Background
He grew up in Michigan, is married to his wife Dorothea, and he enjoys cooking and traveling.
He grew up in Michigan, is married to his wife Dorothea, and he enjoys cooking and traveling.
He was an undergraduate at University of Michigan, and received his Doctor of Philosophy in physics and astronomy from the University of Toledo.
He was the lead flight director for, worked several ISS assembly missions including STS-122 (1E), STS-123 (1J/A), and STS-124 (1J), and was the lead for STS-130 (20A) and for ATV-2 (Johannes Kepler). Dempsey oversaw the jettisoning of the 1,400-pound (640 kg), refrigerator-sized Early Ammonia Servicer (EAS), along with an unused stanchion which had previously held a camera, from the International Space Station during What is left of the refrigerator after re-entry impacted Earth in the summer of 2008. Dempsey stated that the decision to jettison the equipment in this required some planning, saying "lieutenant"s not a decision that"s made lightly.
Besides the fact that it might have some use in the future, it provides space debris that could later impact the space station," and further adding that this was necessary largely due to space and timing constraints on available Space Shuttle payloads.
Dempsey is a member of the International Astronomical Union.