Steven Swanson
| Steven Swanson | |
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| Country: | United States |
| Organization: | NASA |
| selected on | June 4, 1998 ( 17th NASA Group ) |
| Calls: | 3 space flights |
| Start of the first space flight: |
June 8, 2007 |
| Landing of the last space flight: |
September 11, 2014 |
| Time in space: | 195d 20h 47min |
| EVA inserts: | 5 |
| EVA total duration: | 27h 58min |
| Space flights | |
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Steven Ray Swanson (born December 3, 1960 in Syracuse , New York , USA ) is a retired American astronaut .
education
Swanson grew up in Steamboat Springs ( Colorado ), where he until 1979 High School attended. He then studied technical physics in Boulder at the University of Colorado . After completing his bachelor's degree , he studied computer science at Florida Atlantic University and received his master's degree in 1986 .
Swanson then worked for a year as a software engineer at the communications company GTE ( Verizon Wireless since 2000 ) in Arizona until he moved to NASA. At the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston ( Texas ) he initially took care of the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA), which the astronauts use as a training aircraft. The STA is equipped with an on-board computer that allows the flight behavior of a space shuttle to be simulated when approaching. He also continued his computer science studies and received his PhD from Texas A&M University in 1998 .
Astronaut activity
Swanson was introduced as one of 17 mission specialists in June 1998 after unsuccessfully applying two years earlier. 101 finalists emerged from a total of 2,618 applicants who met the formal selection criteria. In autumn 1997 they were invited to the JSC for tests, discussions and medical examinations. Following the two-year basic training, he was employed in the space station and robotics department.
STS-117
Since the spring of 2005, Swanson has been preparing for its first space flight, which took place under the designation STS-117 in June 2007. The Atlantis brought the S3 / S4 element to the International Space Station (ISS). Together with Patrick Forrester , he carried out two of the four space missions. The S3 / S4 component was mounted on the station, the solar panels extended and the second wing of the P6 solar module retracted.
STS-119
In October 2007 he was assigned to the STS-119 space mission . During this space shuttle mission, the last solar cell element on the ISS was brought into space. The launch took place on March 15, 2009. The STS-119 mission ended successfully on March 28, 2009 with the landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
ISS long-term stay
On July 25, 2011, Swanson was assigned as reserve flight engineer for ISS expeditions 37 and 38 , but was not used. For the next available expedition he then moved up to the main team. The Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft was launched on March 25, 2014, and docked with the ISS on March 27, two days later. During Expedition 39 , Swanson worked as a flight engineer. After undocking the Soyuz TMA-11M on May 13, 2014, he took command of ISS Expedition 40 . The return to earth took place on September 11, 2014.
Private
Swanson is married to Mary Drake Young and has three children.
See also
- List of spacemen
- List of space shuttle missions
- List of manned missions to the International Space Station
- List of space exits
Web links
- Short biography of Steven Swanson at spacefacts.de
- NASA biography of Steven Swanson (English; PDF)
- Biography of Steven Swanson in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Günther Glatzel: Soyuz-TMA 12M coupled to ISS. raumfahrer.net, March 28, 2014, accessed on March 28, 2014 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Swanson, Steven |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Swanson, Steven Ray |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American astronaut |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 3rd December 1960 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Syracuse (New York) , New York, United States |