Philip J. Scarpa, M.D.

Philip J. Scarpa Jr., M.D. is the deputy chief medical officer at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. He also is the health and medical technical authority delegate for all ground crew and ground activities.

Scarpa’s responsibilities include managing Kennedy’s aerospace medical operations for spacecraft launches and landings. He is deputy to the chief medical officer who manages occupational medicine matters at the space center. He also serves as the medical contact for NASA-provided travelers insurance worldwide other than to Russia.

Experience

Scarpa has been with the agency since January 1997. Prior to his current role, he was a staff contractor physician at the center’s Occupational Health Facility from 1994 to 1997. He was an aerospace medicine resident at the Johnson Space Center Flight Medicine Clinic in Houston from 1993 to 1994.

Awards

Among his numerous awards and recognition, Scarpa received a NASA Astronauts Personal Achievement Award, better known as the Silver Snoopy, in 2000, and a NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 2016.

He received the President’s Special Award from the Society of NASA Flight Surgeons in 2001, and became a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association in 2002. He served as president of the Space Medicine Association from 2000 to 2001, president of the Society of NASA Flight Surgeons from 2003 to 2004, and president of the Aerospace Medical Association from 2014 to 2015. He is a charter member of the American Society of Aerospace Medicine Specialists and a member of the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine, one of only 275 members worldwide.

Education

Scarpa earned his doctor of medicine degree from Rutgers Medical School. He later received a Master of Science degree in aerospace medicine from Wright State University School of Medicine and graduate school.

Biography last updated December 2018