science

George D. Zamka

George D. Zamka is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand George D. Zamka rather than just read about it. In short: George David "Zambo" Zamka (born June 29, 1962) is a former NASA astronaut and United States Marine Corps pilot with over 3500 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft. Zamka piloted the Space Shuttle Discovery in its October 2007 mission to the International Space Station and served as the commander of mission STS-130 in February 2010.

Key takeaways

George D. Zamka belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect George D. Zamka to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of George D. Zamka from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

George David "Zambo" Zamka (born June 29, 1962) is a former NASA astronaut and United States Marine Corps pilot with over 3500 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft. Zamka piloted the Space Shuttle Discovery in its October 2007 mission to the International Space Station and served as the commander of mission STS-130 in February 2010.

Personal George David Zamka was born on June 29, 1962, at Margaret Hague Hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was raised in New York City; Irvington, New York; Medellín, Colombia; and Rochester Hills, Michigan. He graduated from Rochester Adams High School in Michigan in 1980. His personal hobbies include weightlifting, running, bicycling, scuba diving, and boating. Zamka is married and has two children. His extended family resides in Colorado, Mississippi, Georgia, Indiana, Florida and Tennessee. Zamka is of Colombian and Polish ancestry.

Military career Zamka graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the United States Naval Academy in 1984. He was then commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. He received A-6E Intruder training at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington in 1985–1987. He was assigned to VMA(AW)-242 at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California. In addition to flight safety and administration, he was a squadron weapons and tactics instructor. In 1990, he trained as an F/A-18D Hornet pilot and was then assigned to VMFA(AW)-121. Zamka flew 66 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm. In 1993, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California as a forward air controller. In December 1994, he graduated from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, following which, he served as an F/A-18 Hornet test pilot and operations officer. In 1997, he earned a Masters of Science degree in engineering management from the Florida Institute of Technology. In 1998, he returned to VMFA(AW)-121 and deployed to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. In August 2010, Zamka retired from the Marine Corps after almost 30 years of distinguished service. During his time as a pilot for the Marine Corps, Zamka logged more than 5,000 flight hours spanning 30 different aircraft. As of May 2018 he is chairman of the board of the National Association of Spaceports.

NASA career In June 1998, Zamka was selected for the NASA astronaut program, and reported for training in August. He served as lead for the Shuttle training and procedures division and as supervisor for the astronaut candidate class of 2004. Zamka made his first spaceflight as the pilot of mission STS-120, and second as the commander for STS-130. In March 2013, Zamka decided to retire from NASA. In the two shuttle missions Zamka completed, he logged more than 692 hours in space and travelled 12 million miles.

Honors and awards Zamka has received the following honors and awards: the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Strike Air Medal (6), Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V", and various other military service and campaign awards. Distinguished Graduate, U.S. Naval Academy. Commodore's list and Academic Achievement Award, Training Air Wing Five. Recipient of the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, two NASA Space Flight Medals, four NASA Superior Accomplishment Awards and the GEM Award. He received also Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2010).

Promotional activities In March 2008, Zamka visited Colombia's Planetarium of Bogotá with the crew of mission STS-120 to share their experience as NASA astronauts with 200 students, 50 teachers, and 20 science major experts.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with George D. Zamka

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what George D. Zamka claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to George D. Zamka before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about George D. Zamka ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of George D. Zamka

In research: George D. Zamka appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses George D. Zamka in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: George D. Zamka is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1962 births, American people of Colombian descent, American people of Polish descent, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for George D. Zamka outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “George D. Zamka” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study George D. Zamka in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what George D. Zamka means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain George D. Zamka out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is George D. Zamka in simple terms?

Why does George D. Zamka matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study George D. Zamka?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on George D. Zamka.