Published: March 02, 2009 02:33 pm      

SCIENCE: Lockport astronaut discusses life after NASA

Space Shuttle Endeavour pilot pursues space technology back on Earth

It’s a dilemma all astronauts must eventually face: “You’ve flown in space! Now what?”

Three years have passed since the Union-Sun & Journal last checked in with Lockport native and former astronaut William G. “Bill” Gregory. He has resided in Phoenix since his simultaneous retirement from the U.S. Air Force and NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in 1999.

“I’ve been up to nothing but no good,” Gregory quipped from his office last week. Flying at a mere 10 wph (wisecracks per hour) instead of his usual cruising speed of 55 and above, he cited Monday as the reason.

“The biggest change is that I’ve switched jobs. That has been a blessing, in my estimation.”

Until last August, Gregory had served as Honeywell’s senior manager of business development in Phoenix for nine years. Outstanding in his achievements was a big win for Honeywell in August 2006: a $700 million contract with Lockheed Martin for NASA’s new CEV, or Crew Exploration Vehicle, called “Orion,” the spacecraft that will replace the shuttle. The contract, Gregory reported, is now worth up to $1 billion.

His aerospace salesmanship resulted in a bonus but not a promotion, because of corporate changes in philosophy at Honeywell. For a slew of reasons, Gregory decided to take a similar development position with Micro-Tronics Inc., a small, veteran-owned manufacturing firm also based in Phoenix.

“One of my greatest delights is that I went from a company of 120,000 people to one with 120,” he said.

“It’s like I’m back in a fighter squadron again. I report directly to the CEO.”

Gregory joked: “And I’m driving one-third of my former daily commute, and I have my own covered parking space that even says ‘reserved.’ That’s important in Phoenix when it’s 110 degrees outside.”

More important, from the perspective of a typical pilot, Gregory acquired a fractional share in a Pitts S-2C aircraft in August 2007. While piloting the biplane is not quite the same as his experience flying a U-2 or the space shuttle, the rationalization is that his skills are staying sharp.

“I fly every other weekend and have a rip-roaring good time. I take the Pitts up to 4500 feet, no more than 10 miles out from the airport. I’ll fly it for about 40 or 45 minutes on a Sunday morning. During that time I practice acrobatics and make five or six landings.”

“A Pitts is exciting to land, because you can’t see past the nose. So there is the possibility that you can run off the runway.”

The Pitts Special aircraft is designed to endure up to plus-6 Gs and minus-5 Gs. Gregory flies a maximum of minus-3.5 Gs during outside loops and goes to the plus-6G limit during aerobatic maneuvers such as inside loops, inverted spins, Cuban 8s and clover leafs.

Confessed Gregory, with a distinct inflection of mischief in his voice: “It’s pure hedonism in the air. There’s nothing practical about it.”

He said that while he “really likes Phoenix,” he does enjoy visiting Lockport.

“I’ve taken up the task of throwing my annual high school reunion. We hold it the third Saturday of August at a local bar.

“The beauty of it is that all they (the Lockport High School Class of 1975) have to do is show up. Come and go as you please. If you want, you can show up, look around, and walk back out the door.”

Last year, 80 people attended the gathering, Gregory estimated, including his friend and former classmate, Lockport Mayor Michael Tucker. The reunion was held over three days, from Friday night through Sunday morning. Festivities last year included a Friday night concert by REO Speedwagon, Saturday night refreshment at a local watering hole, and a Sunday morning “Taste of Lockport” restaurant sampler.

The class’ next annual reunion is scheduled for Aug. 15. “This year, it’s planned in conjunction with a Lockport concert featuring the Charlie Daniels Band,” he announced.

Gregory’s high school years in Lockport are special to him for another reason. According to his mother, Kathy, that was the time period he began thinking about his pathway into space.

“When Bill was 14 years old, we visited Huntsville, Ala.,” she said. “It was a chance trip. My husband was on reserve duty for the Army National Guard, learning to fly helicopters at Fort Rucker in Alabama.”

“One of the space chimps was still alive. So we toured Huntsville.

“Well, I turned around and noticed that Bill wasn’t with us.

“He had stopped in (Wernher) von Braun’s library. He was looking through all his books.

“Bill told me later that he got inspired by that trip.”

Catch Part II of Jill Michaels’ interview with Bill Gregory on Monday.