Duffy graduated from the USAF Academy in 1975. He completed Undergraduate Pilot Training at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, in 1976, and was selected to fly the F-15. He was stationed at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, until 1979.
At the end of 1979 he transferred to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. He flew F-15’s there until 1982 when he was selected to attend the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. Following graduation, he served as the Director of F-15 Tests at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
NASA career
Selected by NASA in June 1985, Duffy became an astronaut in July 1986. He participated in the development and testing of displays, flight crew procedures, and computer software to be used on Shuttle flights. He served as spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) in Mission Control during numerous Space Shuttle missions. He also served as Assistant Director (Technical) and as Deputy Director (Acting) of the Johnson Space Center. In this role he assisted the Center Director in the direction and management of JSC’s resources, functions, programs, and projects assigned to the Center. A veteran of four space flights, he has logged a total of 40 days, 17 hours, 34 minutes and 59 seconds in space.
Duffy retired from the Air Force and NASA in 2001. He was Vice President of Mission Operations and Support Services for the Lockheed Martin Corporation from 2004 to 2008. He is currently Vice President and JSC Program Manager for Exploration Systems at ATK.
Space flight experience
Duffy was the pilot on STS-45 Atlantis (March 24 to April 2, 1992), the first of the ATLAS series of missions to address the atmosphere and its interaction with the Sun.
He also was the pilot on STS-57 Endeavour (June 21 to July 1, 1993). Mission highlights included retrieval of the European Retrievable Carrier with the Shuttle’s robotic arm, a spacewalk by two crew members, and an assortment of experiments in the first flight of the Spacehab middeck augmentation module.
Duffy next commanded a six-man crew on STS-72 Endeavour (January 11–20, 1996). During the 9-day flight the crew retrieved the Space Flyer Unit (launched from Japan 10-months earlier), deployed and retrieved the OAST-Flyer, and conducted two spacewalks to demonstrate and evaluate techniques to be used in the assembly of the International Space Station.
Duffy commanded a crew of seven on STS-92 Discovery (October 11–24, 2000). During the 13-day flight, the seven member crew attached the Z1 Truss and Pressurized Mating Adapter 3 to the International Space Station using Discovery’s robotic arm and performed four space walks to configure these elements. This expansion of the ISS opened the door for future assembly missions and prepared the station for its first resident crew.
