O'Connor, Bryan D., 1946-

Bryan D. O'Connor, born September 6, 1946, in Orange, California, but considers Twentynine Palms, California, to be his hometown; received BS (1968) in Engineering, United States Naval Academy, MS (1970)in Aeronautical Systems, University of West Florida; graduated from the Naval Safety School (1972); graduated Naval Test Pilot School (1976); active duty with the United States Marine Corps, June 1968, served as an attack pilot; served in a variety of research development test and evaluation roles in three tours at NASA, covering 24 years between 1980 and his retirement as NASA's Chief of Safety and Mission Assurance in August 2011; flown more than 5,000 hours in over 40 types of aircraft and is a veteran of two space shuttle flights: Atlantis (1985, Pilot), Columbia (1991, Commander)