Charles D. Gemar
Charles Donald Gemar, known as Sam Gemar, is a retired United States Army lieutenant colonel and NASA astronaut who flew three Space Shuttle missions. He was the first astronaut born in South Dakota.
- Born
- August 4, 1955
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- Yankton, South Dakota,United States
Flights
3
Spacewalks
0
EVA time
N/A
In space
24 days, 5 hours, 38 minutes
Bio
Gemar enlisted in the Army before attending the United States Military Academy, then moved into Army aviation. He became a rotary-wing and fixed-wing aviator, test pilot, and officer before NASA selected him in Astronaut Group 11 in 1985.
His flight record includes STS-38, a classified Department of Defense mission; STS-48, which deployed the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite; and STS-62, a long microgravity and technology mission with Columbia.
After three missions and more than twenty-four days in space, Gemar left NASA and the Army in 1996. His career now shows the full career path rather than only the three shuttle mission names.