PERSONAL DATA: Born September 1, 1961 in Philadelphia, PA. Married to the former Sandra A. Cabot. They have three children. Recreational interests include golf, woodworking, and drumming for Max Q, a rock and roll band. His mother, Mary Ann Pietras and stepfather, Norman Pietras, reside in Langhorne, PA. Sandra’s mother, Trudy, resides in Norristown, PA. EDUCATION: Graduated from Archbishop Ryan High School, Philadelphia, PA, 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: Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Strike/Flight Air Medal, Navy Commendation Medal (3), Navy Achievement Medal, and various other service awards/citations. EXPERIENCE: Captain Ferguson was commissioned from the Navy ROTC program at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his Navy Wings in Kingsville, TX in 1996 and was ordered to the F-14 Tomcat training squadron in Virginia Beach, VA. After a brief period of instruction, he joined the ‘Red Rippers’ of VF-11 deploying 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 in 1992. Through June 1994 he was assigned to the Weapons Branch of the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD where he served as the project officer for the F-14D weapon separation program, becoming the first pilot to release several types of air-to-ground weapons from the Tomcat. He served one year as an instructor at the Naval Test Pilot School before joining the ‘Checkmates’ of VF-211 in 1995 and completing a deployment to the Western Pacific/Persian Gulf in defense of the Iraqi no-fly zone on board the USS Nimitz (CVN-68). He briefly served as an F-14 logistics officer for the Atlantic Fleet prior to his selection to the space program. NASA EXPERIENCE: 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 Branch involving the Shuttle Main Engine, External Tank, Solid Rocket Boosters and Software. Ferguson served as Pilot on STS-115 and has logged over 12 days in space. Ferguson is currently serving as a Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM) and performed as the Lead CAPCOM for STS-118 in August 2007. Captain Ferguson will command STS-126 in September, 2008 SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-115 Atlantis (September 9-21, 2006) successfully restarted assembly of the International Space Station. During the 12-day mission the crew delivered and installed the massive P3/P4 truss segment and two sets of solar arrays providing one quarter of the station’s power. The crew also performed over 30 hours of robotic work using the Shuttle’s robotic arm as well as three spacewalks to complete the truss installation. |
