Bruce E . Melnick Bruce Edward Melnick ( born December 5 , 1949 ) is a former American astronaut and retired United States Coast Guard officer . Following retirement from NASA and the Coast Guard , he entered the aerospace industry . He served as a Vice President with the Boeing Co . ' s Integrated Defense Systems group , in charge of Boeing ' s Florida operations at the John F . Kennedy Space Center ( KSC ) . Melnick retired in 2008 and currently resides on Merritt Island , Florida . Melnick graduated from Clearwater High School , Clearwater , Florida , in 1967 . He then went on to receive a bachelor ' s degree in engineering with honors from the United States Coast Guard Academy , and a master ’ s degree in aeronautical systems from the University of West Florida . He was awarded an honorary doctorate of science degree from the University of West Florida on 28 April 2001 . Coast Guard career . Melnick spent 20 years in the United States Coast Guard , rising to the rank of Commander . His assignments included serving as operations officer and chief test pilot at the Coast Guard Aircraft Program Office in Grand Prairie , Texas . In that capacity , he conducted most of the developmental and all of the acceptance test flights for the HH - 65 Dolphin helicopter , including sea trials , and wrote the HH - 65 flight manual . During his Coast Guard service , Melnick received numerous awards , including two Defense Distinguished Service Medal s , two Distinguished Flying Cross es and the Secretary of Transportation Heroism Award . In 1992 , he received the U . S . Coast Guard Academy Distinguished Alumni Award . He logged over 5 , 000 hours flying time , predominantly in the HH - 3F Pelican , HH - 52 Sea Guard , HH - 65 Dolphin , and T - 38 Talon aircraft . Melnick was selected by NASA in 1987 and became an astronaut in August 1988 with the missions STS - 41 and STS - 49 . He was the first Coast Guard aviator to participate in the space program , and was the first Coast Guard aviator into space . Commander Melnick retired from the U . S . Coast Guard and left NASA in July 1992 . Aerospace - industry career . Currently , Bruce Melnick is the Vice President for Boeing Florida Operations at the John F . Kennedy Space Center ( KSC ) . Melnick ’ s organization , a part of the Boeing Integrated Defense Systems group , provides a variety of support services to Boeing programs in the state . Headquartered in Titusville , Florida , the organization has approximately 2 , 400 employees . Services provided by Boeing in Florida include engineering , facilities and maintenance support to NASA and the Department of Defense for the Space Shuttle , International Space Station and Delta rocket programs . Melnick is also responsible for the pursuit of new business for the company in Florida . Melnick was formerly the Boeing Company Vice President at KSC for the Payload Ground Operations Contract with NASA , with 1 , 600 employees . The contract included all the engineering and facilities support and maintenance activities related to preparing spacecraft and / or payloads for the Space Shuttle missions prior to launch and after landing . The division also provided support to NASA and its contractors for the International Space Station hardware . Prior to joining Boeing ( McDonnell Douglas at the time ) , Melnick was Vice President / Director for Shuttle Engineering at United Space Alliance , formerly Lockheed Martin Space Operations , from 1994 to 1996 . From 1992 to 1994 , he was Director of Process Improvement Technology at Lockheed Space Operations Company . Affiliations . Memberships : Board of Directors : Board of Governors : Brevard Community College Foundation Board of Advisors :