Pamela Melroy

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Pamela Melroy
Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Assumed office
June 21, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byJames Morhard
Personal details
Born
Pamela Ann Melroy

(1961-09-17) September 17, 1961 (age 62)
NASA astronaut
Time in space
38d 20h 6m
SelectionNASA Group 15 (1994)
MissionsSTS-92
STS-112
STS-120
Mission insignia

Pamela Ann Melroy (born September 17, 1961) is an American retired United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut serving as the deputy administrator of NASA. She served as pilot on Space Shuttle missions STS-92 and STS-112 and commanded mission STS-120 before leaving the agency in August 2009. After serving as deputy program manager of Space Exploration Initiatives with Lockheed Martin,[1] Melroy joined the Federal Aviation Administration in 2011, where she was a senior technical advisor and director of field operations for the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation.[2]

In 2013, she left the FAA and joined DARPA as deputy director of the Tactical Technology Office. She left the agency in February 2017.

In November 2021, Melroy was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The ceremony, planned for May 2020, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3][4]

Early life and education

Melroy was born in

Iona College in New Rochelle, New York
.

Career

Military

Melroy was commissioned through

Desert Storm, with over 200 combat and combat support hours. In June 1991, she attended the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Upon her graduation, she was assigned to the C-17
Combined Test Force, where she served as a test pilot until her selection for the astronaut program. She has logged over 5,000 hours of flight time in over 50 different aircraft. Melroy retired from the Air Force in February 2007.

NASA

Melroy's Astronaut Support Personnel Book with a message from Neil Armstrong

Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in December 1994, Melroy reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995. She completed a year of training and evaluation and was qualified for flight assignment as a shuttle pilot. Initially assigned to astronaut support duties for launch and landing, she also worked Advanced Projects for the Astronaut Office. She also performed CAPCOM duties in mission control. Melroy served on the Columbia Reconstruction Team as the lead for the crew module and served as deputy project manager for the Columbia crew survival investigation team. In her final position, she served as branch chief for the Orion branch of the Astronaut Office.

Melroy served as pilot on two flights (STS-92 in 2000 and STS-112 in 2002), and was the mission commander on STS-120 in 2007, making her the second woman to command a Space Shuttle mission (after Eileen Collins).[7] The STS-120 crew visited the station during Expedition 16, commanded by Peggy Whitson. Whitson was the first female ISS commander, making the STS-120 mission the first time that two female mission commanders were in orbit at the same time.[8][9]

She has logged over 924 hours (over 38 days) in space.[8]

Spaceflight experience

  • S1 Truss
    (the third piece of the station's 11-piece Integrated Truss Structure). It took three spacewalks to outfit and activate the new component, during which Melroy acted as internal spacewalk choreographer. STS-112 was the first shuttle mission to use a camera on the External Tank, providing a live view of the launch to flight controllers and NASA TV viewers. The mission was accomplished in 170 orbits, traveling 4.5 million miles in 10 days, 19 hours, and 58 minutes.
  • Node 2
    element named Harmony was delivered to the International Space Station. This element opened up the capability for future international laboratories to be added to the station. In addition, the P6 Solar Array was re-located from the Z1 Truss to the end of the port side of the Integrated Truss Structure. During the re-deploy of the array, the array panels snagged and were damaged. An unplanned spacewalk was successfully performed to repair the array. The mission was accomplished in 238 orbits, traveling 6.2 million miles in 15 days, 2 hours, and 23 minutes.

Deputy administrator

Pam Melroy in 2022

In November 2020, Melroy was announced as a member of

James Bridenstine had indicated that he did not intend to stay in the role under Biden, even if asked).[11][12]

On April 16, 2021, The White House announced their intent to nominate Melroy to be NASA's deputy administrator, under former Democratic Senator Bill Nelson, who was nominated by the White House on March 19, 2021, to be the agency's administrator.[13] On April 22, 2021, her nomination was sent to the Senate.[14] The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing on May 20, 2021, in which Melroy won strong bipartisan support to be deputy administrator. During her hearing, Melroy expressed support for extending the lifetime of the International Space Station, and said she would work closely with Administrator Bill Nelson in running the agency.[15]

On June 16, 2021, her nomination was reported out of the

Senate Commerce Committee by voice vote, and the following day, her nomination was confirmed by the full Senate by unanimous consent.[16] On June 21, 2021, she was sworn into office by administrator Bill Nelson.[17]

Personal life

Melroy is married to Douglas Hollett, a geologist, who was previously acting

assistant secretary for fossil energy in the United States Department of Energy and vice president for Southeast Asia exploration at Marathon Oil.[10]

References

  1. ^ "NASA - Veteran Astronaut Pam Melroy Leaves NASA". www.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on July 26, 2009. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  2. ^ "Pamela A. Melroy (Colonel, USAF, Ret.) – Senior Technical Advisor". www.faa.gov.
  3. ^ "Rochester woman to be inducted into US Astronaut Hall of Fame". WSYR. January 25, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  4. ^ "1-on-1 with Pamela Melroy: Rochester native to be inducted in Astronaut Hall of Fame". RochesterFirst. January 24, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  5. ^ "Bishop Kearney honors former student, Astronaut Col. Pamela Melroy". RochesterFirst. November 9, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  6. ^ Juliet Homes (2023). "RFrom Star Trek Posters to NASA: The Journey of Pamela Melroy '83". Wellesley College. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  7. ^ Malik, Tariq (June 19, 2006). "NASA Names Second Female Shuttle Commander". Space.com. Retrieved June 19, 2006.
  8. ^ a b "Astronaut Bio: PAMELA ANN MELROY (COLONEL, USAF, RET.), NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)" (PDF). NASA. April 2013. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  9. ^ Becker, Joachim. "Astronaut Biography: Pamela Melroy". www.spacefacts.de.
  10. ^ a b Dunn, Marcia (October 20, 2007). "Female-led crew gets ready for mission". msnbc.com. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  11. ^ "Agency Review Teams". President-Elect Joe Biden. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  12. ^ "Space is on the ballot too". Politico. October 30, 2020.
  13. ^ Foust, Jeff (April 16, 2021). "White House nominates Melroy to be NASA deputy administrator". Space News. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  14. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, April 22, 2021
  15. ^ "Melroy wins strong support at hearing to be NASA deputy administrator". spacenews.com. May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  16. ^ "PN406 - Nomination of Pamela A. Melroy for National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  17. ^ "Pam Melroy Sworn in as NASA Deputy Administrator" (Press release). NASA. June 21, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.

External links

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