George Pinky Nelson

Pinky Nelson was born July 13, 1950, in Charles City, Iowa, but considers Willmar, Minnesota, to be his hometown. Graduated from Willmar Senior High School, Willmar, Minnesota, in 1968 received a bachelor of science degree in Physics from Harvey Mudd College in 1972 and a master of science and a doctorate in Astronomy from the University of Washington in 1974 and 1978, respectively. Dr. Nelson was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978. He flew as a scientific equipment operator in the WB 57-F earth resources aircraft; served as the Astronaut Office representative in the Space Shuttle Extravehicular Mobility Unit space suit development effort. A veteran of three space flights, Dr. Nelson served aboard STS-41C Challenger in 1984, STS-61C Columbia in 1986 and STS-26 Discovery in 1988. STS-26 Discovery September 29 to October 3, 1988 was the first mission flown after the Challenger accident. During the four-day flight, the crew successfully deployed the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite TDRS-C, and operated eleven mid-deck science experiments.
~Thomas James Rosengren, Belgrade, MN