THIS RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT WAS
BORN AND RAISED IN OZONE PARK
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | MAY 22-MAY 28, 2020 19
In conjunction with the
Greater Astoria Historical
Society, TimesLedger Newspapers
presents noteworthy
events in the borough’s
history.
Born on May 8, 1952, and
raised in Ozone Park, Charles
“Charlie” Camarda is an
aerospace engineer and retired
NASA astronaut who
flew on Space Shuttle mission
STS-114. He has also served
as the Director of Engineering
at NASA’s Johnson Space
Center and as a Senior Advisor
at their Langley Research
Center.
Dr. Camarda has a Ph.D.
in aerospace engineering
from Virginia Tech and holds
seven patents in his field of
expertise.
The Queens native graduated
from Archbishop Molloy
High School in 1970. As a
child growing up in the 1960s,
Camarda developed an interest
in spaceflight, recalling
“It was a time when spaceflight
was so intriguing. It
was natural for me to want to
be an astronaut, to dream of
being an astronaut.”
After earning a bachelor’s
degree in aerospace engineering
from the Polytechnic Institute
of Brooklyn in 1974,
the future astronaut began
work for NASA as a research
scientist.
Before taking flight in the
Space Shuttle, the promising
young researcher worked on
developing Shuttle components
and led several testing
facilities for the space program.
After more than 20
years developing technology
for NASA, however, he still
held on to his boyhood dreams.
He decided to make a career
change, and was named a mission
specialist in 1996.
Camarda had to wait
nearly 10 years to take flight,
however. While he selected as
a backup crew member for a
2003 expedition to the International
Space Station, he did
not travel to space until 2005
on mission STS-114 on the
Space Shuttle Discovery.
The astronaut from
Queens spent nearly two
weeks in space on the first
flight after the tragic loss of
the Columbia two years earlier.
During his only Space
Shuttle flight, as part of a long
tradition of playing music
to astronauts, NASA played
“What a Wonderful World” by
fellow Queens resident Louis
Armstrong to the dreamer
from Ozone Park.
During the mission, Camarda
and his fellow crew
members delivered supplied
and science equipment to the
International Space Station,
and in light of the Columbia
disaster, they tested flight
safety procedures and ways
to inspect and repair their vehicle.
Dr. Camarda continued
to serve in the space program
following his return from his
extraterrestrial adventure.
More recently, he has
served as Director of Engineering
at the Johnson Space
Center and as a Senior Advisor
for Innovation. The astronaut
also returned to his alma
mater, now the New York University
Tandon School of Engineering,
to teach a course
on innovative engineering,
and in 2017 was inducted into
the Long Island Air & Space
Hall of Fame.
Commenting on the dangers
of his work, he shared
“I’ve always been aware of the
risks. I think every one of us
understands that spaceflight
is risky. It’s important that we
take those risks for the future
of space and for the future of
the development of technology
to help us on Earth.”
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