Bruce E. Melnick

Bruce E. Melnick
NASA Astronaut
Nationality	American
Status	Retired
Born	(1949-12-05) December 5, 1949 (age 67) New York City, U.S.
Other names	Bruce Edward Melnick
Other occupation	Coast Guard
Alma mater	Georgia Tech United States Coast Guard Academy, B.S. 1972 Florida Institute of Technology, M.S. 1975
Rank	Commander, USCG
Time in space	12d 23h 27m
Selection	1987 NASA Group 12
Missions	STS-41, STS-49
Mission insignia

Bruce Edward Melnick (born December 5, 1949) is a former American astronaut and retired United States Coast Guard officer. Following retirement from NASA and the Coast Guard, he entered the aerospace industry. He served as a Vice President with the Boeing Co.'s Integrated Defense Systems group, in charge of Boeing's Florida operations at the John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Melnick retired in 2008 and currently resides on Merritt Island, Florida.

Melnick was born December 5, 1949, in New York City, New York, but considers Clearwater, Florida, to be his hometown. He graduated from Clearwater High School, Clearwater, Florida, in 1967. He attended Georgia Institute of Technology for a year, and then went on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in Engineering from the United States Coast Guard Academy in 1972, and a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Systems from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1975. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science degree from the University of West Florida on 28 April 2001.

Melnick spent 20 years in the United States Coast Guard, rising to the rank of Commander. His assignments included serving as operations officer and chief test pilot at the Coast Guard Aircraft Program Office in Grand Prairie, Texas. In that capacity, he conducted most of the developmental and all of the acceptance test flights for the HH-65 Dolphin helicopter, including sea trials, and wrote the HH-65 flight manual.