"Borneo" Bill Gregory

William George Borneo Bill Gregory is a retired NASA astronaut and United States Air Force lieutenant colonel whose career spans military aviation, space exploration, and aerospace industry leadership. Gregory graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a Bachelor of Science in engineering sciences. He earned a Guggenheim Fellowship to Columbia University, where he received a master's degree in engineering, and later completed a master's in business management from Troy University. Gregory began his aviation career instructing in sailplanes at the Air Force Academy before advancing to pilot training, later serving as a fighter and instructor pilot in the F-111D/F and attending the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. As a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base, he flew the F-4, A-7D, and all five models of the F-15, accumulating more than 5,000 hours of flight time across over 40 types of aircraft.

Selected by NASA, Gregory became an astronaut and contributed to technical assignments including work in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory, serving as spacecraft communicator in mission control, and leading as Spacecraft Operations Branch Chief. Gregory served as the STS-67 pilot on the astronomical research mission aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour, launching from Kennedy Space Center and landing at Edwards Air Force Base. The mission established a new duration record, completing 262 orbits and traveling nearly seven million miles. During the mission, Gregory executed more than 200 maneuvers to acquire target galaxies approximately 130 million light years away, logging 400 hours in space.

After retiring from the Air Force and leaving NASA, Gregory transitioned to the aerospace and defense industry. He served as senior sales manager for human space at Honeywell Defense and Space, where he managed major programs, including a $700 million contract for the avionics subsystem for the Crew Exploration Vehicle. Gregory also held vice president of business development roles at Micro-Tronics and Qwaltec in Tempe, Arizona. He has served on the board of advisors and directors for several firms and nonprofits and was a member of the Arizona Governor's Commission on Aerospace & Defense.

Gregory received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. In addition to his aerospace achievements, he is an endurance athlete, having completed the IRONMAN Triathlon World Championship. Gregory is an advanced instructor pilot for Aviation Performance Solutions in Mesa, Arizona, and is a master certified flight instructor in aerobatics, regularly flying the Extra-300L aircraft. His experience encompasses leadership, aviation safety, astronautics, and performance under pressure.