Tracy Caldwell Dyson

Last updated

Tracy Caldwell Dyson
Tracy E Caldwell portrait.jpg
Caldwell Dyson in April 2007
Born
Tracy Ellen Caldwell

(1969-08-14) August 14, 1969 (age 54)
Arcadia, California, U.S
Education California State University, Fullerton (BS)
University of California, Davis (MS, PhD)
Space career
NASA astronaut
Time in space
Currently in space
Selection NASA Group 17 (1998)
Total EVAs
3
Total EVA time
22h 49m
Missions STS-118
Soyuz TMA-18 (Expedition 23/24)
Soyuz MS-25 (Expedition 70/71)
Mission insignia
 STS-118 patch new.png ISS Expedition 23 Patch.svg ISS Expedition 24 Patch.svg ISS Expedition 70 Patch.svg ISS Expedition 71 Patch.png
Scientific career
Fields Physical chemistry
Thesis A Mechanistic and Kinetic Study of Heterocycle and Cyclization Chemistry on Pd(111) Using Laser-Induced Thermal Desorption with Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry  (1997)

Tracy Caldwell Dyson (born Tracy Ellen Caldwell; August 14, 1969) is an American chemist and NASA astronaut. She was a mission specialist on Space Shuttle Endeavour flight STS-118 in August 2007 and part of the Expedition 23 and Expedition 24 crew on the International Space Station from April 2010 to September 2010. She has completed three spacewalks, logging more than 22 hours of extravehicular activity. [1] [2] She is currently in space since March 23, 2024 for a third time, for a six-month mission onboard the ISS.

Contents

Early life and education

Caldwell Dyson was born in Arcadia, California. [1] She is the younger of two girls. In the early 1980s, she and her family moved to Beaumont, California, where her father worked as an electrician and where she attended junior high school. Her recreational interests included running, weight training, hiking, softball, basketball, and auto repair and maintenance.

She attended California State University, Fullerton, where she competed on the CSUF Titans' track and field team as a sprinter and long jumper. [3] She is married to U.S. Naval aviator George Dyson. [2] She believes in God, [4] and was raised as a Methodist. [ citation needed ].

As an undergraduate researcher at California State University, Fullerton, she designed, constructed and implemented electronics and hardware associated with a laser-ionization, time-of-flight mass spectrometer for studying atmospherically relevant gas-phase chemistry. [5] [6] She also worked as a lab assistant in the university's research and instructional safety office, where she performed environmental monitoring of laboratories using hazardous chemicals and radioactive materials and calibrated survey instruments and helped process chemical and radioactive waste. During college and after it, she also worked as an electrician and inside wireman for her father's electrical contracting company, where she performed commercial and light industrial construction. [1]

At the University of California, Davis, Caldwell Dyson taught general chemistry laboratory and began her graduate research. Her dissertation work focused on investigating molecular-level surface reactivity and kinetics of metal surfaces using electron spectroscopy, laser desorption, and Fourier transform mass spectrometry techniques. [7] She also designed and built peripheral components for a variable temperature, ultra-high vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy system. [1]

In 1997, Caldwell Dyson received the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Science to study atmospheric chemistry at the University of California, Irvine. [8] There, she investigated reactivity and kinetics of atmospherically relevant systems using atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared and ultraviolet absorption spectroscopies. In addition, she developed methods of chemical ionization for spectral interpretation of trace compounds. Caldwell Dyson has published and presented her work in numerous papers at technical conferences and in scientific journals. [1]

Career

NASA

Caldwell Dyson during celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the first Moon landing in 2009 TracyCaldwellByPhilKonstantin.jpg
Caldwell Dyson during celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the first Moon landing in 2009

In June 1998, Caldwell Dyson was hired by NASA, and began NASA training two months later, in August 1998. Her astronaut candidate training included orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) systems, physiological training, ground school to prepare for T-38 flight training, as well as learning water and wilderness survival techniques. Completion of this training and evaluation qualified her for flight assignment as a mission specialist.

In 1999, Caldwell Dyson was assigned to the Astronaut Office ISS Operations Branch as a Russian Crusader, participating in the testing and integration of Russian hardware and software products developed for ISS. In 2000, she was assigned prime crew support astronaut for the ISS Expedition 5 crew, serving as their representative on technical and operational issues throughout the training and on-orbit phase of their mission. During ISS Expeditions 4 through 6, Caldwell Dyson served as an ISS spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) inside Mission Control. In 2003, she made a transition to the Astronaut Shuttle Operations Branch and was assigned to flight software verification in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory and worked supporting launch and landing operations at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Caldwell Dyson also served as Lead CAPCOM for Expedition 11.

Between her second and third flights, Caldwell Dyson continued to work inside Houston’s Mission Control Center as CAPCOM for both space shuttle and space station operations, serving as the lead CAPCOM for various ISS missions, including the lead and development of the CAPCOM cadre for Boeing Starliner Mission Operations team. She was also the ground IV for US EVA 32, performed by Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren.

Caldwell Dyson initiated and led several projects to improve training and operations aboard the ISS, most notably developing the EVA Qualification training flow (EVQ) for astronaut candidates.

As Tracy Dyson, she is the host of a series on NASA TV called StationLife, which focuses on facets of life aboard the International Space Station. [9]

On March 21, 2017, Dyson stood behind President Trump as he signed a bill for NASA to send humans to Mars in the 2030s and receive $19.5 billion in 2018 funding. Dyson and fellow NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy presented Trump with an official flight jacket during the ceremony. [10]

STS-118

Caldwell Dyson was assigned to STS-118 on May 17, 2006. It was announced that she would serve as mission specialist 1 on the first flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour after the Columbia disaster.

On August 8, 2007, Caldwell Dyson lifted off for the first time on the 119th Space Shuttle flight, the 22nd flight to the station, and the 20th flight for Endeavour. During the mission, she successfully added another truss segment, a new gyroscope and external spare parts platform to the International Space Station. A new system that enables docked shuttles to draw electrical power from the station to extend visits to the outpost was activated successfully. A total of four spacewalks (EVAs) were performed by three crew members. Endeavour carried some 5,000 pounds of equipment and supplies to the station and returned to Earth with some 4,000 pounds of hardware and no-longer-needed equipment. Traveling 5.3 million miles in space, the STS-118 mission was completed in 12 days, 17 hours, 55 minutes and 34 seconds. On day 7 of the flight of STS-118, Caldwell-Dyson celebrated her 38th birthday in space.

Expedition 23/24

The three astronauts of STS-131 and Tracy Caldwell (bottom left) on ISS Expedition 23, the first time four women were in space at the same time STS-131 ISS-23 Four Astronauts.jpg
The three astronauts of STS-131 and Tracy Caldwell (bottom left) on ISS Expedition 23, the first time four women were in space at the same time

Caldwell Dyson was assigned for her second space flight on November 21, 2008. Her second space mission consisted of a six-month mission to the International Space Station. [12]

After a successful liftoff on April 2, 2010, from the Baikonur spaceport on board the Soyuz TMA-18 as Board Engineer 2 with Soyuz Commander Aleksandr Skvortsov and Board Engineer 1 Mikhail Korniyenko and following a two-day rendezvous and docking maneuver with the ISS, she joined Expedition 23 as a flight engineer and transferred on June 2, 2010, to Expedition 24 again as a flight engineer after the departure of the Soyuz TMA-17.

During the first half of her flight, Caldwell-Dyson and the Expedition 23 crew were joined by the STS-131 crew from April 7 to April 17. This period was the first and only time that four women were together on board the same spacecraft: Caldwell-Dyson, NASA astronauts Stephanie Wilson and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, and JAXA astronaut Naoko Yamazaki. From May 16 to May 23, the second and last Space Shuttle visiting mission for Caldwell-Dyson's flight, STS-132, joined the Expedition 23 crew for the installation of the Russian-built module Rassvet.

The second half of Caldwell-Dyson's mission was marked by the failure of a coolant pump at the beginning of August. Caldwell Dyson performed her first spacewalk on August 7, 2010, with NASA astronaut Douglas Wheelock. The task for this first of three contingency EVAs was to prepare the malfunctioning coolant pump for replacement on the next spacewalks; this took place on August 11, 2010, and August 16, 2010. She performed all of this contingency EVA. [13]

After 176 days, 1 hour, 18 minutes and 38 seconds in space, Caldwell-Dyson landed in Kazakhstan on September 25, 2010. [14] During this spaceflight, she completed three spacewalks, logging 22 hrs and 49 minutes of EVA work to replace a malfunctioning coolant pump. [13]

Tracy Caldwell Dyson during live coverage of a SLS Green Run Test Tracy Caldwell Dyson during live coverage of SLS Green Run Test.jpg
Tracy Caldwell Dyson during live coverage of a SLS Green Run Test

Expedition 70/71

Since December 2021, Tracy Caldwell-Dyson has been back in flight training as a backup crew member of the Soyuz MS-24. She backed up her NASA astronaut colleague Loral O'Hara. [15]

On May 29, 2023, she was officially assigned to the Soyuz MS-25. She launched on 23 March 2024 with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky and Belarusian cosmonaut Marina Vasilevskaya. She is planned to return after six months on 24 September 2024 with Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub. [16]

Other activities

Caldwell Dyson observing Earth from the Cupola module of the International Space Station Tracy Caldwell Dyson in Cupola ISS.jpg
Caldwell Dyson observing Earth from the Cupola module of the International Space Station

Caldwell Dyson is a private pilot. She is conversational in American Sign Language and Russian. [5] [17]

She is also the lead vocalist for the all-astronaut band Max Q. [18]

In 2011, Caldwell Dyson served as the guest judge on a space-themed episode of the Food Network show Cupcake Wars . [19] She appeared on Episode 3 of MasterChef Junior Season 4. [20]

Caldwell Dyson advised Jessica Chastain when the actress was preparing to appear as an astronaut and mission commander in the 2015 movie The Martian. Chastain said she was very inspired by Caldwell Dyson. [21]

Caldwell Dyson is a member of Sigma Xi Research Society and the American Chemical Society. [22]

Awards and honors

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yuri Malenchenko</span> Russian cosmonaut (born 1961)

Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko is a retired Russian cosmonaut. Malenchenko became the first person to marry in space, on 10 August 2003, when he married Ekaterina Dmitrieva, who was in Texas, while he was 240 miles (390 km) over New Zealand, on the International Space Station. As of December 2023, Malenchenko ranks third for career time in space due to his time on both Mir and the International Space Station (ISS). He is a former commander of the International Space Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yury Lonchakov</span> Russian cosmonaut (born 1965)

Yury Valentinovich Lonchakov is a Russian former cosmonaut and a veteran of three space missions. He has spent 200 days in space and has conducted two spacewalks. From 2014 to 2017, Lonchakov served as head of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peggy Whitson</span> American astronaut and biochemistry researcher (born 1960)

Peggy Annette Whitson is an American biochemistry researcher, and astronaut working for Axiom Space. She retired from NASA in 2018, after serving as Chief Astronaut. Over all her missions, Whitson has a total of 675 days in space, more than any other American or woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-102</span> 2001 American crewed spaceflight to the ISS

STS-102 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Discovery and launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. STS-102 flew in March 2001; its primary objectives were resupplying the ISS and rotating the Expedition 1 and Expedition 2 crews. At eight hours 56 minutes, the first EVA performed on the mission remains the longest spacewalk ever undertaken.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Kelly (astronaut)</span> American engineer and astronaut (born 1964)

Scott Joseph Kelly is an American engineer, retired astronaut, and naval aviator. A veteran of four space flights, Kelly commanded the International Space Station (ISS) on Expeditions 26, 45, and 46.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Fincke</span> American astronaut and USAF colonel (born 1967)

Edward Michael "Mike"/"Spanky" Fincke is an American astronaut who formerly held the American record for the most time in space. His record was broken by Scott Kelly on October 16, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pavel Vinogradov</span> Russian cosmonaut (born 1953)

Pavel Vladimirovich Vinogradov is a former cosmonaut and commander of the International Space Station. He has flown into space three times, aboard Mir and the International Space Station, and was one of the top 10 astronauts in terms of total time in space after his third spaceflight. Vinogradov has also conducted seven spacewalks in his cosmonaut career, and holds the record for the oldest person to perform a spacewalk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soichi Noguchi</span> Japanese astronaut and engineer (born 1965)

Soichi Noguchi is a Japanese aeronautical engineer and former JAXA astronaut. His first spaceflight was as a mission specialist aboard STS-114 on 26 July 2005 for NASA's first "return to flight" Space Shuttle mission after the Columbia disaster. He was also in space as part of the Soyuz TMA-17 crew and Expedition 22 to the International Space Station (ISS), returning to Earth on 2 June 2010. He is the sixth Japanese astronaut to fly in space, the fifth to fly on the Space Shuttle, and the first to fly on Crew Dragon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael E. Fossum</span> American astronaut and engineer (born 1957)

Michael Edward Fossum is a former American astronaut, engineer, and the Chief Operating Officer of Texas A&M University at Galveston. He flew into space on board the NASA Space Shuttle missions STS-121 and STS-124 and served as a mission specialist of Expedition 28 and commander of Expedition 29 aboard the International Space Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunita Williams</span> American astronaut and Navy officer (born 1965)

Sunita Lyn Williams, nicknamed Suni in the United States and Sončka in Slovenia, is an American astronaut, United States Navy officer, and former record holder for most spacewalks by a woman (seven) and most spacewalk time for a woman. Williams was assigned to the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 14 and Expedition 15. In 2012, she served as a flight engineer on Expedition 32 and then commander of Expedition 33.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas H. Wheelock</span> American engineer and astronaut (born 1960)

Douglas Harry "Wheels" Wheelock is an American engineer and astronaut. He has flown in space twice, logging 178 days on the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, and Russian Soyuz. On July 12, 2011, Wheelock announced that he would be returning to active duty with the United States Army in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He is currently working with NASA to test the Orion spacecraft at the Glenn Research Center in Plum Brook, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-132</span> 2010 American crewed spaceflight to the ISS

STS-132 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission, during which Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with the International Space Station on May 16, 2010. STS-132 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on May 14, 2010. The primary payload was the Russian Rassvet Mini-Research Module, along with an Integrated Cargo Carrier-Vertical Light Deployable (ICC-VLD). Atlantis landed at the Kennedy Space Center on May 26, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Expedition 15</span>

Expedition 15 was the 15th expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). Four crew members participated in the expedition, although for most of the expedition's duration only three were on the station at any one time. During Expedition 15, the ISS Integrated Truss Structure was expanded twice: STS-117 brought the S3/S4 truss, and STS-118 brought the S5 truss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shannon Walker</span> American scientist and NASA astronaut

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randolph Bresnik</span> United States Marine Corps officer and a NASA astronaut on three expeditions

Randolph James "Komrade" Bresnik is a retired officer in the United States Marine Corps and an active NASA astronaut. A Marine Aviator by trade, Bresnik was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Group 19 in May 2004. He first launched to space on STS-129, then served as flight engineer for Expedition 52, and as ISS commander for Expedition 53.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Marshburn</span> American physician and NASA astronaut

Thomas Henry 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akihiko Hoshide</span> Japanese astronaut and engineer (born 1968)

Akihiko Hoshide is a Japanese engineer, JAXA astronaut, and former commander of the International Space Station. On August 30, 2012, Hoshide became the third Japanese astronaut to walk in space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Barratt (astronaut)</span> American aerospace medicine physician and astronaut born 1959

Michael Reed Barratt is an American physician and a NASA astronaut. Specializing in aerospace medicine, he served as a flight surgeon for NASA before his selection as an astronaut and has played a role in developing NASA's space medicine programs for both the Shuttle-Mir Program and International Space Station. His first spaceflight was a long-duration mission to the International Space Station, as a flight engineer in the Expedition 19 and 20 crew. In March 2011, Barratt completed his second spaceflight as a crew member of STS-133. Barratt pilots the SpaceX Crew-8 mission that launched on 4 March 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STS-134</span> 2011 American crewed spaceflight to the ISS and final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour

STS-134 was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the 25th and last spaceflight of Space ShuttleEndeavour. This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station. Mark Kelly served as the mission commander. STS-134 was expected to be the final Space Shuttle mission if STS-135 did not receive funding from Congress. However, in February 2011, NASA stated that STS-135 would fly "regardless" of the funding situation. STS-135, flown by Atlantis, took advantage of the processing for STS-335, the Launch on Need mission that would have been necessary if the STS-134 crew became stranded in orbit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Expedition 23</span>

Expedition 23 was the 23rd long-duration mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Expedition 23 began with the Soyuz TMA-16 undocking on 18 March 2010. Shortly thereafter cosmonauts Aleksandr Skvortsov and Mikhail Korniyenko and astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson arrived at the Space Station on Soyuz TMA-18 on 4 April 2010. The Soyuz spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 00:04 EST on 2 April 2010.

References

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration .

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Tracy Caldwell Dyson Biographical Data" (PDF). March 2016. NASA. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Wesson, Gail. "BEAUMONT: Astronaut talks about her space adventure, return". October 18, 2010. The Press Enterprise. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Romero, Oscar (April 7, 2010). "CSUF Alumna travels beyond the globe for the second time". Daily Titan. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  4. ↑ NASA Preflight Interview of Tracy Caldwell Dyson, March 23, 2010. Dyson says of her education and early career: "but I think God planted enough people in my life that said, you need to just follow your heart, you need to do what interests you." URL: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition23/dyson_interview.html.
  5. 1 2 3 "Impact of the CSU - Alumni". www2.calstate.edu. Fullerton: California State University. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  6. ↑ Seipel, Brooke E. (January 28, 2016). "The Challenger disaster, 30 years later: Mission's astronauts still inspire". Orange County Register. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  7. ↑ Caldwell, Tracy Ellen (1997). A Mechanistic and Kinetic Study of Heterocycle and Cyclization Chemistry on Pd(111) Using Laser-induced Thermal Desorption with Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry (PhD thesis). University of California, Davis. OCLC   1014023765 . Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 Reed, Dave (2004). "The Sky's No Limit". TITAN Magazine. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson hosts NASA show". Atmospheric Integrated Research at University of California, Irvine. January 19, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  10. ↑ President Trump Signs NASA Authorization Bill, March 21, 2017, retrieved March 21, 2017
  11. ↑ "Four Women will Fly in Space for the First Time in the History". Russian Federal Space Agency. April 3, 2010. Archived from the original on April 8, 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  12. ↑ "ISS-20 - ISS-26 crews assignment". NASA. November 21, 2008.
  13. 1 2 "Caldwell-Dyson EVA Spacefacts".
  14. ↑ "Soyuz TMA-18 Spacefacts".
  15. ↑ "GCTC Current crew in training".
  16. ↑ "Soyuz MS-24/25 assignment".
  17. ↑ "Astronaut Biography: Tracy E. Caldwell". Space.com. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  18. ↑ Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds. (November 15, 2010). "Home from Above". Astronomy Picture of the Day . NASA . Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  19. ↑ "Cupcake Wars Recap: The Final Frontier - FN Dish – Food Network Blog". June 30, 2011.
  20. ↑ Viralvideoz007 (January 1, 2016). "MasterChef Junior Season 4 Episode 3 - Hashtag Best Day Ever [HDTV]". Dailymotion. Retrieved December 3, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ↑ "The Martian - Jessica Chastain & Tracy Dyson Junket Interview".
  22. ↑ "Member Directory". www.sigmaxi.org. Sigma Xi. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.