James Philip Bagian (born February 22, 1952), is an American physician, engineer, and former NASA astronaut of Armenian descent.

[3][4][5] Bagian graduated from Central High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1969; received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Drexel University in 1973, graduating first in his class, and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Thomas Jefferson University in 1977, where he was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha.

Naval Air Test Center at Patuxent River, Maryland, from 1976 to 1978, and at the same time, pursued studies for his medical degree.

Upon graduating from Thomas Jefferson University in 1977, Bagian completed one year of general surgery residency with the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania.

He was completing a residency in anesthesiology at the University of Pennsylvania when notified of his selection by NASA for the astronaut candidate program.

He is a USAF-qualified freefall parachutist, holds a private pilot's license and has logged over 1,500 hours flying time in propeller and jet aircraft, helicopters, and gliders.

Bagian first flew on the crew of STS-29, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, aboard the Orbiter Discovery, on March 13, 1989.

Other payloads included experiments designed to investigate materials science, plant biology and cosmic radiation.

[6] Bagian is a member of multiple organizations: This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.