National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

Houston, Texas 77058

Biographical Data

GREGORY B. JARVIS (MR.)

PAYLOAD SPECIALIST (DECEASED)

PERSONAL DATA: Born August 24, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan. He is survived

by his wife, Marcia. Greg Jarvis was an avid squash player and bicycle rider. He

also enjoyed cross country skiing, backpacking, racquet ball, and white water river

rafting. For relaxation, he played the classical guitar.

AWARDS: Posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Mohawk Central High School, Mohawk, New

York, 1962; received a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering, State

University of New York at Buffalo, 1967; a masters degree in electrical engineering,

Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, 1969. Mr. Jarvis also completed all

of the course work for a masters degree in management science, West Coast

University, Los Angeles, California.

EXPERIENCE: While pursuing his masters degree at Northeastern, Mr. Jarvis worked at Raytheon in Bedford

Massachusetts, where he was involved in circuit design on the SAM-D missile. In July 1969, he entered active duty in

the Air Force and was assigned to the Space Division in El Segundo, California. As a Communications Payload

Engineer, in the Satellite Communications Program Office, he worked on advanced tactical communications satellites.

He was involved in the concept formulation, source selection, and early design phase of the FLTSATCOM

communications payload. After being honorably discharged from the Air Force in 1973, with the rank of Captain, he

joined Hughes Aircraft Companys Space and Communications group, where he worked as a Communications

Subsystem Engineer on the MARISAT Program. In 1975, he became the MARISAT F-3 Spacecraft Test and

Integration Manager. In 1976, the MARISAT F-3 was placed in geosynchronous orbit. Jarvis became a member of the

Systems Applications Laboratory in 1976, and was involved in the concept definition for advanced UHF and SHF

communications for the strategic forces. Joining the Advanced Program Laboratory in 1978, he began working on the

concept formulation and subsequent proposal for the SYNCON IV/LEASAT Program. In 1979, he became the

Power/Thermal/Harness Subsystem Engineer on the LEASAT Program. In 1981, he became the Spacecraft Bus System

Engineering and in 1982, the Assistant Spacecraft System Engineering Manager. He was the Test and Integration

Manager for the F-1, F-2, and F-3 spacecraft and the cradle in 1983, where he worked until the shipment of the F-1

spacecraft and cradle to Cape Kennedy for integration into the Orbiter. Both the F-1 and F-2 LEASAT spacecraft have

successfully achieved their geosynchronous positions. Mr. Jarvis worked on advanced satellite designs in the Systems

Application Laboratory. He was selected as a payload specialist candidate in July 1984.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Mr. Jarvis was a payload specialist on STS 51-L which was launched from the Kennedy Space

Center, Florida, at 11:38:00 EST on January 28, 1986. The crew on board the Orbiter Challenger included the

spacecraft commander, Mr. F.R. Scobee, the pilot, Commander M.J. Smith (USN), mission specialists, Dr. R.E.

McNair, Lieutenant Colonel E.S. Onizuka (USAF), and Dr. J. A. Resnik, and fellow civilian payload specialist, Mrs. S.

C. McAuliffe. The STS 51-L crew died on January 28, 1986 when Challenger exploded after launch.

DECEMBER 2003