| Timothy L. Kopra | |
|---|---|
| NASA Astronaut | |
| Nationality | American |
| Status | Active |
| Born | April 9, 1963 Austin, Texas |
| Other occupation | Aviator |
| Rank | Colonel, U.S. Army |
| Time in space | 58 days, 2 hours, 50 minutes |
| Selection | 2000 NASA Group |
| Total EVAs | 1 |
| Total EVA time | 5 hours 32 minutes |
| Missions | STS-127, Expedition 20, STS-128 |
| Mission insignia | |
Timothy Lennart Kopra (born April 9, 1963, in Austin, Texas) is a colonel in the United States Army and a NASA astronaut. Kopra deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Desert Storm as a member of the 3rd Armored Division. He served aboard the International Space Station as a flight engineer for Expedition 20, returning to Earth aboard space shuttle Discovery on the STS-128 mission on September 11, 2009.
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Kopra is married to Dawn Kaye Lehman of Lewisburg, Kentucky, and they have two children, Matthew and Jacqueline. His mother, Martha A. Kopra, resides in Austin, Texas. His father, Dr. Lennart L. Kopra, died 8 December 1998. He is of Finnish descent on his father's side. His grandfather, Antti Kopra, born in Laavola, Valkjärvi, Karelia, and his grandmother, Ester Elisabet Saksinen, born in Helsinki, left Finland in 1914, immigrating to the United States. Kopra's father spoke Finnish, but Tim does not speak the language. [1] [2]
Kopra was assigned to NASA at the Johnson Space Center in September 1998 as a vehicle integration test engineer. In this position, he primarily served as an engineering liaison for Space Shuttle launch operations and International Space Station hardware testing. He was actively involved in the contractor tests of the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) interfaces for each of the space station truss segments.
Selected as a mission specialist by NASA in July 2000, Kopra reported for Astronaut Candidate Training the following month. He then completed the initial two years of intensive Space Shuttle and ISS training, scientific and technical briefings, and T-38 flight training. Kopra was also assigned technical duties in the Space Station Branch of the Astronaut Office, where his primary focus was the testing of crew interfaces for two future ISS modules as well as the implementation of support computers and operational Local Area Network on International Space Station.
In September 2006, Kopra served as an aquanaut during the NEEMO 11 mission aboard the Aquarius underwater laboratory, living and working underwater for seven days.[3]
Kopra spent a little less than 60 days as a Flight Engineer of Expedition 20 on the ISS.[4]
Kopra was assigned to fly on STS-133, the final flight of the Discovery. He lost that assignment when he was injured in a bicycle accident, possibly breaking his hip. He was replaced by Stephen G. Bowen.[5][6]
| Ribbon | Description | Notes |
| Bronze Star Medal | ||
| Meritorious Service Medal | with oak leaf clusters | |
| Air Medal | ||
| Army Commendation Medal | ||
| Army Achievement Medal | ||
| National Defense Service Medal | with one award star | |
| Southwest Asia Service Medal | ||
| Army Service Ribbon | ||
| Army Overseas Service Ribbon | ||
| NASA Distinguished Service Medal | ||
| NASA Space Flight Medal |
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