Gregory B. Jarvis was born on August 24, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan. He received a B.S. in electrical engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1967, a M.S. in the same field from Northeastern University in 1969. While attending graduate school, Jarvis married Marcia Jarboe in 1968.
Jarvis went on to complete coursework for a M.S. in management science from West Coast University in Los Angeles, California, in 1973. At this time, he began working at Hughes Aircraft Corporation’s Space and Communications Group. In 1984, after competing against 600 other Hughes employees, Jarvis was accepted into NASA’s astronaut program as a payload specialist candidate. As a member of the Challenger STS-51-L crew, his duties involved gathering new information on the design of liquid-fueled rockets.
Jarvis’ widow, Marcia Jarvis, was a Founding Director of Challenger Center and continues to serve on the Advisory Council.
