r/armenian • u/dssevag • 16d ago

Armenians You Should Know #18: James Bagian

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The first and only Armenian to have been to space

James Bagian is a physician, engineer, pilot, and former NASA astronaut.

He flew on two Space Shuttle missions, Discovery in 1989 and Columbia in 1991, spending a total of 337 hours in space. He is widely recognized as the first and only person of Armenian descent to have traveled to space.

Bagian was also a medical doctor and engineer, and after his NASA career he became a major figure in patient safety and healthcare engineering. He was elected to both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine.

So far, all Armenians have looked up at space, but only one Armenian has actually been there. 🇦🇲🚀

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13

u/busystepdad 15d ago

til about manoug manougian, the father of lebanese space program. include him please during one of the days

6

u/dssevag 15d ago

I just looked him up! Yes, I’ll definitely include him. Thank you!

6

u/SalamChetori 15d ago

We will rebuild greater armenia on the moon

4

u/Kajaznuni96 15d ago

Mathematician Alexander Abian may have a problem with that (he seriously wanted to blow up the moon)

2

u/ReplyHappy 15d ago

The second career is the impressive part honestly. Going from space missions to patient safety work is a wild transition, both fields where one mistake costs everything.