George D. Zamka

George Zamka is, for me, the standout of this group and frankly an object of awe. A United States Marine Corps pilot with over 3,500 flight hours across more than thirty aircraft, he went on to pilot Space Shuttle Discovery in 2007 and command mission STS-130 in 2010. The Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and even an Order of Merit from Poland speak to a life lived at the absolute edge of human capability. What moves me is the trajectory itself: from Jersey City to low Earth orbit. Whenever I look at the night sky, people like Zamka remind me that such journeys are not fantasy but lived reality.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Name (English)

George D. Zamka

Name (Japanese)

ジョージ・ザムカ

Reading

じょーじ・ざむか

Born

June 29, 1962 (age 64)

Origin

Jersey City, New Jersey, United States

Occupation

military officer / astronaut

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Cancer / Tiger

High school

Rochester Adams High School

Awards & achievements

• Distinguished Flying Cross
• Legionnaire of Legion of Merit
• Air Medal
• Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland

• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George%20D.%20Zamka
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A7%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B8%E3%83%BB%E3%82%B6%E3%83%A0%E3%82%AB
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q447334

Tags

• New Jersey
• military officer
• astronaut

Last updated

September 18, 2026

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.