Linda M. Godwin

Last updated

Linda Godwin
Linda Godwin.jpg
Born (1952-07-02) July 2, 1952 (age 71)
Education Southeast Missouri State University (BS)
University of Missouri (MS, PhD)
Spouse Steven R. Nagel
Space career
NASA astronaut
Time in space
38d 6h 13m
Selection NASA Group 11 (1985)
Missions STS-37
STS-59
STS-76
STS-108
Mission insignia
Sts-37-patch.png STS-59 patch.svg Sts-76-patch.png STS-108 Patch.svg

Linda Maxine Godwin (born July 2, 1952) is an American scientist and retired NASA astronaut. [1] Godwin joined NASA in 1980 and became an astronaut in July 1986. She retired in 2010. During her career, Godwin completed four space flights and logged over 38 days in space. Godwin also served as the assistant to the director for exploration, Flight Crew Operations Directorate at the Johnson Space Center. Since retiring from NASA, she accepted the position of professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Missouri. [2]

Contents

Early life

Godwin was born July 2, 1952, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, but her hometown is Jackson, Missouri. She graduated from Jackson High School in Jackson, Missouri, in 1970, then received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and physics from Southeast Missouri State University in 1974, and a Master of Science degree and a Doctorate in physics from the University of Missouri in 1976 and 1980.

Personal life

Godwin is a member of the American Physical Society, the Ninety-Nines, Inc., Association of Space Explorers, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

Godwin married fellow astronaut Steven Nagel (who had been her commander on her first spaceflight) and remained married until his death from cancer on August 21, 2014. [3]

Awards and honors

Academic experience

After completing undergraduate studies in physics and mathematics at Southeast Missouri State University, Godwin attended graduate school at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. During that time she taught undergraduate physics labs and was the recipient of several research assistantships. She conducted research in low temperature solid state physics, including studies in electron tunneling and vibrational modes of absorbed molecular species on metallic substrates (surfaces) at liquid helium temperatures. Results of her research have been published in several journals. [4]

Godwin is an instrument rated private pilot. [4]

NASA career

Godwin joined NASA in 1980, in the Payload Operations Division, Mission Operations Directorate, where she worked in payload integration (attached payloads and Spacelabs), and as a flight controller and payloads officer on several Space Shuttle missions.

Selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in June 1985, [5] Godwin became an astronaut in July 1986. [1] Her technical assignments have included working with flight software verification in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL), and coordinating mission development activities for the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), deployable payloads, and Spacelab missions. She also has served as chief of astronaut appearances, chief of the Mission Development Branch of the Astronaut Office and as the astronaut liaison to its Educational Working Group, deputy chief of the Astronaut Office, and deputy director, Flight Crew Operations Directorate. Godwin is currently the assistant to the director for exploration, Flight Crew Operations Directorate at the Johnson Space Center. [1]

A veteran of four space flights, Godwin has logged over 38 days in space, including over ten EVA hours in two spacewalks. In 1991 she served as a mission specialist on STS-37, was the payload commander on STS-59 in 1994, flew on STS-76 in 1996, a Mir docking mission, and served on STS-108/International Space Station Flight UF-1 in 2001. [6]

Spaceflight experience

STS-37

Godwin (left) and her crewmates during STS-37 S37-54-004 - Candid shot of STS-37 crew (Retouched).jpg
Godwin (left) and her crewmates during STS-37

Godwin served as mission specialist 1 on the crew of STS-37. [7] :63–64 Atlantis was launched from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B April 5, 1991, 14:22:45 UTC and returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California, April 11, 1991, 13:55:29 UTC. During the 93 orbits of the mission, the crew deployed the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) to study gamma ray sources in the universe. [8] GRO, at about 35,000 pounds (16,000 kg), was the heaviest payload deployed to date by the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (RMS). [9] The crew also conducted an unscheduled spacewalk to free the GRO high gain antenna, and conducted the first scheduled extravehicular activity in 5+12 years to test concepts for moving about large space structures. Several middeck experiments and activities were conducted including test of elements of a heat pipe to study fluid transfer processed in microgravity environments (SHARE), a chemical processing apparatus to characterize the structure of biological materials (BIMDA), and an experiment to grow larger and more perfect protein crystals than can be grown on the ground (PCG II). Atlantis carried amateur radio equipment for voice contact, fast scan and slow scan TV, and packet radio. Several hundred contacts were made with amateur radio operators around the world. Mission duration was 143 hours, 32 minutes, 44 seconds. [10] [11]

STS-59

Godwin (center) and her crew mates on the middeck of Endeavour during STS-59 Sidney Gutierrez (29652800220).jpg
Godwin (center) and her crew mates on the middeck of Endeavour during STS-59

Godwin served as payload commander on the crew of STS-59. [7] :92 Endeavour launched from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A April 9, 1994, 11:05 UTC. STS-59 was the Space Radar Laboratory (SRL) mission. SRL consisted of three large radars, SIR-C/X-SAR (Shuttle Imaging Radar C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar), and a carbon monoxide sensor that were used to enhance studies of the Earth's surface and atmosphere. The imaging radars operated in three frequencies and four polarizations. This multispectral capability of the radars provided information about the Earth's surface over a wide range of scales not discernible with previous single-frequency experiments. [12] The carbon monoxide sensor MAPS (Measurement of Air Pollution by Satellite) used gas filter radiometry to measure the global distribution of CO in the troposphere. Real-time crew observations of surface phenomena and climatic conditions augmented with over 14,000 photographs aided investigators in interpretation and calibration of the data. The mission concluded with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, April 20, 1994, 16:55 UTC after orbiting the Earth 183 times in 269 hours, 29 minutes. [13] [14]

STS-76

Linda Godwin performing a spacewalk on STS-76 Sts076 Linda Godwin Spacewalk.jpg
Linda Godwin performing a spacewalk on STS-76

Godwin served as mission specialist 3 on the crew of STS-76. [7] :109–110Atlantis launched from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B from March 22, 1996, 08:13:04 UTC. STS-76 was the third docking mission to the Russian space station Mir . Following rendezvous and docking with Mir, transfer of a NASA astronaut to Mir for a 5-month stay was accomplished to begin a continuous presence of United States astronauts aboard Mir for the next two-year period. The crew also transferred 4,800 pounds (2,200 kg) of science and mission hardware, food, water and air to Mir and returned over 1,100 pounds (500 kg) of U.S. and ESA science and Russian hardware. Godwin performed a six-hour spacewalk, the first while docked to an orbiting space station, to mount experiment packages on the Mir docking module to detect and assess debris and contamination in a space station environment. The packages will be retrieved by a future shuttle mission. The Spacehab module carried in the Shuttle payload bay was utilized extensively for transfer and return stowage of logistics and science and also carried Biorack, a small multipurpose laboratory used during this mission for research of plant and animal cellular function. [15] This mission was also the first flight of Kidsat, an electronic camera controlled by classroom students via a Ku-band link between JSC Mission Control and the Shuttle, which uses digital photography from the Shuttle for science and education. The STS-76 mission concluded with a successful landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, March 31, 1996, 13:28:57 UTC after 145 orbits of the Earth, traveling 3,800,000 miles (6,100,000 km) in 221 hours and 15 minutes. [16] [17]

STS-108

Godwin performs a spacewalk on STS-108 STS-108 spacewalk.jpg
Godwin performs a spacewalk on STS-108

Godwin served as mission specialist 1 on the crew of STS-108. [7] :160–161Endeavour launched from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B 5 December 2001 22:19:28 UTC. STS-108 was the 12th shuttle flight to visit the International Space Station. Endeavour's crew delivered the Expedition-4 crew and returned the Expedition-3 crew. The crew unloaded over 4,600 pounds (2,100 kg) [18] of supplies, logistics and science experiments from the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and repacked over 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) of items no longer needed on the station for return to Earth. Godwin used the Shuttle's robotic arm to install the MPLM onto the Station Node, and participated in a spacewalk to wrap thermal blankets around ISS Solar Array Beta Gimbal Assemblies. STS-108 concluded with a successful landing at the Shuttle Landing Facility 17 December 2001 17:56:13 UTC after 185 Earth orbits, traveling 4,800,000 miles (7,700,000 km) in 283 hours and 36 minutes. [7] :160–161 [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerome Apt</span> American astronaut, scientist, and professor (born 1949)

Jerome "Jay" Apt III is an American astronaut and professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Before becoming an astronaut, Apt was a physicist who worked on the Pioneer Venus 1978 space probe project, and used visible light and infrared techniques to study the planets and moons of the solar system from ground-based observatories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Akers</span> American astronaut (born 1951)

Thomas Dale Akers is a former American astronaut in NASA's Space Shuttle program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Wetherbee</span> American astronaut, aviator and engineer (born 1952)

James Donald "Wxb" Wetherbee, is a retired United States Navy officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, and NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of six Space Shuttle missions and is the only American to have commanded five spaceflight missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janet L. Kavandi</span>

Janet Lynn Kavandi, a native of Carthage, Missouri, is an American scientist and a NASA astronaut. She is a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions, served as NASA's Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office, and was the Center Director at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio from March 2016 until her retirement from NASA in September 2019. She was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Shepherd</span> American astronaut (born 1949)

William McMichael "Bill" Shepherd, , is an American former Navy SEAL, aerospace, ocean, and mechanical engineer, and NASA astronaut, who served as commander of Expedition 1, the first crew on the International Space Station. He is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-52</span> 1992 American crewed spaceflight to deploy LAGEOS-2

STS-52 was a Space Transportation System mission using Space Shuttle Columbia, and was launched on October 22, 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtis Brown</span> American astronaut (born 1956)

Curtis Lee "Curt" Brown Jr. is a former NASA astronaut and retired United States Air Force colonel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-63</span> 1995 American crewed spaceflight to Mir

STS-63 was the second mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, which carried out the first rendezvous of the American Space Shuttle with Russia's space station Mir. Known as the 'Near-Mir' mission, the flight used Space Shuttle Discovery, which lifted off from launch pad 39B on February 3, 1995, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. A night launch and the 20th mission for Discovery, it marked the first time a Space Shuttle mission had a female pilot, Eileen Collins, and the first EVAs for both a UK born astronaut, Michael Foale, and a US astronaut of African heritage, Bernard A. Harris, Jr. It also carried out the successful deployment and retrieval of the Spartan-204 platform, along with the scheduled rendezvous and flyaround of Mir, in preparation for STS-71, the first mission to dock with Mir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-69</span> 1995 American crewed spaceflight

STS-69 was a Space Shuttle Endeavour mission, and the second flight of the Wake Shield Facility (WSF). The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 7 September 1995. It was the 100th successful crewed NASA spaceflight, not including X-15 flights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-76</span> 1996 American crewed spaceflight to Mir

STS-76 was NASA's 76th Space Shuttle mission, and the 16th mission for Atlantis. STS-76 launched on 22 March 1996 at 08:13:04 UTC from Kennedy Space Center, launch pad 39B. STS-76 lasted over 9 days, traveled about 6,100,000 km (3,800,000 mi) while orbiting Earth an estimated 145 times, and landing at 13:28:57 UTC on 31 March 1996 at Edwards Air Force Base, runway 22.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew M. Allen</span> American astronaut (born 1955)

Andrew Michael "Andy" Allen is a retired American astronaut. A former Marine aviator and lieutenant colonel, he worked as a test pilot before joining NASA in 1987. He flew three Space Shuttle missions before retiring in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John E. Blaha</span> American astronaut (born 1942)

John Elmer Blaha is a retired United States Air Force colonel and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of five space missions aboard the Space Shuttle and Mir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael A. Baker</span> American astronaut (born 1953)

Michael Allen Baker is a retired captain in the United States Navy, former NASA astronaut, and the International Space Station Program Manager for International and Crew Operations, at NASA's Johnson Space Center. He is responsible for the coordination of program operations, integration and flight crew training and support activities with the International Partners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregory J. Harbaugh</span> American astronaut and engineer (born 1956)

Gregory Jordan "Greg" Harbaugh is an aeronautical/astronautical engineer and former NASA astronaut. He flew on four space shuttle missions as a mission specialist with responsibilities that included Remote Manipulator System (RMS) operation and Extravehicular Activity (EVAs). He performed three spacewalks during the shuttle missions including in support of repair/refurbishment of the Hubble Space Telescope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn C. Thornton</span> American scientist and astronaut (born 1952)

Kathryn Ryan Cordell Thornton is an American scientist and a former NASA astronaut with over 975 hours in space, including 21 hours of extravehicular activity. She was the associate dean for graduate programs at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science, currently a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre J. Thuot</span> American astronaut (born 1955)

Pierre Joseph Thuot is a retired United States Navy captain and NASA astronaut. He went into space three times, spending over 650 hours in space, including over 15 hours in three space walks. He is a former U.S. record holder for time spent on one spacewalk, and participated in the first three-person spacewalk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Ellen Weber</span> American astronaut (born 1962)

Mary Ellen Weber is an American executive, scientist, aviator, and a former NASA astronaut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA Astronaut Group 13</span>

NASA Astronaut Group 13 was a group of 23 astronauts announced by NASA on 17 January 1990. The group name came from its selection of a black cat as a mascot, to play against the traditional unlucky connotations of the number 13.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA Astronaut Group 12</span> Group of astronauts selected in 1987

NASA Astronaut Group 12 was a group of 15 astronauts announced by NASA on June 5, 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA Astronaut Group 11</span>

NASA Astronaut Group 11 was a group of 13 NASA astronauts announced on 4 June 1985.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (August 2010). "Linda M. Godwin" (PDF). Biographical Data. Houston, Texas: NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  2. "MU's "Intro to Astronomy" Taught by Former Astronaut". MU News Bureau. University of Missouri. September 12, 2011. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  3. Neuman, Scott (August 23, 2014). "Veteran Space Shuttle Astronaut Steven Nagel Dies At 67". The Two-Way. NPR. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Linda M. Godwin, 38: Atlantis astronaut". UPI Archives. United Press International. April 5, 1991. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  5. Nesbitt, Steve (June 4, 1985). "85-023: NASA Selects 13 Astronaut Candidates" (PDF). NASA News. Houston, Texas: NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  6. Becker, Joachim (August 25, 2018). "Astronaut Biography: Linda Godwin". SPACEFACTS. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Legler, Robert D.; Bennett, Floyd V. (September 2011). "Space Shuttle Missions Summary" (PDF). NTRS – NASA Technical Reports Server. Houston, Texas: NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  8. Hill, William C.; Finkel, Seymour I. (June 14, 1994). "Mission Safety Evaluation Report for STS-37, Postflight Edition" (PDF). NTRS – NASA Technical Reports Server. NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  9. Goddard Space Flight Center (February 1991). "The Gamma-Ray Observatory" (PDF). NTRS – NASA Technical Reports Server. NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  10. Fricke, Robert W. (May 1991). "STS-37: Space Shuttle Mission Report" (PDF). NTRS – NASA Technical Reports Server. Houston, Texas: NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  11. Ryba, Jeanne (April 11, 2013). "STS-37". Mission Archives. NASA. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  12. Evans, Diane L.; Plaut, Jeffrey (April 1996). "Science Results from the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR): Progress Report" (PDF). NTRS – NASA Technical Reports Server. Pasadena, California: NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  13. Fricke, Robert W. (June 1994). "STS-59: Space Shuttle Mission Report" (PDF). NTRS – NASA Technical Reports Server. Houston, Texas. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  14. Ryba, Jeanne (November 23, 2007). "STS-59". Mission Archives. NASA. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  15. McDonald, Sue (December 1998). "Mir Mission Chronicle – November 1994 – August 1996" (PDF). NTRS – NASA Technical Reports Server. Houston, Texas: NASA. pp. 46–49. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  16. Fricke, Robert W. (May 1996). "STS-76: Space Shuttle Mission Report" (PDF). NTRS – NASA Technical Reports Server. Houston, Texas: NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  17. Ryba, Jeanne (November 23, 2007). "STS-76". Mission Archives. NASA. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  18. Petty, John Ira (December 12, 2001). "STS-108 Mission Control Center Status Report #15". NASA News. NASA. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  19. Ryba, Jeanne (February 15, 2010). "STS-108". Mission Archives. NASA. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.