National Aeronautics and Space Administration Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston, Texas 77058
Biographical Data

JACK D. FISCHER (MAJOR, USAF)
NASA Astronaut CANDIDATE

PERSONAL DATA:  Born in 1974, hometown – Louisville, Colorado.  Married to the former Elizabeth Simonson, from Boulder, Colorado.  They have two daughters—Sariah and Bethany.  Fischer’s father, Gary Fischer, is deceased and his mother, JoBelle Orvis, still lives in Louisville.

EDUCATION:  1992, Centaurus High School, Lafayette, CO
1996, B.S., Astronautical Engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy, CO
1998, M.S., Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

ORGANIZATIONS: Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Order of Daedalians, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, U.S. Air Force Academy Association of Graduates, M.I.T. Alumni Association, Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Gamma Tau Engineering Honor Societies.

SPECIAL HONORS/AWARDS: U.S. Air Force Academy Distinguished Graduate and Outstanding Cadet in Astronautics (1996); Draper Fellow, Draper Labs/MIT (1996-1998); Liethen-Tittle, Aaron “C-Dot” George and Onizuka “Prop Wash” Awards and distinguished graduate, U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School; Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Ray E. Tenhoff Outstanding Paper Award and Herman R. “Fish” Salmon Technical Publications Award (2008).  Military decorations include two Meritorious Service Medals, four Air Medals, eight Aerial Achievement Medals, Combat Action Medal, Commendation Medal, and Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal.

EXPERIENCE:  Fischer has more than 1,900 flight hours in over 45 different aircraft.  After graduating from Cadet Squadron CS-26 “Mighty Barons” as a member of the U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 1996, he went on to M.I.T. to complete his master’s degree before attending Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training at Laughlin AFB, TX, in 1998.  He then attended F-15E Strike Eagle training at Seymour-Johnson AFB, North Carolina, before being assigned as an operational pilot in the 391st Fighter Squadron “Bold Tigers.”  Fischer served two combat tours in Southwest Asia following 9/11 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Southern Watch, over Afghanistan and Iraq.  He was then selected to attend the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (TPS) at Edwards AFB, California, and graduated with Class 03-B in June of 2004.  After TPS, he transitioned to F-15 and weapons testing with the 40th Flight Test Squadron “Red Devils” at Eglin AFB, Florida, where he served as project pilot for numerous programs and weapons, including the Small Diameter Bomb.  In 2006, Fischer again returned to Edwards AFB, CA as part of the F-22 Combined Test Force and 411th Flight Test Squadron, flight testing the world’s only air-dominance fighter, the F-22 Raptor.  In 2008, he was selected for in-residence Air Command and Staff College as a Strategic Policy Intern in Washington, D.C.  While serving two, six-month rotations in the Pentagon, Fischer served in the Chairman’s Action Group for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and in the Space and Intelligence Capabilities Office, with the Senior Advisor for the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Fischer was selected in July 2009 as one of 14 members of the 20th NASA astronaut class.  He is currently in Astronaut Candidate Training that includes scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in International Space Station systems, Extravehicular Activity (EVA), robotics, physiological training, T-38 flight training, and water and wilderness survival training.