489:. As an advisor, Walker works with commercial space firms Space Adventures, Ltd and Deep Space Industries, Inc., and the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Walker is a professional engineer registered in California. He has been an expert witness testifying before committees of the U.S. Congress. He has authored several papers and book contributions on the EOS electrophoresis program, space development, commercialization, and space history. Walker has also written columns and articles appearing in national newspapers and numerous other publications.
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559:, accumulating 20 days of experience in space and traveling 8.2 million miles. Aboard these Space Shuttle missions Walker also performed early protein crystal growth experiments and participated as a test subject in numerous medical studies. He began training fellow McDonnell Douglas employee Robert Wood to fly on
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Since 1986 Walker has served in various NASA study and review team capacities including as a member of the NASA Microgravity
Material Science Assessment Task Force, the NASA Space Station Office Quick-is-Beautiful/Rapid Response Research Study Group, the NASA Space Station Operations Task Force, and
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Walker has been an industry member of the NASA Microgravity
Material Science Assessment Task Force, the NASA Space Station Office Quick-is Beautiful/Rapid Response Research Study Group, and the NASA Space Station Operations Task Force. He has been a member of the National Research Council's Space
414:
From 1979 to 1986, Walker was chief test engineer and payload specialist for the McDonnell
Douglas EOS commercialization project, having told company management that he was interested in flying in space if possible. Walker led the EOS laboratory test and operations team developing biomedical
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and two other people approved and relayed all messages to space. McDonnell
Douglas proposed that Walker fly as a payload specialist to operate the CFES himself. NASA calculated that flying Walker would cost McDonnell Douglas $ 40,000 per flight, and in May 1983 he was assigned to
469:. He has been a national panel member of the NASA/Industry Manned Flight Awareness Program and the NASA/Industry Education Initiative. Walker advised the NASA/Purdue University space life support research center, a NASA/Penn State space commercial development center and a
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the
International Space Station Strategic Roadmap Committee. He has served on the national panels of the NASA/Industry Manned Flight Awareness Program and the NASA/Industry Education Initiative. He also makes a public appearance occasionally to sign memorabilia at the
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Aerospace
Company where he worked on aerodynamic analysis, missile subsystem design, and flight testing. He also was employed as project engineer with the Naval Sea Systems Command with responsibility for computer-controlled manufacturing systems.
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products. His contributions to the program included engineering planning, design and development, product research, and space flight and evaluation of the CFES device. Walker was involved with the program support activities at
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Operations in Space, EOS) team as one of its original members. Walker shares in a patent for the McDonnell
Douglas-developed continuous flow electrophoresis (CFES) device. McDonnell Douglas' main partner was
461:' civil Space policy study. He served on the AIAA steering committee formulating the strategic plan for NASA's office of Commercial Programs. Walker has served as a founding board member of the
492:
Walker retired in 2005 as the
Director for NASA Systems Government Relations with the Washington D.C. Operations office of The Boeing Company. In 2018, Walker, joined
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shuttle flights during 1982 and 1983. In May 1986, Walker was appointed
Special Assistant to the President of McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Company, working in
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STS-4 demonstrated the difficulty of Walker assisting astronauts with the complex CFES device. He and others could not speak directly to the space shuttle; the
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Applications Board. Walker was
Faculty Course Advisor and lecturer for the International Space university 1988 summer session. He was a participant in the 1988
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548:". He later stated that his experience showed that a "working passenger" could fly after an abbreviated training program of a few months.
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481:. Walker has served as the volunteer chairman of the board of directors of Spacecause, and is past president and board director of the
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Walker's flight was part of a NASA effort in the 1980s to fly civilians on the shuttle. Although Europeans were training for
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program as another way to fly in space, and sought a job that might give him the opportunity to serve as one. He joined the
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Payload Specialist duties, Walker remained a McDonnell Douglas employee, and commuted between company headquarters in
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Although Walker believed at the time that 41-D would be his only flight, he also accompanied the CFES equipment on
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but was unsuccessful, as he was neither affiliated with a major university nor had a PhD. He saw the new
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Engineering Astronaut Alumnus Award, Purdue University Schools of Engineering (September 1989)
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Lindbergh Award, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – St. Louis Section (1986)
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721:"Solstar Space Company: WiFi for astronauts (First Internet Service Provider in space)"
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Charlie Walker speaking to visitors of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex (2009)
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and Charles Walker inspect hardware for growth of protein crystals in space (1985).
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Corporation in 1977 as a test engineer on the Aft Propulsion Subsystem for the
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and also appears for the complex's "Lunch with an Astronaut" program.
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as an advisor. Walker is currently a consultant, author and lecturer.
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in 1986, and expected to fly at least once more himself, perhaps on
330:, as consultant to the 1987–1988 Space Station Operations Task Force
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Dubbs, Chris; Paat-Dahlstrom, Emeline; Walker, Charles D. (2011).
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773:(Interview). Interviewed by Ross-Nazzal, Jennifer. Archived from
685:(Interview). Interviewed by Ross-Nazzal, Jennifer. Archived from
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His recreational interests include photography, running, hiking,
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Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics alumni
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science education center. He has been a board director of the
810:(Interview). Interviewed by Johnson, Sandra. Archived from
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Following graduation from Purdue University he worked as a
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1966: Graduated from Bedford High School, Bedford, Indiana
465:. He was the organizing committee chairman for the 1992
396:, which hoped to manufacture large amounts of purified
387:, then the company's Space Manufacturing (later named
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Realizing Tomorrow: The Path to Private Spaceflight
574:in January 1986 ended commercial shuttle payloads.
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jet trainer aircraft, and about 40 flights on the "
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360:. Subsequently, he was a design engineer with the
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288:Apparatus with Flow Control, issued 19 July 1983
224:. They have one daughter and two grandchildren.
808:NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project
771:NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project
683:NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project
597:
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459:Center for Strategic and International Studies
434:crews in the operation of the CFES payload on
710:McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing in 1997.
479:Challenger Center for Space Science Education
8:
352:technician, land acquisition specialist and
220:, Walker is married to Susan Y. Flowers, of
841:"CHARLES D. WALKER, MDC PAYLOAD SPECIALIST"
603:"CHARLES D. WALKER, MDC PAYLOAD SPECIALIST"
485:. He has also been a board director of the
19:For other people named Charles Walker, see
16:American astronaut and engineer (born 1948)
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25:
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423:, and at the Mission Control Center in
427:. He was responsible for training the
312:, St. Louis College of Pharmacy (1985)
192:(born August 29, 1948) is an American
339:, Commonwealth of Kentucky (May 1990)
7:
580:Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
318:Aviation Week & Space Technology
540:. Training included a flight on a
300:, State of Indiana (November 1984)
14:
799:Walker, Charles D. (2006-11-07).
762:Walker, Charles D. (2005-03-17).
725:Solstar Space Company on Wefunder
674:Walker, Charles D. (2004-11-19).
235:, collecting books on space, and
901:Space Shuttle program astronauts
196:and astronaut who flew on three
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200:missions in 1984 and 1985 as a
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21:Charles Walker (disambiguation)
487:Association of Space Explorers
463:Astronauts Memorial Foundation
190:Charles David "Charlie" Walker
1:
891:People from Bedford, Indiana
644:University of Nebraska Press
471:U.S. Department of Education
328:NASA Group Achievement Award
764:"Oral History 2 Transcript"
917:
745:"Engineer In Space (1984)"
18:
896:Bendix Corporation people
801:"Oral History Transcript"
676:"Oral History Transcript"
315:Aerospace Laurels Award,
261:Astronautical Engineering
183:
114:
35:
294:, 1984 and twice in 1985
292:NASA Space Flight Medals
239:. He lives in Arizona.
368:Walker applied for the
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483:National Space Society
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298:Sagamore of the Wabash
846:. NASA. February 1999
608:. NASA. February 1999
565:Space Station Freedom
507:
475:Ohio State University
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817:on February 15, 2017
780:on February 15, 2017
534:Johnson Space Center
514:capsule communicator
467:World Space Congress
417:Kennedy Space Center
394:Ortho Pharmaceutical
370:1978 astronaut class
89:Charles David Walker
886:American astronauts
692:on February 2, 2017
542:Northrop T-38 Talon
530:St. Louis, Missouri
358:U.S. Forest Service
253:Bachelor of Science
510:
412:
374:Payload Specialist
354:forest firefighter
202:Payload Specialist
126:Payload Specialist
657:978-0-8032-1610-5
378:McDonnell Douglas
350:civil engineering
304:Doctor of Science
276:Awards and honors
265:Purdue University
251:1971: Received a
206:McDonnell Douglas
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123:McDonnell Douglas
98:Purdue University
30:Charles D. Walker
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222:Joplin, Missouri
218:Bedford, Indiana
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161:Mission insignia
86:Other names
62:Bedford, Indiana
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569:destruction of
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389:Electrophoresis
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321:Magazine (1985)
286:Electrophoresis
284:No. 4,394,246,
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94:Alma mater
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55:August 29, 1948
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848:. Retrieved
821:December 29,
819:. Retrieved
812:the original
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782:. Retrieved
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257:Aeronautical
229:scuba diving
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116:Space career
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871:1948 births
646:. pp.
546:Vomit Comet
408:Bill Nelson
282:U.S. Patent
137:19d 21h 56m
100:, B.S. 1971
78:Nationality
865:Categories
730:2023-01-11
586:References
571:Challenger
400:in space.
255:degree in
105:Occupation
51:1948-08-29
432:astronaut
271:, Indiana
243:Education
850:June 20,
612:June 20,
561:STS-61-M
557:STS-61-B
553:STS-51-D
532:and the
526:Spacelab
519:STS-41-D
385:orbiters
356:for the
216:Born in
212:Personal
204:for the
194:engineer
154:STS-61-B
150:STS-51-D
146:STS-41-D
142:Missions
109:Engineer
81:American
494:Solstar
421:Florida
233:reading
73:Retired
654:
555:, and
446:, and
362:Bendix
344:Career
237:bonsai
70:Status
64:, U.S.
844:(PDF)
815:(PDF)
804:(PDF)
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767:(PDF)
690:(PDF)
679:(PDF)
648:70–75
606:(PDF)
448:STS-8
444:STS-7
440:STS-6
436:STS-4
263:from
852:2021
823:2011
786:2011
698:2011
652:ISBN
614:2021
429:NASA
259:and
45:Born
536:in
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