 |
Charles Eldon BradyAmerican astronaut.
Date of Birth: 12.08.1951
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Medical Career
- Military Service
- NASA Career
- Spaceflight
- Post-NASA Career and Death
Early Life and Education
Charles Brady Jr. was born in North Moore, South Carolina, and graduated from North Moore High School in 1969. He pursued higher education at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, graduating with a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1975.
Medical Career
Dr. Brady completed his internship at the University of Tennessee Hospital in Knoxville. In 1978, he became the sports medicine physician at Iowa State University. From 1979 to 1986, he established a family practice while also serving as a sports medicine physician at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and East Carolina University in Greenville.
Military Service
In 1986, Brady joined the U.S. Navy and trained as a flight surgeon at the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute in Pensacola, Florida. He subsequently served with Carrier Air Wing Two on the USS Ranger. In 1987, he was recognized as the U.S. Navy's Physician of the Year. From 1988 to 1990, he flew with the Navy's Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron.
NASA Career
On March 31, 1992, Brady was selected as a NASA astronaut candidate. After completing the year-long training program, he became a mission specialist.
Spaceflight
Brady's sole spaceflight occurred on June 20, 1996, on the Columbia shuttle mission STS-78. He served as a mission specialist and became the 351st person and 224th American to travel to space. The mission lasted 16 days, 21 hours, 48 minutes, and 31 seconds, setting a record for space shuttle flights at the time.
Post-NASA Career and Death
Brady left NASA in 2001 and returned to the Navy, serving as a flight surgeon at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Washington. Tragically, he was found dead on July 23, 2006, in a forest near his home. The cause of death was determined to be self-inflicted knife wounds.
