Jonathan Malay

Since 2014, I have been enjoying my third career as an author and enrichment speaker on Earth and space science for some of the world’s finest cruise lines and, with Sharon, my wife of 51 years, we have sailed all over the world.

My first career began after graduating from the US Naval Academy and Naval Postgraduate School in 1973 an 1974, respectively. For twenty years I served as a commissioned officer in the Navy, beginning as a surface warfare officer in the Pacific Fleet and eventually specializing in oceanography and meteorology. I further sub-specialized in satellite remote sensing, serving in various space-related roles, including at the Naval Space Command and the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy, with a special detail to the National Reconnaissance Office.

After retiring from active duty at the rank of Commander, I worked at Orbital Sciences Corp., NOAA's Environmental Satellite Service, and at Ball Aerospace from 1993 to 2003, which is when I joined Lockheed Martin until my retirement in 2014. I was proud to serve as corporate representative to NASA and NOAA in Washington for science programs, helping the company to win, build, and launch multiple missions to visit Mars, Jupiter, the Sun, and an asteroid, as well as the current generation of geostationary weather satellites. Throughout my professional life, I’ve been an active member of key organizations, including serving as President and Fellow of the American Astronautical Society (AAS), Region I Director and Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA), and President and Fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS).

As an writer, I co-authored the "National Geographic Encyclopedia of Space" (2004), and edited "Partly to Mostly Funny: The Ultimate Weather Joke Book," a fundraising book for AMS.

My latest book, "War In Our Wake: A Sailor's True Story of Sweat and Tears at the Bitter End of the Vietnam War," recounts my personal experience as a junior officer aboard the USS BENJAMIN STODDERT (DDG-22), the lone ship that departed Vietnam three days after the fall of Saigon, the last American military presence of the Vietnam War.