Brian O'Leary

Brian Todd O'Leary (January 27, 1940 – July 28, 2011) was an American scientist, author, and former NASA astronaut. He was a member of the sixth group of astronauts selected by NASA in August 1967. The members of this group of eleven were known as the scientist-astronauts, intended to train for the Apollo Applications Program - a follow-on to the Apollo Program, which was ultimately canceled. In later life he became an advocate of utilizing exotic energy sources to resolve humanity’s energy problems.

Personal

O’Leary was born and raised in Boston, and credits a teenage visit to Washington, D.C. with inspiring the patriotism that drove his efforts to become an astronaut. Climbing the Matterhorn, running the Boston Marathon and becoming an Eagle Scout were among his pre-astronautic activities. O’Leary had two children.

Education

O’Leary graduated from Belmont High School, Belmont, Massachusetts, in 1957; received a bachelor of arts degree in physics from Williams College in 1961, a masters of arts in Astronomy from Georgetown University in 1964, and a doctor of philosophy in astronomy from the University of California at Berkeley in 1967.

Organizations

O’Leary became a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1975. Other organizations are: 1970-1976, secretary of the American Geophysical Union’s Planetology Section; 1977, team leader of the Asteroidal Resources Group, NASA Ames Summer Study on Space...
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