Andy Thomas
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| Astronaut | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born | December 18, 1951 Adelaide, South Australia |
| Occupation1 | Aerospace engineer |
| Space time | 177d 9h 14m |
| Selection | 1992 NASA Group |
| Mission(s) | STS-77, STS-89, Mir, STS-91, STS-102, STS-114 |
| Mission insignia |      |
| 1 previous or current | |
Andrew "Andy" Sydney Withiel Thomas (born December 18, 1951 in Adelaide, South Australia) is an Australian-born US NASA astronaut. He became a U.S. citizen in December 1986.[1] He is married to NASA astronaut Shannon Walker.
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[edit] Education
Thomas was educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide before receiving a bachelor of engineering degree in mechanical engineering (with First Class Honors) from the University of Adelaide in 1973. He completed a doctorate in the same subject at the University of Adelaide in 1978.
He appears in the 1972 edition of the Adelaide University Engineering Society's annual publication, Hysteresis. The caption below a photograph of the young Thomas reads: {{quotation | "A.S.W. (Syd) Thomas: Hides his massive intellect behind a screen of silence and hair. His abilities are varied and include designing wine labels for the A.U.E.S." | Hysteresis 1972, pg 27 [2]
[edit] Spaceflight experience
In August 1993, following one year of training, Thomas was appointed a member of the NASA astronaut corps and was qualified for assignment as a Mission Specialist on Space Shuttle flight crews.
In June 1995, Thomas was named Payload Commander for STS-77, subsequently making his first space flight on board the Space Shuttle Endeavour in May 1996. He then undertook long-duration flight training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia before serving 130 days as Board Engineer 2 onboard the Russian space station Mir in 1998, launching on STS-89 and returning on STS-91. His third space flight, STS-102, increased his time spent in space to more than 177 days. For his fourth flight, he was a Mission Specialist on the Discovery "return to flight" mission (STS-114) that launched at 14:39 UTC, 26 July 2005.
He has served as Deputy Chief of NASA's Astronaut Office.
[edit] Australian astronauts
- Philip K. Chapman
- Paul D. Scully-Power
- Andy Thomas
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Astronaut blasts lack of research into space (The Sun-Herald, May 20, 2004): Comments from Thomas about state of Australian space science
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