Carlos Noriega

Carlos Ismael Noriega
NASA Astronaut
Nationality	United States Peru
Status	Retired
Born	(1959-10-08) October 8, 1959 (age 57) Lima, Peru
Other occupation	Marine Aviator
Alma mater	University of Southern California, B.S. 1981 Naval Postgraduate School, M.S. 1990
Rank	Lieutenant colonel, USMC
Time in space	20d 01h 18m
Selection	1994 NASA Group
Total EVAs	3
Total EVA time	19 h 20 m
Missions	STS-84, STS-97
Mission insignia

Carlos Ismael Noriega (born 1959) is a Peruvian and U.S. citizen, NASA employee, a former NASA astronaut and a retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel.

Noriega was a member of the Naval ROTC unit at the University of Southern California and received his commission in the United States Marine Corps in 1981. Following graduation from flight school, he flew CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters with HMM-165 from 1983 to 1985 at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Noriega made two 6-month shipboard deployments in the West Pacific/Indian Ocean, including operations in support of the Multi-National Peacekeeping Force in Beirut, Lebanon. He completed his tour in Hawaii as the Base Operations Officer for Marine Air Base Squadron 24. In 1986, he was transferred to MCAS Tustin, California, where he served as the aviation safety officer and instructor pilot with HMT-301. In 1988, Noriega was selected to attend the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where he earned two master of science degrees. Upon graduation in September 1990, he was assigned to United States Space Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In addition to serving as a Space Surveillance Center Commander, he was responsible for several software development projects and was ultimately the command representative for the development and integration of the major space and missile warning computer system upgrades for Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station. At the time of his selection, he was serving on the staff of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Okinawa, Japan.