O'Connor, Bryan D., 1946-

Bryan D. O'Connor (b. September 6, 1946, Orange, California) is a retired United States Marine Corps Colonel and former NASA astronaut. He received his BS in Engineering from the United States Naval Academy in 1968 and a MS in Aeronautical Systems from the University of West Florida in 1970. He began active duty with the United States Marine Corps in June 1968 and served as an attack pilot. With NASA, he served in a variety of research development test and evaluation roles in between 1980 and his retirement as NASA's Chief of Safety and Mission Assurance in August 2011. He served as the Pilot of Atlantis (1985) and Commander of Columbia (1991).