Loral O'Hara | |
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 NASA portrait, 2023 | |
| Born | Loral Ashley O'Hara May 3, 1983 |
| Education | University of Kansas (BS) Purdue University (MS) |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
Time in space | 203 days, 15 hours and 33 minutes |
| Selection | NASA Group 22 (2017) |
Total EVAs | 1 |
Total EVA time | 6h 43m |
| Missions | Soyuz MS-24 (Expedition 69/70) |
Mission insignia |   |
Loral Ashley O'Hara (born May 3, 1983) is an American engineer and NASA astronaut.
Loral Ashley O'Hara was born on May 3, 1983, in Houston, Texas, to Cindy and Steve O'Hara. She grew up in Sugar Land, Texas, where she attended Clements High School. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Kansas in 2005, and a Master of Science in aeronautics and astronautics from Purdue University in 2009. While she was a student at KU, O'Hara participated in the KC-135 Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program. [1]
Prior to completing her Master of Science degree, O'Hara worked for Rocketplane Limited in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 2009, O'Hara began working at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She has participated in upgrades to the submersible DSV Alvin, and has worked as an engineer and data processor for the remotely-operated vehicle Jason . [1]
O'Hara has previously participated in the NASA Academy at Goddard Space Flight Center, and completed an internship at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In June 2017, she was selected as an astronaut candidate, and began training in August. [1] [2] On January 10, 2020, she graduated from NASA's astronaut candidate program to its astronaut corps, and became eligible for spaceflight.
On July 15, 2022, NASA announced she would fly on board Soyuz MS-23 as part of Expedition 68. [3] However, following the on-orbit problems with the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft that necessitated repurposing of the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft, O'Hara's crew shifted to Soyuz MS-24.
O'Hara launched aboard Soyuz MS-24 on September 15, 2023 and returned on April 6, 2024.
O'Hara is a private pilot, certified emergency medical technician, and a wilderness first responder. She enjoys traveling, whitewater rafting, surfing, diving, flying, sailing, skiing, hiking, caving, reading, and painting. [1]
In 2008, O'Hara was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. [4] In 2015, she was an invited speaker at TEDx New Bedford. [5]
Major Paolo Angelo Nespoli is an Italian astronaut and engineer of the European Space Agency (ESA). In 2007, he first traveled into space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery as a mission specialist of STS-120. In December 2010 he again traveled into space aboard the Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft as an Expedition 26/27 flight engineer. Nespoli's third spaceflight was on board Soyuz MS-05, which launched in July 2017 for Expedition 52/53. He was also the European Space Agency's oldest active astronaut prior to his retirement in 2019.
Shannon Walker is an American physicist and a NASA astronaut selected in 2004. She launched on her first mission into space on June 25, 2010, onboard Soyuz TMA-19 and spent over 163 days in space.
Thomas Henry "Tom" Marshburn is an American physician and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of three spaceflights to the International Space Station and holds the record for the oldest person to perform a spacewalk at 61 years old.
Oleg Viktorovich Novitsky is a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Russian Air Force who logged over 700 hours of flight time and was awarded for bravery. He is currently serving as a Russian cosmonaut with Roscosmos and has participated in multiple expeditions, during which he has spent over 545 days in space.
Andrey Ivanovich Borisenko is a Russian cosmonaut. He was selected as a cosmonaut in May 2003, and is a veteran of two long duration missions to the International Space Station.
Serena Maria Auñón-Chancellor is an American physician, engineer, and NASA astronaut. She visited the International Space Station (ISS) during Expedition 56/57. After returning, she transitioned to a management role within NASA, where she handles medical issues aboard the station.
Kjell Norwood Lindgren is an American astronaut who was selected in June 2009 as a member of the NASA Astronaut Group 20. He launched to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Expedition 44/45 on July 22, 2015.
Kathleen Hallisey "Kate" Rubins is an American microbiologist and NASA astronaut. She became the 60th woman to fly in space when she launched on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) on July 7, 2016. She returned to Earth in Kazakhstan on October 30, 2016, aboard a Soyuz. She was a crew member of Expedition 48/49 and Expedition 63/64 of the ISS. Rubins has spent a total of 300 days, 1 hour, and 31 minutes in space which is the fourth most days in space by a U.S female astronaut.
Tracy Caldwell Dyson is an American chemist and NASA astronaut. She was a mission specialist on Space Shuttle Endeavour flight STS-118 in August 2007 and has participated in two long-duration missions to the International Space Station, Expedition 23 and 24 from April to September 2010 and Expedition 70 and 71 from March to September 2024. She has completed four spacewalks, logging nearly 24 hours of extravehicular activity.
Jessica Ulrika Meir is an American NASA astronaut, marine biologist, and physiologist. She was previously an assistant professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, following postdoctoral research in comparative physiology at the University of British Columbia. She has studied the diving physiology and behavior of emperor penguins in Antarctica, and the physiology of bar-headed geese, which are able to migrate over the Himalayas. In September 2002, Meir served as an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 4 crew. In 2013, she was selected by NASA to Astronaut Group 21. In 2016, Meir participated in ESA CAVES, a training course in which international astronauts train in a space-analogue cave environment. Meir launched on September 25, 2019, to the ISS onboard Soyuz MS-15, where she served as a flight Engineer during Expedition 61 and 62. On October 18, 2019, Meir and Christina Koch were the first women to participate in an all-female spacewalk.
Tyler Nicklaus "Nick" Hague is a United States Space Force colonel and a NASA astronaut of the class of 2013. Selected to be a flight engineer on the International Space Station, his first launch was on Soyuz MS-10, which aborted shortly after take-off on 11 October 2018. His second launch, on 14 March 2019, was successful, taking him and his fellow Soyuz MS-12 crew members to join ISS Expedition 59/60.
Andrew Richard "Drew" Morgan is a NASA astronaut from the class of 2013.
Soyuz MS-03 was a Soyuz spaceflight launched on 17 November 2016. It transported three members of the Expedition 50 crew to the International Space Station. MS-03 was the 132nd flight of a Soyuz spacecraft. The crew consisted of a Russian commander with American and French flight engineers.
Soyuz MS-04 was a Soyuz spaceflight that launched on 20 April 2017 to the ISS. It transported two members of the Expedition 52 crew to the International Space Station. Soyuz MS-04 was the 133rd flight of a Soyuz spacecraft. The crew consisted of a Russian commander and an American flight engineer. It was the first of the Soyuz MS series to rendezvous with the Station in approximately 6 hours, instead of the 2 day orbital rendezvous used for the previous launches. It was also the first Soyuz to launch with only 2 crew members since Soyuz TMA-2.
Soyuz MS-06 was a Soyuz spaceflight which launched on 13 September 2017. It transported three members of the Expedition 53 crew to the International Space Station. Soyuz MS-06 was the 135th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft. The crew consisted of a Russian commander, and two American flight engineers. It returned to Earth on 28 February 2018 after 168 days in orbit.
NASA Astronaut Group 22 is a group of twelve NASA astronauts selected in June 2017. They were joined by two Canadian Space Agency astronauts for training.
Soyuz MS-17 was a Soyuz spaceflight that was launched on 14 October 2020. It transported three crew members of the Expedition 63/64 crew to the International Space Station. Soyuz MS-17 was the 145th crewed flight of a Soyuz spacecraft. The crew consisted of a Russian commander and a Russian and American flight engineer.
Dolores B. "Dee" O'Hara was the first aerospace nurse to NASA's first astronauts, laying the foundation to the field of Space nursing. O'Hara was the official nurse to the Mercury Seven astronauts and their families, continuing to support the Gemini Program, Apollo astronauts and Skylab.
Expedition 59 was the 59th Expedition to the International Space Station. It started with the arrival of the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft carrying Aleksey Ovchinin, Nick Hague and Christina Koch, joining Oleg Kononenko, David Saint-Jacques and Anne McClain who transferred from Expedition 58. The expedition formally began on March 15, 2019. Ovchinin and Hague were originally meant to fly to the ISS aboard Soyuz MS-10, but returned to Earth minutes after takeoff due to a contingency abort. The expedition formally ended with the undocking of the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft carrying Kononenko, Saint-Jacques and McClain on 24 June 2019; Ovchinin, Hague and Koch transferred to Expedition 60.
Expedition 70 was the 70th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station. The expedition began with the departure of Soyuz MS-23 on 27 September 2023 with Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen taking over the ISS command. It ended with the departure of Soyuz MS-24 on 6 April 2024.
People currently in low Earth orbit | |||||
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| International Space Station (Expedition 72) |
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| Tiangong space station (Expedition 7) |
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NASA Astronaut Group 22, "The Turtles", 2017  | |||||||
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NASA Astronaut Group 21 ← NASA Astronaut Group 22 → NASA Astronaut Group 23 | |||||||
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