Mayo, Itzhak

Israeli pilot payload specialist astronaut, 1997-2000.

Educated Ben Gurion.

NASA Official Biography

NAME: Itzhak Mayo (Lieutenant Colonel, Israel Air Force)

Payload Specialist

PERSONAL DATA:

Born September 14, 1954 in Kfar Hittim, a small village in the northern part of Israel. Married to Rinat. They have three children. He likes to swim, enjoys cooking, and reading in any spare time. His parents are deceased.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from High School in 1972; received bachelor of science and master of science degrees in physics, specializing in spectroscopy and chemical lasers, from Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel, in 1986 and 1988 respectively.

EXPERIENCE:

1972-1974 drafted to the Israel Defense Forces and volunteered to the Israel Air Force (IAF) Academy where he qualified as a Weapons System Operator (WSO) and Navigator. 1974-1979 served as Operational WSO in F-4 Squadron. 1988-1989 conversion to F-16D and operational in F-16D Squadron. 1989-1998 was spent in weapons testing and operational evaluation at the IAF Flight Test Center, where he served as Head of the Avionics Section.

Lt. Col. Mayo has accumulated over 3,250 flight hours, mostly on F-4 and F-16, in addition to various fixed wing airplanes like the F-15, D&I models, F/A-18D, and helicopters.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

In 1997, Lt. Col. Mayo was selected as a Payload Specialist. He will train as back-up for a Space Shuttle mission with a payload that includes a multispectral camera for recording desert aerosol. In July 1998, he reported for training at the Johnson Space Center, Houston.

JULY 1998