Gary Payton (astronaut)

**Gary Eugene Payton**
Astronaut

Nationality	American
Born	June 20, 1948 Rock Island, Illinois
Occupation¹	Pilot
Rank	Colonel, USAF
Space time	3d 01h 33m
Selection	1979 NASA Group
Mission(s)	STS-51-C
Mission insignia
_{This infobox needs updating. Please see Template talk:Infobox Astronaut for information}
¹ previous or current

This article is about the astronaut. For the basketball player, see Gary Payton.

Colonel Gary Eugene Payton, USAF, (born 20 June 1948) is a former American astronaut.

[edit] Education

Payton graduated from high school in Rock Island, Illinois, in 1966. He went on to attended 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, 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.

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 Space Flight Engineer Program in February 1980.

He has accumulated at least 1,080 hours in T-37, T-38 and T-39 aircraft.

Payton flew on the STS-51-C mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in January, 1985 which launched from and returned to land at the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida. STS-51C was the first dedicated Space Shuttle Department of Defense mission. At the conclusion of the mission, Payton had traveled over 1.2 million miles in 48 Earth orbits, and logged more than 73 hours in space.

Payton is now the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for Space Programs.