View source for Jerry M. Linenger

{{Short description|American astronaut (born 1955)}}
{{BLP sources|date=February 2013}}
{{Infobox astronaut
|name          = Jerry Linenger
|image         = Jerry Linenger.jpg
|birth_name    = Jerry Michael Linenger
|birth_date    = {{birth date and age|1955|1|16}}
|birth_place   = [[Eastpointe, Michigan]], U.S.
|death_date    = 
|death_place   = 
|education     = [[United States Naval Academy]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])<br>[[Wayne State University]] ([[Doctor of Medicine|MD]])<br>[[University of Southern California]] ([[Master of Science|MS]])<br>[[University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill]] ([[Master of Public Health|MPH]], [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])
|type          = [[NASA astronaut]]
|rank          = [[Captain (United States O-6)|Captain]], [[United States Navy|USN]]
|time          = 143d 2h 50m
|selection     = [[NASA Astronaut Group 14|NASA Group 14 (1992)]]
|mission       = [[STS-64]]<br>[[STS-81]]/[[STS-84|84]] ([[Mir EO-22]]/[[Mir EO-23|23]])
|insignia      = [[File:Sts-64-patch.png|45px]] [[File:Sts-81-patch.png|45px]] [[File:Mir EO-22 patch.png|40px]] [[File:Soyuz TM-25 patch.png|50px]] [[File:Sts-84-patch.png|45px]]
}}
'''Jerry Michael Linenger''' (born January 16, 1955) is a retired [[Captain (naval)|Captain]] in the [[United States Navy Medical Corps]], and a former [[NASA]] [[astronaut]] who flew on the [[Space Shuttle]] and [[Space Station]] [[Mir]].

==Background==
Born January 16, 1955, and raised in [[East Detroit, Michigan]], he is married to the former Kathryn M. Bartmann of [[Arlington Heights, Illinois]]; they have four children. Linenger graduated from [[East Detroit Public Schools|East Detroit High School]] 1973. He received a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in [[bioscience]] from the [[United States Naval Academy]] in 1977, a [[doctorate]] in [[medicine]] from [[Wayne State University School of Medicine]] in 1981, a [[Master of Science]] degree in [[systems management]] from the [[University of Southern California]] in 1988, a [[Master of Public Health]] degree in [[health policy]] from the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] in 1989 and a [[Doctor of Philosophy]] degree in [[epidemiology]] from the University of North Carolina in 1989.

Linenger is a member of the [[Alumni Association]]s of the U.S. Naval Academy, University of Southern California, Wayne State University School of Medicine, and University of North Carolina, the [[Association of Naval Aviation]], the U.S. Navy Flight Surgeons Association, the [[Aerospace Medicine Association]], the [[American Medical Association]], the [[American College of Preventive Medicine]], the Society of U.S. Navy Preventive Medicine Officers, and the [[American College of Sports Medicine]]. He is board-certified in [[preventive medicine]].

==Awards and honors==
*[[Navy Commendation Medal]] with [[5/16 inch star|gold star]]
*[[NASA Space Flight Medal]]s (2)
*[[Navy Unit Commendation]]
*[[Meritorious Unit Commendation]]
*Navy [[Battle Effectiveness Award]]
*[[National Defense Service Medal]] (2)
*Top graduate, Naval Flight Surgeon Training and Naval Safety Officer's School
*Elected to [[Phi Kappa Phi]] and [[Alpha Omega Alpha]] academic honor societies
*Distinguished Alumni Award, Wayne State University School of Medicine.
*Gold Medal, [[Royal Canadian Geographical Society]]
*There is a McDonald's in Eastpointe (formerly East Detroit) that was decorated in outer space/Jerry Linenger memorabilia. There was a statue of Linenger next to the cash register. The statue was tragically removed with a remodel in 2020. The sculpture was made by Alex Walker in 2000.

==Academic experience==
Linenger graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and proceeded directly to [[medical school]]. After completing his [[Internship (medicine)|surgical internship]] training at [[Naval Medical Center San Diego|Balboa Naval Hospital]], [[San Diego, California]], and [[aerospace medicine]] training at the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute, [[Pensacola, Florida]], he served as a naval [[flight surgeon]] at [[Naval Air Station Cubi Point]] in the [[Philippines]]. He was then assigned as medical advisor to the [[Commander, Naval Air Forces]], [[U.S. Pacific Fleet]], San Diego. After completing doctorate-level training in [[epidemiology]], Linenger returned to San Diego as a research principal investigator at the Naval Health Research Center. He concurrently served as a faculty member at the [[University of California, San Diego School of Medicine]] in the Division of [[Sports Medicine]].

==NASA experience==
Linenger joined astronaut selection [[NASA Astronaut Group 14|Group 14]] at the [[Johnson Space Center]] in August 1992. He flew on [[STS-64]] (September 9–20, 1994) aboard the [[Space Shuttle Discovery|Space Shuttle ''Discovery'']]. Mission highlights included: first use of [[laser]]s for [[natural environment|environment]]al research, deployment and retrieval of a [[solar science]] [[satellite]], [[robot]]ic processing of [[semiconductor]]s, use of an [[Remote Manipulator System|RMS]]-attached boom for [[jet engine|jet]] [[Spacecraft propulsion|thruster]] research, first untethered [[spacewalk]] in 10 years to test a self-rescue [[jetpack]]. In completing his first mission, Linenger logged 10 days, 22 hours, 51 minutes in space, completed 177 orbits, and traveled over 4.5 million miles.

Following his first mission, in January 1995, he began training at the [[Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center]] in [[Star City, Russia]], in preparation for a long-duration stay aboard the Russian [[Space Station]] [[Mir]].<ref>''Off the Planet'', p.30</ref> All training was conducted using the [[Russian language]], and consisted of learning all Mir space station systems ([[life support]]/[[electrical]]/ [[communication]]/[[Spacecraft attitude control|attitude control]]/[[computer]] systems), [[simulator]] training, [[Soyuz spacecraft|Soyuz]] launch/return vehicle operations, and spacewalk water tank training. He also trained as chief scientist to conduct the entire United States science program, consisting of over one-hundred planned experiments in various disciplines. A sampling includes: [[medicine]] ([[humoral immunity]], [[sleep]] monitoring, radiation [[dosimetry]]), [[physiology]] ([[spatial orientation]]/performance changes during long duration flight), epidemiology ([[microbe|microbial]] surface sampling), [[metallurgy]] (determination of metal [[diffusion coefficient]]s), [[oceanography]]/[[geology]]/[[limnology]]/[[physical science]] ([[photograph]]ic survey (over 10,000 photos) of the [[Earth]]), [[space science]] (flame propagation), [[microgravity]] science (behavior of [[fluid]]s, critical angle determination).

Linenger launched aboard U.S. [[Space Shuttle Atlantis|Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'']] ([[STS-81]]) on January 12, 1997, remained on board the space station with two Russian [[cosmonaut]]s upon undocking of the Shuttle, and eventually returned upon a different mission of ''Atlantis'' ([[STS-84]]) on May 24, 1997—spending a total of 132 days, 4 hours, 1 minute in space—the longest duration flight of an American male at that time.<ref>''Off the Planet'', p.211</ref>

During his stay aboard Space Station Mir, Linenger became the first American to conduct a spacewalk from a foreign space station and in a non-American made [[spacesuit]]. During the five-hour walk, he and his Russian colleague tested for the first time ever the newly designed [[Orlan-M]] Russian-built spacesuit, installed the Optical Properties Monitor (OPM) and Benton [[dosimeter]] on the outer surface of the station, and retrieved for analysis on Earth numerous externally mounted material-exposure panels.

The three crewmembers also performed a "flyaround" in the Soyuz spacecraft-undocking from one docking port of the station, manually flying to and redocking the capsule at a different location-thus making Linenger the first American to undock from a space station aboard two different spacecraft (U.S. Space Shuttle and Russian Soyuz).

While living aboard the space station, Linenger and his two Russian crewmembers faced numerous difficulties: the most severe fire ever aboard an orbiting spacecraft,<ref>''Off the Planet'', pp.101-110</ref> failures of onboard systems ([[oxygen]] generator, [[carbon dioxide]] scrubbing, cooling line loop leaks, communication antenna tracking ability, [[urine]] collection and processing facility), a near collision with a resupply cargo ship during a manual docking system test, loss of station electrical power, and loss of attitude control resulting in a slow, uncontrolled "tumble" through space. In spite of these challenges and added demands on their time (in order to carry out the repair work), they still accomplished all mission goals-spacewalk, flyaround, and one-hundred percent of the planned U.S. science experiments.

In completing the nearly five-month mission, Linenger logged approximately 50 million miles (the equivalent of over 110 round trips to the [[Moon]] and back), more than 2,000 orbits around the Earth, and traveled at an average speed of 18,000 miles per hour.

Linenger retired from NASA and the U.S. Navy in January 1998, and presently lives with his family in northern [[Michigan]].<ref>''Off the Planet'', p.252</ref>

==Bibliography==
*''Off The Planet: Surviving Five Perilous Months Aboard The Space Station MIR'' - by Jerry M. Linenger - 1999 - {{ISBN|0-07-136112-X}}
*''Letters from MIR: An Astronaut's Letters to His Son'' - by Jerry M. Linenger - 2002 - {{ISBN|0-07-140009-5}}

==See also==
* ''[[Dragonfly: NASA and the Crisis Aboard Mir]]'', a book by [[Bryan Burrough]] critical of Linenger's behaviour on board the Mir space station.
* ''Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Superpowers, and the Quest for Interplanetary Travel'' by Robert Zimmerman - 2003 - {{ISBN|0-309-08548-9}}  (more sympathetic to Linenger, and critical of the [[Russian Federal Space Agency]] and NASA.)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Cite web |date=August 2001 |title=J. M. LINENGER, M.D., M.S.S.M., M.P.H., PH.D. (CAPTAIN, MEDICAL CORPS, USN, RET.) NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER) |url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/linenger_jerry_0.pdf |access-date=April 4, 2021 |publisher=NASA}}
*[http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/linenger_jerry.htm Spacefacts biography of Jerry M. Linenger]

{{NASA Astronaut Group 14}}

{{Shuttle-Mir}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linenger, Jerry M.}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Physician astronauts]]
[[Category:United States Navy astronauts]]
[[Category:People from Eastpointe, Michigan]]
[[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Michigan]]
[[Category:Physicians from Michigan]]
[[Category:Space medicine doctors]]
[[Category:Wayne State University alumni]]
[[Category:Wayne State University School of Medicine alumni]]
[[Category:USC Viterbi School of Engineering alumni]]
[[Category:UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health alumni]]
[[Category:University of California, San Diego faculty]]
[[Category:United States Navy Medical Corps officers]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society]]
[[Category:Space Shuttle program astronauts]]
[[Category:Spacewalkers]]
[[Category:Mir crew members]]
[[Category:Members of Phi Kappa Phi]]