Christopher Loria Christopher Joseph " Gus " Loria ( born July 9 , 1960 in Newton , Massachusetts ) is a retired United States Marine Corps Colonel and a medically retired NASA astronaut . He was originally scheduled to fly on STS - 113 as pilot , however he was grounded from spaceflight due to a severe back injury . Personal . Born July 9 , 1960 in Belmont , Massachusetts . He considers Munford , Tennessee , his hometown . He has three children . His mother , Joan Loria , resides in Belmont , Massachusetts . His father , Robert L . Loria , is deceased . On November 10 , 2007 he married U . S . Navy Lieutenant Commander Jamie Ann Fraser . Education . Loria graduated from Belmont High School in 1978 and the U . S . Naval Academy Preparatory School in 1979 . He entered the U . S . Naval Academy shortly after and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in general engineering in 1983 . He later completed 30 credits of coursework toward a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology , earned a Master in Public Administration from the John F . Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 2004 and an Executive Certificate in Business Management and Leadership from the MIT Sloan School of Management . Military career . Loria received his commission after graduating from Annapolis in 1983 , and was designated a Naval Aviator in July 1988 . He transitioned to the F / A - 18 Hornet with Strike Fighter Squadron 125 ( VFA - 125 ) at Naval air Station Lemoore , California , during August 1988 through August 1989 . His next assignment was with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 ( VMFA - 314 ) the " Black Knights " at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro , California . While assigned to the Black Knights he deployed to Bahrain for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm where he flew 42 combat missions in support of allied operations . In 1992 , while assigned as an instructor pilot to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 ( VMFAT - 101 ) he was selected for the United States Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base , California . January 1994 to July 1996 , he was assigned to the Strike Aircraft Test Squadron , Naval Air Station Patuxent River , Maryland , as an experimental test pilot . Loria distinguished himself in the areas of high angle of attack flight test , aircraft departure and spin testing , ordnance , flight controls and aircraft flying qualities testing for the F / A - 18 Hornet , NASA F / A - 18 ‘ HARV ’ thrust vectoring aircraft and the X - 31A aircraft . After returning to the Marine Corps from NASA , he served as the Inspector General for the 1st Marine Air Wing , Okinawa , Japan and served as the Director of Operations ( J3 ) for Cheyenne Mountain , NORAD before retiring from military service on December 1 , 2008 . He has 3 , 079 hours of flight time and has flown 32 different aircraft . NASA career . Loria ' s NASA experience includes assignment as test pilot and Project Officer for the Department of the Navy on the X - 31 Program at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility , Edwards Air Force Base , California , from July 1994 to June 1995 . He was also a test pilot on Dryden ’ s F / A - 18 High Alpha Research Vehicle or “ HARV ” during March 1995 , conducting spin testing and the first successful excitation of the Hornet Falling Leaf out of control mode during flight test . Lead Department of the Navy test pilot on the NASA / U . S . Navy / Industry Aircraft Control Power Working Group . Selected by NASA in April 1996 as an Astronaut Candidate , Loria reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996 . Having completed two years of training and evaluation , he was qualified for flight assignment as a shuttle pilot . Loria was initially assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office as an Ascent and Entry CAPCOM . Assigned as pilot on STS - 113 , Loria requested reassignment due to an injury sustained at home and its subsequent affect on his mission training . From September 2002 through July 2003 he served as the Chief of Flight Test for the Orbital Space Plane Program . Selected by the NASA Headquarters Executive Development Education panel , was the recipient of the coveted NASA Fellowship to the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University . While at Harvard , Loria was selected as a Harvard University Non - Resident Fellow , Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs ( a policy institute or think tank ) for 2003 - 04 where he worked on energy policy issues . He earned an MPA in June 2004 , and was selected as a Fellow at the Center for Business and Government ( a policy institute or think tank ) at the Kennedy School . Following Harvard , Loria served as the Deputy Chief Engineer for the Constellation Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington , D . C . During the fall of 2004 , Loria ' s injuries were deemed inoperable and resulted in his being medically disqualified from space flight exploration missions . Loria requested assignment back to the operational forces of the Marine Corps . Organizations . Society of Experimental Test Pilots , U . S . Naval Academy Alumni Association , Marine Corps Aviation Association , National Rifle Association .