Retired NASA veteran Charles Armstrong holds an MS in space physics from the University of Houston in addition to a BS in physics and mathematics from Missouri State University, where he currently serves on the Physics, Astronomy and Materials Science Department’s advisory board. In the course of his 35-year career at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, he served in various roles supporting major NASA initiatives, including the Space Shuttle, Shuttle-Mir, International Space Station, Assured Crew Return Vehicle, Orbital Space Plane and Orion programs. He retired from federal service in 2014 and has since been sharing his expertise in extravehicular activity (space walk) as a space suit consultant.

Along the way, Charles has been presented with several honors by NASA: the SFA Silver Snoopy Award in 2001, the SFA Leadership Award in 2009, and the Exceptional Achievement Medal in 2011 for his outstanding leadership in the planning and execution of the Orion’s preliminary design review.