Gregory H. “Box” Johnson

Gregory H. “Box” Johnson is a former United States Air Force Officer, NASA astronaut, and a seasoned test pilot. He also holds qualifications as an aerospace engineer and holds an MBA.

Johnson is a retired Colonel from the United States Air Force. He was part of NASA Astronaut Group 17, popularly known as "The Penguins." Throughout his military career, Johnson flew the F-15E, supporting Operations Desert Storm and Southern Watch. He has logged over 5,000 flight hours across more than 50 different aircraft. For his service, Johnson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal.

In his tenure with NASA, Johnson piloted two space missions, "STS-123" and "STS-134." During "STS-123," he served as the primary robotic arm operator. The mission delivered the Kibo logistics module and the Dextre robot arm to the International Space Station (ISS). He was the pilot for "STS-134," the final flight of Endeavour, which delivered a vital particle detector to aid in understanding our universe. He has also served as a Capcom for several missions and as a technical assistant in the Flight Crew Operations Directorate. Johnson’s work with NASA extended beyond missions. He was part of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, Chief of the Astronaut Safety Branch, Crew Representative for Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), a display designer for the Shuttle Cockpit Avionics Upgrade (CAU) program, Division Chief for External Communications/STEM, and lead of ISS Visiting Vehicles Team until his departure from NASA.

Following his service with NASA, Johnson took on the role of President and Executive Director of the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) from 2013 to 2018. Under his leadership, CASIS, which Congress created to manage 50% of the US resources aboard the ISS National Laboratory, worked towards maximizing the utilization of the ISS National Laboratory by building commercial markets complementing NASA’s traditional projects to promote and facilitate new, innovative translational research, technology demonstration, and STEM opportunities. On March 10, 2018, Johnson left CASIS and is currently associated with business development at Lockheed Martin.

Throughout his career, Johnson has been a solid advocate for STEM. In a statement to the Evening Standard on July 19, 2019, he cited Neil Armstrong as his inspiration. Today, he continues contributing to the aerospace industry as a consultant and remains influential in STEM advocacy.