Gary Payton

Colonel Gary Eugene Payton, USAF, (born June 20, 1948) is an American astronaut and USAF Manned Spaceflight Engineer. Payton flew on the STS-51-C mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in January 1985. He later served as Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force under the Bush and Obama Administrations. Education Payton graduated from high school in Rock Island, Illinois, in 1966. He went on to attend Bradley University, in Peoria, Illinois. After one year at Bradley, he entered the United States Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in astronautical engineering in 1971. He continued with his graduate education at Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, in West Lafayette, Indiana, earning a Master of Science degree in astronautical and aeronautical engineering in 1972. He graduated from pilot training at Craig AFB, in Alabama in 1973. Career From 1972 to 1976, Payton served as a U.S. Air Force pilot and instructor pilot, Craig AFB, Alabama. He has accumulated at least 1,080 hours in T-37, T-38, and T-39 aircraft. Payton served as a spacecraft test controller from 1976 to 1980, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, in Florida. He was selected for the USAF Manned Spaceflight Engineer Program in February 1980.