Documents - STS-91 Biographies

STS-91 Biographies

Charles J. Precourt, Commander

NAME: Charles J. Precourt (Colonel, USAF, Ret.) NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA: Born June 29, 1955, in Waltham, Massachusetts, but considers Hudson, Massachusetts, to be his hometown. Married to the former Lynne Denise Mungle of St. Charles, Missouri. They have three daughters, Michelle, Sarah, and Aimee. Precourt enjoys golf and flying light aircraft. He flies a Varieze, an experimental aircraft that he built. His parents, Charles and Helen Precourt, reside in Hudson. Her parents, Loyd and Jerry Mungle, reside in Streetman, Texas.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Hudson High School, Hudson, Massachusetts, in 1973; received a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the United States Air Force Academy in 1977, a master of science degree in engineering management from Golden Gate University in 1988, and a master of arts degree in national security affairs and strategic studies from the United States Naval War College in 1990. While at the United States Air Force Academy, Precourt also attended the French Air Force Academy in 1976 as part of an exchange program. Fluent in French and Russian.

ORGANIZATIONS: Vice President of the Association of Space Explorers; member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP), and the Experimental Aircraft Association.

SPECIAL HONORS: Military decorations include: the Defense Superior Service Medal (2); the Distinguished Flying Cross; the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal (2). Distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and the United States Naval War College. In 1978 he was the Air Training Command Trophy Winner as the outstanding graduate of his pilot training class. In 1989 he was recipient of the David B. Barnes Award as the Outstanding Instructor Pilot at the United States Air ForceTest Pilot School. NASA awards include: the NASA Distinguished Service Medal; the Exceptional Service Medal and Outstanding Leadership Medal; and the NASA Space Flight Medal (4).

EXPERIENCE: Precourt graduated from Undergraduate Pilot Training at Reese Air Force Base, Texas, in 1978. Initially he flew as an instructor pilot in the T-37, and later as a maintenance test pilot in the T-37 and T-38 aircraft. From 1982 through 1984, he flew an operational tour in the F-15 Eagle at Bitburg Air Base in Germany.

In 1985 he attended the United States Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Upon graduation, Precourt was assigned as a test pilot at Edwards, where he flew the F-15E, F-4, A-7, and A-37 aircraft until mid 1989, when he began studies at the United States Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

Upon graduation from the War College, Precourt joined the astronaut program. His flight experience includes over 7,000 hours in over 60 types of civil and military aircraft. He holds commercial pilot, multi-engine instrument, glider and certified flight instructor ratings. Precourt retired from the Air Force on March 31, 2000.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Precourt is currently the Chief of the Astronaut Corps, responsible for the mission preparation activities of all Space Shuttle and future International Space Station crews and their support personnel.

Selected by NASA in January 1990, Precourt became an astronaut in July 1991. His other technical assignments to date have included: Manager of ascent, entry, and launch abort issues for the Astronaut Office Operations Development Branch; spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM), providing the voice link from the Mission Control Center during launch and entry for several Space Shuttle missions; Director of Operations for NASA at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, from October 1995 to April 1996, with responsibility for the coordination and implementation of mission operations activities in the Moscow region for the joint U.S./Russian Shuttle/Mir program. He also served as Acting Assistant Director (Technical), Johnson Space Center.

A veteran of four space flights, he has logged over 932 hours in space. He served as a mission specialist on STS-55 (April 26 to May 6, 1993), was the pilot on STS-71 (June 27 to July 7, 1995), and was the spacecraft commander on STS-84 (May 15-24, 1997) and STS-91 (June 2-12, 1998), the final scheduled Shuttle-Mir docking mission, concluding the joint U.S./Russian Phase I Program.

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Dominic L. Pudwill Gorie, Pilot

NAME: Dominic L. Pudwill Gorie (Captain, USN) NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA: Born May 2, 1957, in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Married to Wendy Lu Williams of Midland, Texas. They have two children. He enjoys skiing, bicycling, fishing, and golf with his family.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Miami Palmetto High School, Miami, Florida, in 1975. Bachelor of Science degree in ocean engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1979. Master of science degree in aviation systems from the University of Tennessee in 1990.

SPECIAL HONORS: Distinguished Flying Cross with Combat "V", Joint Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal (2), Space Flight Medal, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V" (2), Navy Achievement Medal, 1985 Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic Pilot-of-the-Year.

EXPERIENCE: Designated a Naval Aviator in 1981. Flew the A-7E Corsair with Attack Squadron 46 aboard the USS America from 1981 to 1983. Transitioned to Strike Fighter Squadron 132 in 1983, flying the F/A-18 Hornet aboard the USS Coral Sea until 1986. Attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1987 and served as a Test Pilot at the Naval Air Test Center from 1988 to 1990. Then was assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 87 flying the F/A-18 aboard the USS Roosevelt until 1992.

Participated in Operation Desert Storm, flying 38 combat missions. In 1992 received orders to U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs for two years before reporting to Strike Fighter Squadron 106 for F/A-18 refresher training. Was enroute to his command tour of Strike Fighter Squadron 37 when selected as an Astronaut Candidate.

Gorie has accumulated over 4700 hours in more than 30 aircraft and has over 600 carrier landings.

NASA EXPERIENCE: STS-91 Discovery (June 2-12, 1998) was the 9th and final Shuttle-Mir docking mission, concluding the joint U.S./Russian Phase I Program. The STS-91 mission was accomplished in 154 Earth orbits, traveling 3.8 million miles in 235 hours and 54 seconds.

STS-99 (February 11-22, 2000) was an 11-day flight during which the international crew aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour worked dual shifts to support payload operations. The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission mapped more than 47 million miles of the Earths land surface. The STS-99 mission was accomplished in 181 Earth orbits, traveling over 4 million miles in 268 hours and 38 minutes.

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Wendy B. Lawrence, Mission Specialist

NAME: Wendy B. Lawrence (Commander, USN) NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA: Born July 2, 1959, in Jacksonville, Florida. She enjoys running, rowing, triathlons and gardening. Her father, Vice Admiral William P. Lawrence (USN, retired), resides in Crownsville, Maryland. Her mother, Anne Haynes, resides in Alvadore, Oregon.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Fort Hunt High School, Alexandria, Virginia, in 1977; received a bachelor of science degree in ocean engineering from U.S Naval Academy in 1981; a master of science degree in ocean engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in 1988.

ORGANIZATIONS: Phi Kappa Phi; Association of Naval Aviation; Women Military Aviators; Naval Helicopter Association.

SPECIAL HONORS: Awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, the NASA Space Flight Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal and the Navy Achievement Medal. Recipient of the National Navy League's Captain Winifred Collins Award for inspirational leadership (1986).

EXPERIENCE: Lawrence graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1981. A distinguished flight school graduate, she was designated as a naval aviator in July 1982. Lawrence has more than 1,500 hours flight time in six different types of helicopters and has made more than 800 shipboard landings. While stationed at Helicopter Combat Support Squadron SIX (HC-6), she was one of the first two female helicopter pilots to make a long deployment to the Indian Ocean as part of a carrier battle group.

After completion of a master's degree program at MIT and WHOI in 1988, she was assigned to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light THIRTY (HSL-30) as officer-in-charge of Detachment ALFA. In October 1990, Lawrence reported to the U.S. Naval Academy where she served as a physics instructor and the novice women's crew coach.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in March 1992, Lawrence reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1992. She completed one year of training and is qualified for assignment as a mission specialist on future Space Shuttle missions. Her technical assignments within the Astronaut Office have included: flight software verification in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL); Astronaut Office Assistant Training Officer.

She flew as the ascent/entry flight engineer and blue shift orbit pilot on STS-67 (March 2-18, 1995). She next served as Director of Operations for NASA at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, with responsibility for the coordination and implementation of mission operations activities in the Moscow region for the joint U.S./Russian Shuttle/Mir program.

In September 1996 she began training for a 4-month mission on the Russian Space Station Mir, but in July 1997 NASA decided to replace Lawrence with her back-up, Dr. David Wolf. This decision enabled Wolf to act as a backup crew member for spacewalks planned over the next several months to repair the damaged Spektr module on the Russian outpost. Because of her knowledge and experience with Mir systems and with crew transfer logistics for the Mir, she flew with the crew of STS-86 (September 25 to October 6, 1997).

A veteran of three space flights, she has logged 894 hours in space.

STS-67 Endeavour (March 2-18, 1995) was the second flight of the ASTRO observatory, a unique complement of three telescopes. During this 16-day mission, the crew conducted observations around the clock to study the far ultraviolet spectra of faint astronomical objects and the polarization of ultraviolet light coming from hot stars and distant galaxies. Mission duration was 399 hours and 9 minutes.

STS-86 Atlantis (September 25 to October 6, 1997) was the seventh mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. Highlights included the exchange of U.S. crew members Mike Foale and David Wolf, a spacewalk by two crew members to retrieve four experiments first deployed on Mir during the STS-76 docking mission, the transfer to Mir of 10,400 pounds of science and logistics, and the return of experiment hardware and results to Earth. Mission duration was 259 hours and 21 minutes.

STS-91 Discovery (June 2-12, 1998) was the 9th and final Shuttle-Mir docking mission and marked the conclusion of the joint U.S./Russian Phase I Program. Mission duration was 235 hours, 54 minutes.

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Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, Mission Specialist

NAME: Franklin R. Chang-Dìaz (Ph.D.) NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA: Born April 5, 1950, in San Josè, Costa Rica, to the late Mr. Ramòn A. Chang-Morales and Mrs. Marìa Eugenia Dìaz De Chang. Married to the former Peggy Marguerite Doncaster of Alexandria, Louisiana. Four children. He enjoys music, glider planes, soccer, scuba-diving, and hiking. His mother, brothers and sisters still reside in Costa Rica.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Colegio De La Salle in San Josè, Costa Rica, in November 1967, and from Hartford High School in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1969; received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut in 1973 and a doctorate in applied plasma physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1977.

SPECIAL HONORS: Recipient of the University of Connecticut's Outstanding Alumni Award (1980); 6 NASA Space Flight Medals (1986, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998); 2 NASA Distinguished Service Medals (1995, 1997), and 3 NASA Exceptional Service Medals (1988, 1990, 1993). In 1986, he received the Liberty Medal from President Ronald Reagan at the Statue of Liberty Centennial Celebration in New York City, and in 1987 the Medal of Excellence from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. He received the Cross of the Venezuelan Air Force from President Jaime Lusinchi during the 68th Anniversary of the Venezuelan Air Force in Caracas, Venezuela (1988), and the Flight Achievement Award from the American Astronautical Society (1989). Recipient of four Doctorates "Honoris Causa" (Doctor of Science from the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica; Doctor of Science from the University of Connecticut, Doctor of Law from Babson College, and Doctor of Science from the Universidade de Santiago de Chile. He is Honorary faculty at the College of Engineering, University of Costa Rica. In April 1995, the government of Costa Rica confered on him the title of "Honorary Citizen." This is the highest honor Costa Rica confers to a foreign citizen, making him the first such honoree who was actually born there.

EXPERIENCE: While attending the University of Connecticut, he also worked as a research assistant in the Physics Department and participated in the design and construction of high energy atomic collision experiments. Following graduation in 1973, he entered graduate school at MIT, becoming heavily involved in the United States' controlled fusion program and doing intensive research in the design and operation of fusion reactors.

He obtained his doctorate in the field of applied plasma physics and fusion technology and, in that same year, joined the technical staff of the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory. His work at Draper was geared strongly toward the design and integration of control systems for fusion reactor concepts and experimental devices, in both inertial and magnetic confinement fusion. In 1979, he developed a novel concept to guide and target fuel pellets in an inertial fusion reactor chamber. More recently he has been engaged in the design of a new concept in rocket propulsion based on magnetically confined high temperature plasmas.

As a visiting scientist with the M.I.T. Plasma Fusion Center from October 1983 to December 1993, he led the plasma propulsion program there to develop this technology for future human missions to Mars. In December 1993, Dr. Chang-Dìaz was appointed Director of the Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center where he continues his research on plasma rockets. He is an Adjunct Professor of Physics at Rice University and the University of Houston and has presented numerous papers at technical conferences and in scientific journals.

In addition to his main fields of science and engineering, he worked for 2-1/2 years as a house manager in an experimental community residence for de-institutionalizing chronic mental patients, and was heavily involved as an instructor/advisor with a rehabilitation program for hispanic drug abusers in Massachusetts.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in May 1980, Dr. Chang-Dìaz became an astronaut in August 1981. While undergoing astronaut training he was also involved in flight software checkout at the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL), and participated in the early Space Station design studies. In late 1982 he was designated as support crew for the first Spacelab mission and, in November 1983, served as on orbit capsule communicator (CAPCOM) during that flight.

From October 1984 to August 1985 he was leader of the astronaut support team at the Kennedy Space Center. His duties included astronaut support during the processing of the various vehicles and payloads, as well as flight crew support during the final phases of the launch countdown. He has logged over 1,800 hours of flight time, including 1,500 hours in jet aircraft.

Dr. Chang-Dìaz was instrumental in implementing closer ties between the astronaut corps and the scientific community. In January 1987, he started the Astronaut Science Colloquium Program and later helped form the Astronaut Science Support Group, which he directed until January 1989.

A veteran of six space flights (STS 61-C in 1986, STS-34 in 1989, STS-46 in 1992, STS-60 in 1994, STS-75 in 1996, and STS-91 in 1998), he has logged over 1,269 hours in space.

STS 61-C (January 12-18, 1986), was launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on the Space Shuttle Columbia. STS 61-C was a 6-day flight during which Dr. Chang-Díaz participated in the deployment of the SATCOM KU satellite, conducted experiments in astrophysics, and operated the materials processing laboratory MSL-2. Following 96 orbits of the Earth, Columbia and her crew made a successful night landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Mission duration was 146 hours, 3 minutes, 51 seconds.

On STS-34 (October 18-23, 1989), the crew aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis successfully deployed the Galileo spacecraft on its journey to explore Jupiter, operated the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Instrument (SSBUV) to map atmospheric ozone, and performed numerous secondary experiments involving radiation measurements, polymer morphology, lightning research, microgravity effects on plants, and a student experiment on ice crystal growth in space. STS-34 launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Mission duration was 119 hours and 41 minutes and was accomplished in 79 orbits of the Earth.

STS-46 (July 31-August 8, 1992), was an 8-day mission during which crew members deployed the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) satellite, and conducted the first Tethered Satellite System (TSS) test flight. Mission duration was 191 hours, 16 minutes, 7 seconds. Space Shuttle Atlantis and her crew launched and landed at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, after completing 126 orbits of the Earth in 3.35 million miles.

STS-60 (February 3-11, 1994), was the first flight of the Wake Shield Facility (WSF-1), the second flight of the Space Habitation Module-2 (Spacehab-2), and the first joint U.S./Russian Space Shuttle mission on which a Russian Cosmonaut was a crew member. During the 8-day flight, the crew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery conducted a wide variety of biological materials science, Earth observation, and life science experiments. STS-60 launched and landed at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The mission achieved 130 orbits of Earth in 3,439,705 miles.

STS-75 (February 22 to March 9, 1996), was a 15-day mission with principal payloads being the reflight of the Tethered Satellite System (TSS) and the third flight of the United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-3). The TSS successfully demonstrated the ability of tethers to produce electricity. The TSS experiment produced a wealth of new information on the electrodynamics of tethers and plasma physics before the tether broke at 19.7 km, just shy of the 20.7 km goal. The crew also worked around the clock performing combustion experiments and research related to USMP-3 microgravity investigations used to improve production of medicines, metal alloys, and semiconductors. The mission was completed in 252 orbits covering 6.5 million miles in 377 hours and 40 minutes.

STS-91 Discovery (June 2-12, 1998) was the 9th and final Shuttle-Mir docking mission and marked the conclusion of the highly successful joint U.S./Russian Phase I Program. The crew, including a Russian cosmonaut, performed logistics and hardware resupply of the Mir during four docked days. They also conducted the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment, which involved the first of its kind research of antimatter in space. Mission duration was 235 hours, 54 minutes.

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Janet L. Kavandi, Mission Specialist

NAME: Janet Lynn Kavandi (Ph.D.) NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA: Born July 17, 1959 in Springfield, Missouri. Married to John Kavandi. They have two children. She enjoys snow skiing, hiking, camping, horseback riding, windsurfing, flying, scuba diving, piano. Her parents, William and Ruth Sellers of Cassville, Missouri, are deceased.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Carthage Senior High School, Carthage Missouri, in 1977; received a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Missouri Southern State College - Joplin in 1980; master of science degree in chemistry from the University of Missouri - Rolla in 1982; doctorate in analytical chemistry from the University of Washington - Seattle in 1990.

SPECIAL HONORS: Elected to the National Honor Society, 1977. Valedictorian of Carthage Senior High School, 1977. Awarded Presidential Scholarship from Missouri Southern State College, 1977. Graduated magma cum laude from Missouri Southern State College, 1980. Elected to Whos Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, 1980; Whos Who of Emerging Leaders in America, 1989-90, 1991-92; and Whos Who in the West, 1987-88. Awarded certificates for Team Excellence and Performance Excellence from Boeing Missile Systems, 1991.

EXPERIENCE: Following graduation in 1982, Dr. Kavandi accepted a position at Eagle-Picher Industries in Joplin, Missouri, as an engineer in new battery development for defense applications. In 1984, she accepted a position as an engineer in the Power Systems Technology Department of the Boeing Aerospace Company.

During her ten years at Boeing, Kavandi supported numerous programs, proposals and red teams in the energy storage systems area. She was lead engineer of secondary power for the Short Range Attack Missile II, and principal technical staff representative involved in the design and development of thermal batteries for Sea Lance and the Lightweight Exo-Atmospheric Projectile. Other programs she supported include Space Station, Lunar and Mars Base studies, Inertial Upper Stage, Advanced Orbital Transfer Vehicle, Get-Away Specials, Air Launched Cruise Missile, Minuteman, and Peacekeeper.

In 1986, while still working for Boeing, she was accepted into graduate school at the University of Washington, where she began working toward her doctorate in analytical chemistry. Her doctoral dissertation involved the development of a pressure-indicating coating that uses oxygen quenching of porphyrin photoluminescence to provide continuous surface pressure maps of aerodynamic test models in wind tunnels. Her work on pressure indicating paints has resulted in two patents. Dr. Kavandi has also published and presented several papers at technical conferences and in scientific journals.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Dr. Kavandi was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in December 1994 and reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995. Following an initial year of training, she was assigned to the Payloads and Habitability Branch where she supported payload integration for the International Space Station.

A veteran of two space flights, Dr. Kavandi has logged over 503 hours in space. Dr. Kavandi served as a mission specialist on STS-91 (June 2-12, 1998) the 9th and final Shuttle-Mir docking mission, concluding the joint U.S./Russian Phase 1 program.

Most recently, she served aboard STS-99 (February 11-22, 2000) the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission which mapped more than 47 million miles of the Earths land surface to provide data for a three-dimensional topographical map.

Between flights, Dr. Kavandi has served in the Robotics Branch and as a CAPCOM (spacecraft communicator) in NASAs Mission Control Center. Dr. Kavandi is currently assigned to the crew of STS-104/ISS Assembly Flight 7A scheduled for launch in 2001.

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Valery Ryumin, Mission Specialist

NAME: Valery Victorovitch Ryumin Russian Cosmonaut

PERSONAL DATA: Born August 16, 1939 in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Russian Far East. Married. Has two daughters and a son. His hobbies include tennis, angling, hunting, walking through forests, and travel.

EDUCATION: In 1958, he was graduated from the Kaliningrad Mechanical Engineering Technical College with the specialty "Cold Working of Metal." In 1966, he was graduated from the Department of Electronics and Computing Technology of the Moscow Forestry Engineering Institute with the specialty "Spacecraft Control Systems."

SPECIAL HONORS: Ryumin has been decorated twice as Hero of the Soviet Union, and has been awarded other Russian and foreign decorations.

EXPERIENCE: From 1958 to 1961, Ryumin served in the army as a tank commander. From 1966 to the present, he has been employed at the Rocket Space Corporation Energia, holding the positions of: Ground Electrical Test Engineer, Deputy Lead Designer for Orbital Stations, Department Head, and Deputy General Designer for Testing. He helped develop and prepare all orbital stations, beginning with Salyut-1.

In 1973, he joined the RSC Energia cosmonaut corps. A veteran of three space flights, Ryumin has logged a total of 362 days in space. In 1977, he spent 2 days aboard Soyuz-25, in 1979, he spent 175 days aboard Soyuz vehicles and the Salyut-6 space station, and in 1980, he spent 185 days aboard Soyuz vehicles and the Salyut-6 space station.

From 1981 to 1989, Ryumin was flight director for the Salyut-7 space station and the Mir Space Station. Since 1992, he has been the Director of the Russian portion of the Shuttle-Mir and NASA-Mir program.

In January 1998, NASA announced Ryumin's selection to the crew of STS-91, the final scheduled Shuttle-Mir docking mission, concluding the joint U.S./Russian Phase I Program. STS-91 is scheduled for a May 1998 launch.

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Andrew S. W. Thomas, NASA-7 Mir Resident

NAME: Andrew S. W. Thomas (Ph.D.) NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA: Born December 18, 1951, in Adelaide, South Australia. Single. He enjoys horse riding and jumping, mountain biking, running, wind surfing, and classical guitar playing. His father, Adrian C. Thomas, resides in Hackham, South Australia. His mother, Mary E. Thomas, resides in North Adelaide, South Australia.

EDUCATION: Received a bachelor of engineering degree in mechanical engineering, with First Class Honors, from the University of Adelaide, South Australia, in 1973, and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Adelaide, South Australia, in 1978.

ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

EXPERIENCE: Dr. Thomas began his professional career as a research scientist with the Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Company, Marietta, Georgia, in 1977. At that time he was responsible for experimental investigations into the control of fluid dynamic instabilities and aircraft drag. In 1980, he was appointed Principal Aerodynamic Scientist to the company and headed a research team examining various problems in advanced aerodynamics and aircraft flight test.

This was followed in 1983 by an appointment as the head of the Advanced Flight Sciences Department to lead a research department of engineers and scientists engaged in experimental and computational studies in fluid dynamics, aerodynamics and aeroacoustics. He was also manager of the research laboratory, the wind tunnels, and the test facilities used in these studies.

In 1987, Dr. Thomas was named manager of Lockheed's Flight Sciences Division and directed the technical efforts in vehicle aerodynamics, flight controls and propulsion systems that supported the company's fleet of production aircraft. In 1989, he moved to Pasadena, California, to join the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and, shortly after, was appointed leader of the JPL program for microgravity materials processing in space. This NASA-sponsored research included scientific investigations, conducted in the laboratory and in low gravity on NASA's KC-135 aircraft, as well as technology studies to support the development of the space flight hardware for future Shuttle missions.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Dr. Thomas was selected by NASA in March 1992 and reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1992. In August 1993, following one year of training, he was appointed a member of the astronaut corp and was qualified for assignment as a mission specialist on Space Shuttle flight crews. While awaiting space flight assignment, Dr. Thomas supported Shuttle launch and landing operations as an Astronaut Support Person (ASP) at the Kennedy Space Center. He also provided technical support to the Space Shuttle Main Engine project, the Solid Rocket Motor project and the External Tank project at the Marshall Space Flight Center.

In June 1995, Dr. Thomas was named as payload commander for STS-77 and flew his first flight in space on Endeavour in May 1996. He next trained at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia in preparation for a long-duration flight. In 1998, he served as Board Engineer 2 aboard the Russian Space Station Mir for 130 days. He is in training for the STS-102 mission, targeted for launch in 2000.

STS-77 was a 10-day mission during which the crew deployed two satellites, tested a large inflatable space structure on orbit and conducted a variety of scientific experiments in a Spacehab laboratory module carried in Endeavour's payload bay. The flight was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on May 19, 1996 and completed 160 orbits 153 nautical miles above the Earth while traveling 4.1 million miles and logging 240 hours and 39 minutes in space.

On January 22, 1998, Dr. Thomas launched aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour as part of the STS-89 crew to dock with the Mir Space Station. He served aboard Mir as Flight Engineer 2 and returned to Earth with the crew of STS-91 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on June 12, 1998, completing 141 days in space and 2,250 orbits of the Earth.