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American Dream Makers

The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation’s American Dream Makers program provides support to Astronaut Scholars for advancement of their innovative ideas, ventures, and initiatives.


Trent C. Kingery (Major, USMC, Ret.)

NASA Research Pilot & Owner of Vertical Views Photography

Education
  •  B.S. Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University
  •  B.S. Electronic Systems Technologies, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
  •  M.S. Systems Engineering, Naval Postgraduate School
  •  PhD Candidate, Systems Engineering, Colorado State University (Expected graduation date of Aug 2022)
  •  DAWIA Level III SPRDE, Level III PM and Level I T&E certified

Received The Following Special Honors
  •  Nine (9) Air Medals Strike Flight
  •  Joint Service Commendation Medal
  •  Two (2) Navy Commendation Medals
  •  Two (2) Navy Achievement Medals
  •  Iraqi Campaign and Afghanistan Campaign Medals
  •  Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary and Service Medals
  •  Astronaut Scholarship (NC State University, 1998-1999)

Experience
  •  Enlisted Marine Corps avionics technician supervisor with VMAQ-2 (1990-1995).
  •  Commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in 1999.
  •  Winged a Naval Aviator in January 2002 and designated an F/A-18 Hornet Pilot in June 2003.
  •  Flew combat missions in the F/A-18A+ strike-fighter jet off the USS Harry S. Truman
     (VMFA-115, 2004-2005) and from Al Asad Air Base, Iraq (VMFA-533, 2006) in support of
     Operation Iraqi Freedom.
  •  Reported to NAS Patuxent River, MD in 2006 where he served as the V-22 Osprey Interoperability
     and Key Performance Parameter Integrated product Team Lead.
  •  Instructor Pilot for the UC-35C/D business jets at Joint Base Andrews, MD (2009-2012).
  •  Deployed to the Middle East several times supporting Operations
     Iraqi and Enduring Freedom in the UC-35D.
  •  Head Instructor Pilot at the Flight Instructor Training Unit at NAS Corpus Christi, TX and trained over
     70 instructor pilots during his tenure (2012-2014).
  •  Retired from the Marine Corps in 2014.
  •  Part-time contractor Simulator Instructor for the T-45C Advanced and T-6B Primary Training
     Programs (2014-2017).
  •  Full-time Senior Aerospace Engineer for the US Army’s Research and Development Engineering Command.
  •  Flown more than 3,600 flight hours in 22 different aircraft, 695.0 combat flight hours, 175 combat missions,
     and 165 carrier-arrested landings.
  •  Owner of Vertical Views Photography®, a professional aerial photography business.
  •  Business success through networking and marketing through Small Business
     Associations and philanthropy.
  •  Advised the startup of two new LLCs.

NASA Experience
  •  Research Pilot/Airworthiness and Maintenance Manager (A&MM) at NASA Wallops Flight Facility
     (Goddard Space Flight Center, May-Dec 2017).
  •  Managed the Wallops Flight Facility contract responsible for maintenance and logistics support for their
     seven Research Aircraft, which encompassed 30 maintenance personnel and contractor Research Pilots.
  •  T-38N Instructor and Functional Check Flight Pilot at the Aircraft Operations Division (AOD) at Ellington.
     Field, TX supporting the Space Flight Readiness Program flying the T-38(N) and Gulfstream III
     Research Aircraft (2018-Present).
  •  Gulfstream III Aircraft/Mission Commander. Performs research flights globally mapping glaciers, fault lines,
     permafrost layers, and more (2018-Present).
  •  Gulfstream III Project Pilot where he coordinated, staffed, and still currently flies
     Gulfstream missions all over the world.
  •  He is a T-38 Instructor Pilot, Gulfstream III Aircraft/Mission Commander/Instructor Pilot,
     and Gulfstream V Pilot supporting the Airborne Science Program, movement of
     Astronauts/Management, and training Astronauts.
  •  He currently serves as Chief, Aviation Safety Office at Johnson Space Center.
     His responsibilities include oversight of all aviation safety matters at
     Johnson Space Center and Ellington Airport. He manages all investigations and
     ensures mitigation processes are in place to help prevent reoccurrence.


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