page_title: John E. Blaha
section_title: NASA
hierarchical_section_title: John E. Blaha / NASA
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: NASA Astronaut John Blaha im Kenedy Space Center English: NASA Astronaut John Blaha at Kenedy Space Center
context_page_description: John Elmer Blaha is a retired United States Air Force colonel and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of five space missions aboard the Space Shuttle and Mir.
  Blaha is married to the former Brenda I. Walters of St. Louis, Missouri. They have three grown children and five grandchildren.
context_section_description: Selected as an astronaut in May 1980, Blaha has logged 161 days in space on five space missions. He served as pilot on STS-33 and STS-29, was spacecraft Commander on STS-58 and STS-43, served on Mir 22 as Board Engineer 2, and was a Mission Specialist on STS-79 and STS-81.
  In addition to flying five space missions, Blaha has served as the Chairman, NASA Space Flight Safety Panel; Weather Manager, Mission Management Team; lead spacecraft communicator; member, NASA Space Shuttle Improvement Panel. Blaha also led the design, development, and integration of the Orbiter Head Up Display system. Additionally, he led the development of contingency abort procedures which significantly improve crew survivability in the event of multiple main engine failures during ascent. He has logged more than 7,000 hours of flying time in 34 different aircraft, and has written numerous technical articles on spacecraft performance and control.
  John Blaha retired from NASA in September 1997 to return to his hometown of San Antonio, Texas, where he joined the executive management team of the United Services Automobile Association.
caption: John Blaha at Kennedy Space Center in Nov '08 after a Meet an Astronaut event.
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