Donald Alan Thomas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | May 6, 1955 |
| Status | Retired |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
Time in space | 43d 08h 13m |
| Selection | 1990 NASA Group |
| Missions | STS-65, STS-70, STS-83, STS-94 |
Mission insignia |     |
Donald Alan Thomas (born May 6, 1955) is an American engineer and a former NASA astronaut.
Graduated from Cleveland Heights High School, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, in 1973; received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Case Western Reserve University in 1977, and a Master of Science degree and a Doctorate in Materials Science from Cornell University in 1980 and 1982, respectively. His dissertation involved evaluating the effect of crystalline defects and sample purity on the superconducting properties of niobium.
Following graduation from Cornell University in 1982, Thomas joined AT&T Bell Laboratories in Princeton, New Jersey, working as a Senior Member of the Technical Staff. His responsibilities there included the development of advanced materials and processes for high-density interconnections of semiconductor devices. He was also an adjunct professor in the physics department at Trenton State College in New Jersey. He holds two patents and has authored several technical papers.
He left AT&T in 1987 to work for Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Company in Houston, Texas, where his responsibilities involved reviewing materials used in Space Shuttle payloads. In 1988 he joined NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center as a materials engineer. His work involved lifetime projections of advanced composite materials for use on Space Station Freedom. He was also a Principal Investigator for the Microgravity Disturbances Experiment, a middeck crystal growth experiment that flew on STS-32 in January 1990. This experiment investigated the effects of Orbiter and crew-induced disturbances on the growth of crystals in space.
Selected by NASA in January 1990, Thomas became an astronaut in July 1991. Thomas was turned down in his application to the astronaut program twice. He decided to differentiate from the applicant competition by getting his pilot's license, teaching a university course and furthering his education. In his third application he made the group of 100 semi-finalists. After being invited to Houston, going through a one-week medical exam and interviews, he was still turned down. He eventually moved over 1500 miles to live in Houston and was finally accepted on his fourth application. [1]
Thomas has served in the Safety, Operations Development, and Payloads Branches of the Astronaut Office. He was CAPCOM (spacecraft communicator) for Shuttle missions STS-47, 52 and 53. From July 1999 to June 2000 he was Director of Operations for NASA at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Moscow, Russia. A veteran of four space flights, he logged over 1,040 hours in space. He was a mission specialist on STS-65 (July 8, 1994 – July 23, 1994), STS-70 (July 13, 1995 – July 22, 1995), STS-83 (April 4, 1997 – April 8, 1997) and STS-94 (July 1, 1997 – July 17, 1997). Initially assigned to the ISS Expedition 6 crew, his flight assignment withdrawal resulted from a medical issue affecting long-duration space flight qualifications. Thomas has logged over 1,040 hours in space. [2]
In his last assignment, he served as the International Space Station Program Scientist overseeing NASA experiments performed on the ISS. Thomas retired from NASA in July 2007 in order to pursue private interests.
STS-65 Columbia (July 8, 1994 – July 23, 1994) set a new flight duration record for the Space Shuttle program. The mission flew the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2). During the 15-day flight the crew conducted more than 80 experiments focusing on materials and life sciences research in microgravity. The mission was accomplished in 236 orbits of the Earth, traveling 6.1 million miles in 353 hours and 55 minutes.
STS-70 Discovery (July 13, 1995 – July 22, 1995). During the STS-70 mission, Thomas was responsible for the deployment of the sixth and final Tracking and Data Relay Satellite from the Space Shuttle. Mission duration was 214 hours and 20 minutes, traveling 3.7 million miles in 142 orbits of the Earth. Four of the five astronauts were born in Ohio, so Ohio Governor George Voinovich made astronaut Kevin Kregel an "Honorary Ohioan", making this flight "The All-Ohio Space Shuttle Mission". [3]
STS-83 Columbia (April 4, 1997 – April 8, 1997). The STS-83 Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL-1) Spacelab mission, was cut short because of problems with one of the Shuttle's three fuel cell power generation units. Mission duration was 95 hours and 12 minutes, traveling 1.5 million miles in 63 orbits of the Earth.
STS-94 Columbia (July 1, 1997 – July 17, 1997), was a re-flight of the Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL-1) Spacelab mission, and focused on materials and combustion science research in microgravity. Mission duration was 376 hours and 45 minutes, traveling 6.3 million miles in 251 orbits of the Earth.
Don Thomas is head of the Willard Hackerman Academy of Mathematics and Science at Towson University in Towson, Maryland. He is a private pilot with over 250 hours in single engine land aircraft and gliders, and over 800 hours flying as mission specialist in NASA T-38 jet aircraft. [2]
In 2013, Thomas wrote a book with the assistance of Mike Bartell, "Orbit of Discovery: The All-Ohio Space Shuttle Mission," [4] referencing the STS-70 flight.
Graduated with Honors from Case Western Reserve University in 1977. Recipient of NASA Sustained Superior Performance Award, 1989. Recipient of 4 NASA Group Achievement Awards, 4 NASA Space Flight Medals, 2 NASA Exceptional Service Medals, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. [2]
In July 2014, Don Thomas, now a retired astronaut, was featured as a celebrity visitor to the spaceship R. U. Sirius in the comic strip Brewster Rockit by Tim Rickard, which is anachronistically set in the present time. On July 4, the spaceship crew recalls that his 1995 mission was delayed due to a woodpecker attacking his Space Shuttle. The same woodpecker appears, pecking at the windows of the spaceship, at which time Thomas confesses that he owes the bird money.
Spacelab was a reusable laboratory developed by European Space Agency (ESA) and used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory comprised multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier, and other related hardware housed in the Shuttle's cargo bay. The components were arranged in various configurations to meet the needs of each spaceflight.
Ulf Dietrich Merbold is a German physicist and astronaut who flew to space three times, becoming the first West German citizen in space and the first non-American to fly on a NASA spacecraft. Merbold flew on two Space Shuttle missions and on a Russian mission to the space station Mir, spending a total of 49 days in space.
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Marsha Sue Ivins is an American retired astronaut and a veteran of five Space Shuttle missions.
STS-61-A was the 22nd mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program. It was a scientific Spacelab mission, funded and directed by West Germany – hence the non-NASA designation of D-1. STS-61-A was the ninth and last successful flight of Space Shuttle Challenger before the disaster. STS-61-A holds the current record for the largest crew—eight people—aboard any single spacecraft for the entire period from launch to landing.
STS-42 was a NASA Space Shuttle Discovery mission with the Spacelab module. Liftoff was originally scheduled for 8:45 EST on January 22, 1992, but the launch was delayed due to weather constraints. Discovery successfully lifted off an hour later at 9:52:33 EST. The main goal of the mission was to study the effects of microgravity on a variety of organisms. The shuttle landed at 8:07:17 PST on January 30, 1992, on Runway 22, Edwards Air Force Base, California. STS-42 was the first of two flights in 1992 of Discovery, the second of which occurred during STS-53, which launched on December 2, 1992. The mission was also the last mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery to have a seven-member crew until STS-82, which was launched on February 11, 1997.
Norman Earl Thagard, is an American scientist and former U.S. Marine Corps officer and naval aviator and NASA astronaut. He is the first American to ride to space on board a Russian vehicle, and can be considered the first American cosmonaut. He did this on March 14, 1995, in the Soyuz TM-21 spacecraft for the Russian Mir-18 mission.
STS-78 was the fifth dedicated Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission for the Space Shuttle program, flown partly in preparation for the International Space Station project. The mission used the Space Shuttle Columbia, which lifted off successfully from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B on June 20, 1996. This marked the 78th flight of the Space Shuttle and 20th mission for Columbia.
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STS-94 was a mission of the United States Space Shuttle Columbia, launched on 1 July 1997.
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Robert Donald Cabana is the Associate Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a NASA astronaut, and a veteran of four Space Shuttle flights. He served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1994 to 1997 and as director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center from 2008 to 2021. He is also a former naval flight officer and naval aviator in the United States Marine Corps.
Roger Keith Crouch is an American scientist and astronaut who flew as a payload specialist on two NASA Space Shuttle missions in 1997.
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Carl Erwin Walz is a retired NASA astronaut currently working for Orbital Sciences Corporation's Advanced Programs Group as vice president for Human Space Flight Operations. Walz was formerly assigned to the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was the Acting Director for the Advanced Capabilities Division in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, and was responsible for a broad range of activities to include Human Research, Technology Development, Nuclear Power and Propulsion and the Lunar Robotic Exploration Programs to support the Vision for Space Exploration.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration .
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