Lieutenant Commander Chris Cassidy was born on January 4, 1970 in Salem, Massachusetts, but considers York, Maine, his hometown. He is married and a father of three children.
Lieutenant Commander Cassidy received a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1993 and a Master’s degree in Ocean engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2000.
He was the honor graduate of Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Class 192 and spent ten years with the SEAL Teams, serving as the Executive Officer and Operations Officer of Special Boat Unit TWENTY in Norfolk, VA; a Platoon Commander in SEAL Team THREE in Coronado, CA; and a Platoon Commander in SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team TWO in Norfolk, VA. Lieutenant Commander Cassidy’s dedicated service earned him two Bronze Stars for leading a nine-day operation at the Zharwar Kili cave complex in Afghanistan – a national priority objective.
Besides making four, six-month deployments to Afghanistan and two to the Mediterranean, Cassidy also volunteered for and completed a week-long, 180-mile charity kayak paddle from Norfolk, VA to Washington, D.C. to raise money and awareness for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
In May 2004, Cassidy was selected for the space program by NASA. In February 2006 he completed Astronaut Candidate Training, consisting of scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training, T-38 flight training, and water and wilderness survival training. Completion of this initial training qualifies him for various technical assignments within the Astronaut Office and future flight assignment as a mission specialist.
On June 13th, 2009, Cassidy will be one of seven astronauts launched to the International Space Station on Space Shuttle ENDEAVOR (STS-127). This is the 29th mission to the space station, the 10th anniversary of the station and ENDEAVOR’s 22nd flight into space. More…