.

SPEAKER -- Scott Altman served as a navy flyer and a NASA astronaut before joining ASRC Federal Holding Company (AFHC), where he is now Vice President for the Engineering and Aerospace Solutions Group. He holds a BS in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Illinois and an MS in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School.

While serving with the US Navy, he flew the supersonic F-14 Tomcat fighter. The F-14 is featured in the 1986 film Top Gun, for which Scott was one of the pilots. He graduated from Navy Test Pilot School in 1990. He received the Navy Air Medal for his actions as a strike leader over southern Iraq in 1992.

In 1995, Scott joined NASA as an astronaut candidate. He served on four shuttle missions, STS-90, STS-106, STS-190, and STS-125, for a total of over 51 days in space. Scott's last two flights, on which he served as mission commander, were also the last two Hubble servicing missions.

Scott's awards while serving with the Navy include the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Navy Strike/Flight Air Medal, among others. His NASA awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Outstanding Leadership Medal, the Exceptional Service Medal, and four Space Flight Medals.


Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov