Waterbury Astronaut Rick Mastracchio Retires from NASA

NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio, of Waterbury, has retired from NASA. His last day with the agency was June 16.

“Rick is a classmate and a friend and he has done great work for NASA, both in space and on the ground,” Chief Astronaut Pat Forrester, who was selected as an astronaut in the same class as Mastracchio, said in a statement posted on the NASA website. “His breadth of experience over three decades in human spaceflight will serve him well as he moves on to his next endeavor.”

Mastracchio, a UConn graduate, joined NASA in 1990 as an engineer, was selected as an astronaut in 1996 and went on three space shuttle missions and one long-duration stay at the International Space Station.

The next phase of his career is with Orbital ATK, an aerospace and defense technologies company based in Dulles, Virginia.

He joined the company’s Space Systems Group as the senior director of operations for the Commercial Resupply Services program. A news release from the company says the program relies on commercial providers to deliver vital cargo to the International Space Station.

Mastracchio will be responsible for managing the CRS Mission and Cargo Operations teams and will support other Human Space Systems programs.

Contact Us