I never made a career decision based solely on my desire to be an astronaut. I attended the Naval Academy because I wanted to be a Navy pilot. I majored in math because math had always come pretty easily to me and I liked it.

Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey CA from 2009 to 2011 as the Smith/McCool NASA Chair Professor. STS-119 was a 12 day mission to the ISS flown during March 2009. Naval Academy in 1972 and was designated a Naval Aviator in November 1974.

Naval Academy in 1972. Phillips has also been awarded the NASA Space Flight Medal NASA DistinguiJohn L. Phillipsd Service Medal the Gagarin Medal and several others. John Lynch Phillips PhD (born April 15 1951) is a NASA astronaut.