Donald A. Thomas
| Donald Thomas | |
|---|---|
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| Country: | United States |
| Organization: | NASA |
| selected on | Jan 17, 1990 ( 13th NASA Group ) |
| Calls: | 4 space flights |
| Start of the first space flight: |
July 8, 1994 |
| Landing of the last space flight: |
July 17, 1997 |
| Time in space: | 43d 8h 13min |
| retired on | July 2007 |
| Space flights | |
Donald Alan Thomas (born May 6, 1955 in Cleveland , Ohio ) is a retired American astronaut .
Thomas received a bachelor's degree in physics from Case Western Reserve University in 1977 and a masters degree in 1980 and a PhD in materials science from Cornell University in 1982 .
In 1982 Thomas started at AT&T Bell Laboratories . He also taught physics at Trenton State College in New Jersey . In 1987 he moved to Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Company . There he developed and reviewed materials for space projects. He was also responsible for the Microgravity Disturbances Experiment , an experiment that examined crystal growth on the STS-32 mission .
Astronaut activity
After an unsuccessful application for the twelfth group of astronauts, Thomas was selected by NASA in January 1990 as an astronaut candidate with the thirteenth group. He was the liaison speaker ( CAPCOM ) for the shuttle missions STS-47 , STS-52 and STS-53 . From July 1999 to June 2000 he was Director of Operations at NASA at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Svyosdny Gorodok near Moscow.
STS-65
For the STS-65 mission , Thomas flew into space for the first time as a mission specialist on the Columbia space shuttle on July 8, 1994. Around seven dozen experiments from the fields of biology and materials science were on the program during the 15-day Spacelab flight. On July 23, the Columbia landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida .
STS-70
On July 13, 1995, Thomas started as a mission specialist with the space shuttle Discovery on his second mission into space . The main task was to deploy the TDRS-G relay satellite .
STS-83
On April 4, 1997, Thomas took off into space on the Columbia space shuttle . The payload was the Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL-1). Due to a problem with one of the shuttle's fuel cells , the mission had to be shortened and the landing took place after just under four days. NASA decided to repeat the mission three months later with the same crew.
STS-94
On July 1, 1997, Columbia started again on the MSL-1 mission, which was prematurely terminated on the first attempt. This time the experiments in the Microgravity Science Laboratory could be carried out successfully. This included, above all, experiments to research the physical properties of supercooled liquid mixtures and the combustion processes on solid and liquid materials as well as the production of pure protein crystals .
ISS
Thomas was planned as a member of the sixth long-term crew for the International Space Station (2002/2003). However, he was unable to fly for medical reasons. Most recently, he was responsible for experiments that were carried out on the ISS.
According to NASA
In July 2007, Thomas retired from NASA and became the director of the Willard Hackerman Academy of Mathematics and Science at the Jess and Mildred College for Science and Mathematics at Towson University on August 1, 2007 .
Private
Donald Thomas is married with one child.
See also
Web links
- Short biography of Donald A. Thomas at spacefacts.de
- NASA biography of Donald A. Thomas (English; PDF)
- Biography of Donald A. Thomas in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Thomas, Donald A. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Thomas, Donald Alan (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American astronaut |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 6, 1955 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cleveland , Ohio , United States |