Kenneth Ham Kenneth " Hock " Todd Ham ( born December 12 , 1964 in Plainfield , New Jersey ) is a retired American astronaut and a Captain in the United States Navy . Ham was selected for NASA ' s astronaut program in August 1998 , while serving as the F / A - 18E / F Super Hornet lead carrier suitability test pilot . Ham ' s aviator call sign is " Hock " . As of July 2013 , Captain Ham is serving as the Chair of the Aerospace Engineering Department at the United States Naval Academy , in Annapolis , Maryland . Personal data . Ham is married to the former Michelle Lucas of Hobart , Indiana , and has two children , Ryan and Randy , from a previous marriage to Linda Hautzinger Ham . Ham ' s parents are Ed and Marion Ham . Ham ' s recreational interests include baseball , running , weight lifting , general aviation , snow skiing and water skiing , skydiving and scuba diving . Education . Ham graduated from Arthur L . Johnson High School in Clark , New Jersey in 1983 , where he had started taking flying lessons at the suggestion of a high school guidance counselor . He then went on to the United States Naval Academy from which he graduated in 1987 with a bachelors degree in aerospace engineering . In 1996 , he earned a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School . A Distinguished Graduate of the U . S . Naval Test Pilot School , Ham is also a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and the U . S . Naval Academy Alumni Association . Experience . After earning his commission as an Ensign in the U . S . Navy in May 1987 , Ham received flight training in the T - 34C , T - 2C , and TA - 4J aircraft . Ham was designated a Naval Aviator in October 1989 , and subsequently received F / A - 18 Hornet training . His operational assignments included stints with VFA - 132 and VFA - 105 fighter squadrons . During a temporary assignment to NASA ' s Johnson Space Center in Houston , Texas , Ham served as a crew member aboard NASA ' s reduced gravity research aircraft — a KC - 135 Stratotanker nicknamed the " Vomit Comet " . At the Naval Postgraduate School / Test Pilot School , Ham participated in a cooperative program , studying aeronautical engineering for 18 months , followed by 12 months of test pilot training . He was selected as one of five Navy pilots on the F / A - 18E / F Super Hornet Integrated Test Team , responsible for developing a new fleet aircraft . In this role , Ham conducted flight tests involving arrested landing s , catapult assisted takeoffs , weapon separation , and evaluation of the aircraft ' s propulsion stability , performance and general flying qualities . During two deployments to the Mediterranean Sea , Ham conducted combat missions over Bosnia and North Iraq , serving as an air wing strike leader , F / A - 18 demonstration pilot , and night vision goggle instructor . He has over 6 , 000 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft types , with over 300 shipboard and 300 land based arrested landings . Astronaut experience . Ken Ham has served as CAPCOM for Space Shuttle ascent / entry and orbit , as well as the International Space Station ( ISS ) . His most recent CAPCOM assignment was for NASA ' s " return to flight " mission , STS - 114 , of the Space Shuttle . He made his first spaceflight as pilot of STS - 124 , in which " Discovery " flew to the International Space Station in June 2008 . He also flew as the commander of mission STS - 132 , which launched on May 14 , 2010 and landed on May 26 , 2010 .