Bruce Melnick

Veteran astronaut Bruce Melnick has spent more than 300 hours in space, orbiting the Earth 207 times, aboard space shuttle missions in 1990 and 1992. During STS-41 aboard Discovery, Bruce helped deploy the Ulysses satellite into a polar orbit around the Sun. On his second mission, aboard the maiden voyage of Endeavour, Bruce and his crewmates performed the dramatic recovery and re-boost of the Intelsat VI satellite, utilizing the first and only ever three-person spacewalk. For his distinguished contributions, as the U.S. Coast Guard’s first astronaut, he was awarded two Department of Defense Superior Service Medals, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and two NASA Space Flight Medals.

Prior to joining the Astronaut Corps, Bruce was a highly decorated U. S. Coast Guard helicopter rescue and test pilot. He was responsible for conducting the majority of the developmental and operational test flights of the HH-65 Dolphin helicopter and composed its Flight Manual. His numerous honors include the U. S. Secretary of Transportation Heroism Award, two Distinguished Flying Crosses and the USCG Commendation Medal, for rescue missions performed throughout his twenty-year career. Bruce retired from the Coast Guard on October 1, 1992.

Between 1992 and 2007, Bruce held various positions of increasing responsibility with Lockheed Martin, United Space Alliance, McDonnell Douglas and the Boeing Company. After 10 years of service, Bruce retired as Vice President of The Boeing Company, Space Coast Operations Division, where he was responsible for supporting many of the programs throughout Florida, including International Space Station, space shuttle and the Delta rocket family.

In January of 2020, Melnick joined Delaware North as the Director of Operational Excellence at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex near Titusville, Florida, providing visitors to the complex with an exciting and memorable experience with veteran astronauts.