Ferguson, Christopher

Christopher J. Ferguson (CAPTAIN, USN)
NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA: Born September 1, 1961 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Married to the former Sandra A. Cabot. They have three children. Recreational interests include golf, woodworking, running, and he plays drums for Max Q, a rock and roll band. His mother, Mary Ann Pietras and stepfather, Norman Pietras, reside in Langhorn, Pennsylvania. Sandra’s mother, Trudy, resides in Norristown, PA.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Archbishop Ryan High School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1979; received a bachelor of science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University, 1984 and a master of science in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, 1991.

ORGANIZATIONS: Society of Experimental Test Pilots.

AWARDS: Navy Strike/Flight Air Medal, Navy Commendation Medal (3), Navy Achievement Medal, and various other service awards/citations.

EXPERIENCE: Ferguson was commissioned from the NROTC program after completion of a 5-year cooperative education curriculum at Drexel University. He was temporarily assigned to the Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Maryland prior to commencing flight school in Pensacola, Florida in November 1984. Following flight training in Florida and Texas, he received his Navy wings and was ordered to the F-14 replacement training squadron in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where, after a nine month period of instruction, he joined the ‘Red Rippers’ of VF-11. With VF-11 he made deployments to the North Atlantic, Mediterranean and Indian Ocean on board the USS Forrestal (CV-59). While with VF-11 he also attended the Navy Fighter Weapon School (TOPGUN). He was selected for the Naval Postgraduate/Test Pilot School program in 1989 and graduated with class 101. From July 1992 through June 1994 he was assigned to the Ordnance Branch of the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate at NAS Patuxent River. There he served as the project officer for the F-14D weapon separation program where he became the first to release numerous air-to-ground stores from both the A and D model of the Tomcat. In July 1994, he was chosen to instruct at the Naval Test Pilot School which he did so until July 1995. After a brief retraining period he joined the ‘Checkmates’ of VF-211 where he completed a deployment to the Western Pacific/Persian Gulf aboard the Nimitz (CVN-68) in support Operation Southern Watch and contingency operations off the coast of Taiwan. He briefly served as the F-14 Class Desk Officer for the Commander Naval Air Force, Atlantic Fleet prior to his selection to the space program.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in June 1998, Ferguson reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1998. Following the completion of two years of training and evaluation, he was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Spacecraft Systems/Operations Branch involving the Shuttle Main Engine, External Tank, Solid Rocket Boosters and Shuttle Software. Ferguson is assigned as Pilot on STS-115. The mission is targeted to launch in 2006.

From: NASA, Jan. 2006

Captain Christopher Ferguson
The Polish American community proudly salutes NASA astronaut Christopher Ferguson (Captain, USN), pilot of the Space Shuttle Atlantis on its most recent mission and a Polish American with roots in Philadelphia. Son of Ian Ferguson (deceased) and Mary Ann (Florkowski) Pietras, Captain Ferguson graduated from Archbishop Ryan High School and earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University and an M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. Following extensive pilot training in a variety of schools, he attended the Navy Fighter Weapon School (TOPGUN) and later served as an instructor at the Naval Test Pilot School. Following deployments to the North Atlantic, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, Western Pacific and Persian Gulf, Captain Ferguson was selected by NASA for the space program in 1998. After two years of training and evaluation, he was assigned to technical duties in the Astronaut Office Spacecraft Systems/Operations Branch involving the Shuttle Main Engine, External Tank, Solid Rocket Boosters and Shuttle Software. The crew of the Atlantis installed solar panels on the International Space Station to double the outpost's ability to generate power from sunlight.
We join the Ferguson, Cabot, Pietras, Florkowski, Gawronski and Jachimonowicz families in recognizing his accomplishments.
From: Polish Cultural Center, Philadelphia, PA (2006)

Photo courtesty of NASA
..... FERGUSON, CHRISTOPHER
NASA astronaut, was born September 1, 1961, to Ian and Mary Ann Ferguson, and graduated in 1979 from Archbishop Ryan High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Little is known of Ian Ferguson, who evidentally died in 1981. Then his mother, who came from the Florkowski families in Philadelphia, where one of them was a saloon keeper, married Norman Pietras, and on September 9-21, 2006, when he was the pilot of the space shuttle named Atlantis and delivered a 35,000-pound solar plant to the International Space Station, she led an army of admirers to recognize his accomplishments. The solar panels provided one quarter of the station's power.
Ferguson earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Drexel University in 1984 and later a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. He started flight training at Pensacola, Florida, in November 1984 and earned his wings in Kingsville, Texas. For fourteen years he was a Navy pilot, testing air-to-ground weapons and other devices from various aircraft, and trained other fliers to follow in his footsteps. In 1995, he was stationed on the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in the Persian Gulf and flew a Navy fighter in the Iraqi no-fly zone.
He entered the space program in June 1998 when NASA sent him to Johnson Space Center in Texas for training and study of space flight. In his free time he enjoyed golfing, woodworking, running, and playing a drum in a rock and roll band.
The Navy captain is married to Sandra A. Cabot and they have three children.
From: Edward Pinkowski (2008)