Andy Thomas
Andy Thomas | |
---|---|
NASA astronaut | |
Time in space | 177d 9h 14m |
Selection | NASA Group 14 (1992) |
Missions | STS-77 STS-89/91 (Mir EO-24/EO-25) STS-102 STS-114 |
Mission insignia |
Andrew Sydney Withiel "Andy" Thomas,
Education
Thomas went to St Andrews Primary School, Adelaide at Walkerville in South Australia and subsequently to
He appears in the 1972 edition of the Adelaide University Engineering Society's (AUES) annual publication, Hysteresis. The caption below a photograph of the 21-year-old Thomas reads:
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 2000 , pg 27[5]
He is the great-great-grandson of
Early career
As a child, growing up in
NASA career
Thomas was selected by NASA in March 1992 and reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1992. In August 1993, following one year of training, he was appointed a member of the NASA Astronaut Corps and was qualified for an assignment as a mission specialist on Space Shuttle flight crews.
While awaiting space flight assignment, Thomas supported shuttle launch and landing operations as an Astronaut Support Person (ASP) at the
He next trained at the
NASA officially announced Thomas' retirement on 20 June 2014, which took effect on 1 March 2014, after 22 years with the space agency.
Spaceflights
STS-77 was a mission during which the crew deployed two satellites, tested a large inflatable space structure on orbit and conducted a variety of scientific experiments in a Spacehab laboratory module carried in Endeavour's payload bay. The flight was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on 19 May 1996 and completed 160 orbits 153 nautical miles (283 km) above the Earth while traveling 4.1 million miles and logging 240 hours and 39 minutes in space.
On 22 January 1998, Thomas launched aboard Space Shuttle
STS-114 Discovery (26 July – 9 August 2005) was the Return to Flight mission following the Columbia accident during which the crew continued the assembly of the International Space Station. Thomas tested and evaluated new procedures for flight safety and inspection and repair techniques for the Shuttle's thermal protection system. After a 2-week, 5.8 million mile journey in space, the orbiter Discovery and its crew returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Mission duration was 333 hours, 32 minutes, 48 seconds.
Post-NASA career
On the 20th of November 2020 the Andy Thomas Foundation was launched. The purpose was to advance space education, raise space awareness, and contribute to the Australian space community.[8]
Honours and awards
- 2001: Centenary Medal[11]
- 2018: Life Membership of the Space Industry Association of Australia[12]
- One of the main roads near the International and Domestic Terminal at Adelaide International Airport (ADL) is named Andy Thomas Drive in his honour.
References
- ^ "Rocket man". 19 February 2004.
- ^ JPL NASA - Press release 1992 1430:(2 April 1992)Dr. Andrew S. W. Thomas has been selected as one of 19 new astronaut candidates for the Space Shuttle program
- ^ a b c d Halfpenny, Kate (3 June 1996), "Rocketman", Who Weekly, p. 39
- ^ South Australia's first NASA astronaut Archived 9 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine - website of the University of Adelaide
- ^ The University of Adelaide - School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering - Hysteresis 1972, pg 27 Archived 25 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ About Frederick George Waterhouse Archived 29 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine, www.thewaterhouse.com.au
- ^ "NASA-7 Andy Thomas".
- ^ "The Andy Thomas Space Foundation". The Andy Thomas Space Foundation. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ Officer of the Order of Australia, 26 January 2000, Citation: For service to science and technology through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) programme as an astronaut and for contributions to the human exploration of space.
- ^ "Australia Day 2000 Honours". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Special (National : 1977 - 2012). 26 January 2000. p. 1. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ Centenary Medal, 1 January 2001, Citation: For service to Australian society in astronautics and space exploration.
- ^ "Home". Archived from the original on 10 December 2018.
Further reading
- Colin Burgess. Australia's Astronauts: Three Men and a Spaceflight Dream, Kangaroo Press, 1999.
External links
- NASA Astronaut Bio: Andrew S. W. Thomas (Ph.D.)(March 2014)
- Astronaut blasts lack of research into space (The Sun-Herald, 20 May 2004): Comments from Thomas about state of Australian space science
- Ri Aus - people in Science
- National Museum of Australia: A fragment of wooden propeller from the Southern Cross, flown by Charles Kingsford Smith in the 1920s and 30s, which was taken into space by Andy Thomas in 2001 to honour Kingsford Smith's aviation achievements.