Tammy Jernigan | |
---|---|
![]() Jernigan, c. 1999 | |
Born | Tamara Elizabeth Jernigan May 7, 1959 Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S. |
Education | Stanford University (BS, MS) University of California, Berkeley (MS) Rice University (PhD) |
Space career | |
NASA astronaut | |
Time in space | 63d 1h 24m |
Selection | NASA Group 11 (1985) |
Total EVAs | 1 |
Total EVA time | 7h 55m |
Missions | STS-40 STS-52 STS-67 STS-80 STS-96 |
Mission insignia | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Retirement | 2001 |
Tamara Elizabeth "Tammy" Jernigan (born May 7, 1959) is an American astrophysicist and former NASA astronaut. During her career she completed five Space Shuttle program missions (three on Columbia and one each on Endeavour and Discovery ), logging over 1512 hours in space. Jernigan left NASA in 2001, and is Deputy Principal Associate Director in the Weapons and Complex Integration (WCI) organization at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Tamara Elizabeth Jernigan was born on May 7, 1959, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Mary and Terry Jernigan. [1] She attended Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe Springs, California, graduating in 1977. Jernigan attended Stanford University, where she played varsity volleyball. She earned a B.S. degree in physics in 1981 and an M.S. in engineering science in 1983. At the University of California, Berkeley, she received an M.S. in astronomy in 1985. In 1988, she was awarded a Ph.D. in space physics and astronomy from Rice University. Her research focused on the modeling of high-velocity outflows in regions of star formation, gamma-ray bursters, and the study of radiation produced by interstellar shock waves. [2]
Jernigan began working for NASA in June 1981 at the Ames Research Center while earning her degrees at Stanford and Berkeley. She worked in the Theoretical Studies Branch as a research scientist until June 1985 when she was among the 13 people selected as astronaut candidates. [3]
She entered the NASA Astronaut Corps in July 1986. Her first trip to space was on June 5, 1991. [4] She flew on five Space Shuttle program missions (three on Columbia [5] [6] [7] and one each on Endeavour [8] and Discovery [9] ) and logged over 1512 hours in space. In her last mission on Discovery in 1999, she performed an extra-vehicular activity for 7 hours and 55.5 minutes. [10]
Jernigan has served as Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office, assisting with the management of both military and civilian astronauts and support personnel and as Deputy for the Space Station program where she developed and advocated Astronaut Office positions on the design and operation of the International Space Station. She also represented NASA management on the U.S. negotiating team in Moscow during technical interchange meetings designed to resolve crew training, crew rotation, and operational issues. [2]
Jernigan retired from NASA in 2001 and currently serves as Deputy Principal Associate Director in the Weapons and Complex Integration (WCI) organization at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. [1]
Jernigan is the recipient of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal. [2]
She currently resides in Pleasanton, California. She is married to former astronaut Peter Wisoff and has two children, Jeffrey Wisoff and Michael Wisoff. Both Peter and Jeffrey currently work at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
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.
Thomas Dale Akers is a former American astronaut in NASA's Space Shuttle program.
Kenneth Dwane "Sox" Bowersox is a United States Navy officer and former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of five Space Shuttle launches and an extended stay aboard the International Space Station. When he launched on STS-73 at the age of 38 years and 11 months, he became the youngest person to command a Space Shuttle.
Kenneth Dale "Taco" Cockrell is a retired American astronaut, engineer and a veteran of five Space Shuttle missions. He served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1997 to 1998.
Nancy Jan Davis is a former American astronaut. A veteran of three space flights, Davis logged over 673 hours in space. She is now retired from NASA.
Curtis Lee "Curt" Brown Jr. is a former NASA astronaut and retired United States Air Force colonel.
Richard James Hieb is a former NASA astronaut and a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions. He was a mission specialist on STS-39 and STS-49, and was a payload commander on STS-65. After leaving NASA he worked at AlliedSignal and Orbital before spending 14 years as an executive at Lockheed Martin. He is currently a faculty member in the University of Colorado Boulder Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences Department.
Robert Donald Cabana is a former Associate Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and retired NASA astronaut, having flown on 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.
Brian Duffy is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and a former NASA astronaut. He flew aboard four Space Shuttle missions.
Linda Maxine Godwin is an American scientist and retired NASA astronaut. 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.
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.
Stephen Scot Oswald is an American former pilot and NASA astronaut.
Peter Jeffrey Kelsay Wisoff is an American physicist and former NASA astronaut. Wisoff qualified as mission specialist and flew in four Space Shuttle missions, with his first launch in 1993 and his last in 2000.
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.
NASA Astronaut Group 16 was a group of 44 astronauts announced by NASA on May 1, 1996. The class was nicknamed "The Sardines" for being such a large class, humorously implying that their training sessions would be as tightly packed as sardines in a can. These 44 candidates compose the largest astronaut class to date. NASA selected so many candidates in preparation for the anticipated need for ISS crew members, along with regular shuttle needs. Nine of the 44 astronauts selected were from other countries, including 1 each from 5 Europe nations and 2 each from Canada and Japan.
NASA Astronaut Group 15 was a group of 23 NASA astronauts announced on December 8, 1994. Group members adopted The Flying Escargot as their moniker, in reference to two members of the group being from France. The group featured ten pilots, nine mission specialists, and four international mission specialist trainees from France, Canada and Japan.
NASA Astronaut Group 9 was a group of 19 NASA astronauts announced on May 29, 1980, and completed their training by 1981. This group was selected to supplement the 35 astronauts that had been selected in 1978, and marked the first time that non-Americans were trained as mission specialists with the selections of ESA astronauts Claude Nicollier and Wubbo Ockels. In keeping with the previous group, astronaut candidates were divided into pilots and mission specialists, with eight pilots, eleven mission specialists, and two international mission specialists within the group.
NASA Astronaut Group 12 was a group of 15 astronauts announced by NASA on June 5, 1987.
NASA Astronaut Group 14 was a group of 24 astronauts announced by NASA on 31 March 1992. The group's name derived from The Muppet Show skit "Pigs in Space" and from the group's sponsorship of a pot-bellied pig at the Houston Zoo.
NASA Astronaut Group 11 was a group of 13 NASA astronauts announced on 4 June 1985.