Rhea Seddon
Rhea Seddon | |
---|---|
NASA astronaut | |
Time in space | 30d 2h 21m |
Selection | NASA Group 8 (1978) |
Missions | STS-51-D STS-40 STS-58 |
Mission insignia | |
Website | Official website |
Margaret Rhea Seddon (born November 8, 1947) is an American surgeon and retired
A graduate of the
Seddon became an astronaut on August 9, 1979, after selection as a candidate the year prior. At NASA her development work included the
Early life and education
Margaret Rhea Seddon was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on November 8, 1947,[1] the first child of Edward C. Seddon,[2] a lawyer, and his wife Clayton Ransom née Dann. She had a younger sister, Louise. Seddon was named after her maternal grandmother,[3] and known by her middle name, Rhea, which is pronounced "ray".[4] She grew up in Murfreesboro, where she attended St. Rose of Lima Catholic School. The nuns at St. Rose did not teach science until the Sputnik crisis made it a national priority. A science teacher was then recruited, and Seddon began studying science in the seventh grade. In 1960 she wrote a school report on what would happen to people who ventured into space.[5] She attended Central High School in Murfreesboro,[6] where she was a cheerleader.[3] She graduated in 1965.[6]
A friend of the family, Lois Kennedy, was a physician—Seddon worked in her office one summer—and inspired her to pursue a career in medicine. Another friend of the family, Florence Ridley, a professor of English at the University of California, Los Angeles, recommended some universities in California with good life sciences programs.[7] Seddon entered the University of California, Berkeley, where she joined the Sigma Kappa sorority.[8][9] Her father had been on the board of directors of Rutherford County Hospital, which was opening a new coronary care unit in the summer after her freshman year, and he arranged for Seddon to spend her summer there as an aide. However, the new center's opening was delayed, and she spent the summer working in the surgical unit, where she decided to become a surgeon.[7] She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in physiology in 1970.[2]
During her senior year at Berkeley, Seddon was accepted by the
NASA career
Selection
On July 8, 1976, the
From 8,079 applicants NASA identified 208 for further screening, conducted in groups of about twenty. Seddon was contacted by Jay F. Honeycutt from NASA and was asked to come to the Johnson Space Center (JSC) for a week of interviews and physical examinations, beginning August 29, 1977. Her group of twenty applicants was the first one that included women. Among the eight women in the group were Anna Sims, Shannon Lucid, Nitza Cintron, and Millie Hughes-Wiley.[16] Afterwards, she returned to the Memphis Veterans Administration Hospital, where she commenced a residency in plastic surgery. She soon changed course again after she developed a particular interest in the nutrition of surgery patients. In January 1978 journalist Jules Bergman asked if he could interview her on Good Morning America, and he revealed that she had been selected for astronaut training; Seddon received official word from George Abbey, NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations on January 16.[17] The names of the 35 successful candidates in NASA Astronaut Group 8 were publicly released later that day.[2]
Training
New selections were considered
A particularly difficult part of the curriculum for Seddon was
As an astronaut candidate, Seddon drew a
Seddon officially became an astronaut in August 1979, after NASA decided that one year of training was sufficient.
In February 1981 Seddon became engaged to fellow astronaut Robert L. "Hoot" Gibson. They were married on May 30 in a ceremony at the First United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro, followed by a reception at the Stones River Country Club. A second reception was held in Houston, followed by a honeymoon in Hawaii. Seddon (who retained her maiden name) then resumed her role with search and rescue in preparation for the upcoming STS-2 mission. She also worked in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory, where the Space Shuttle's software was tested.[29][30]
Seddon's first child was born in July 1982 and was named Paul Seddon Gibson after Gibson's father. Gibson already had one child, a daughter called Julie, from his first marriage. While many astronauts had children, this was the first child born to an astronaut couple. The newborn suffered from a serious condition arising from inhaling
Space flights
In August 1983 Abbey offered Seddon a flight assignment on STS-41-E, which she accepted.
The mission was scheduled to lift off on March 19, 1985, but suffered a series of delays. STS-51-D lifted in the
After the flight she presented a banner she had flown with to Central Middle School (as Central High School now was), and met President
Even before the STS-51-D mission was flown, Abbey offered Seddon a chance to fly on the Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS-1) mission, which was scheduled to lift off aboard the Columbia in late January 1986. She accepted but had doubts about whether she could be ready in time with all her work and home commitments. As it turned out, there was ample time because it was delayed due to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.[43] While she waited for her Spacelab Life Sciences mission to be scheduled, she sought out a refresher program in emergency medicine. Such programs were uncommon at the time, but she found one at
Seddon also began to think about acquiring some managerial experience and went to see Carolyn Huntoon, the head of the Space and Life Sciences Directorate at JSC, about a secondment to her area. Huntoon agreed to take Seddon on as an assistant in the spring of 1988. However, while Abbey was Director of Flight Operations, he had an astronaut technical assistant, known in the NASA Astronaut Corps as the "Bubba". The main job of the technical assistant was acting as Abbey's pilot, but the technical assistant also did many odd jobs on Abbey's behalf. When Don Puddy succeeded Abbey, he considered abolishing the position, but in May 1988 Seddon was unexpectedly given the job. Under Puddy, the job no longer entailed being a personal pilot and driver, but Seddon still worked on a variety of tasks. These included preparations for the STS-26 "Return to Flight" mission, and developing policies in cooperation with the Space and Life Sciences Directorate. She helped establish criteria for access to astronauts' psychiatric records, procedures for clearing astronauts as medically fit to fly, and processes for using astronauts for medical experiments.[46] She left the position when she had her second child, Edward Dann Gibson (named after her father), who was born in March 1989.[47]
When Seddon returned from maternity leave in July 1989, the launch of SLS-1 had been added to the flight schedule as STS-40, with a launch date of May 1990. By this time the crew had been training a few hours per month since January 1986, and the payload had been changed several times. It was so overbooked with experiments that the mission was split into two: SLS-1 and SLS-2. One crew member, Bob Phillips, was grounded with a minor medical condition and was replaced by Millie Hughes-Fulford. Hopes that training could now proceed uninterrupted were soon dashed; Seddon was called upon to participate in the selection of NASA Astronaut Group 13 (who became known as the "Hairballs"). And the schedule continued to slip.[48][49]
The STS-40 SLS-1 mission finally lifted off from the KSC in the Space Shuttle Columbia on June 5, 1991. During the nine-day mission, the crew performed experiments that explored how humans, animals, and cells respond to microgravity and re-adapt to Earth's gravity on return. Other experiments were designed to investigate materials science, plant biology and cosmic radiation, and tests of hardware proposed for the Space Station Freedom Health Maintenance Facility. The mission completed 146 orbits of the Earth, and Seddon logged an additional 218 hours in space.[1][50]
From September 1991 to July 1992, Seddon was a
SLS-2 involved
STS-58 with SLS-2 lifted off in the Space Shuttle Columbia on October 18, 1993. During the fourteen-day flight the seven-person crew performed
In June 1995 Seddon had her third child, a daughter she named Emilee Louise after her sister, who had died the year before.
Later life
Seddon retired from NASA in November 1997,[1] and for the next eleven years she was the assistant Chief Medical Officer of the Vanderbilt Medical Group in Nashville, Tennessee.[1][4]
She had begun writing her memoirs in December 1993 but set the project aside in June 1996. In 2008 she enrolled in a creative writing program at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. She afterwards completed her memoirs; the book, entitled Go For Orbit, was published in 2015[69] and won the Independent Book Publishers Association Ben Franklin Gold Award for Best Autobiography/Memoir.[70]
Awards and honors
Seddon's awards from NASA included the NASA Space Flight Medal in 1985, 1991 and 1993; the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1988 and 1992, and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1994.[71] She was inducted into the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame in 2005,[72] and the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame and Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame in 2015.[73][74][75] In 2017 she was named as one of the University of Tennessee Centennial Top 100 Alumni and was a co-recipient of the Great American leadership award along with Gibson.[76][77]
Bibliography
- Seddon, Rhea (2015). Go For Orbit: One of America's First Women Astronauts Finds Her Space. Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Your Space Press. OCLC 921147949.
See also
- List of female spacefarers
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g "Biographical Data: Margaret Rhea Seddon (M.D.)" (PDF). NASA. November 1998. Retrieved May 24, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b c d Reim, Milton (January 16, 1978). "NASA Selects 35 Astronaut Candidates" (PDF) (Press release). NASA. 78-03. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ a b Seddon 2015, pp. 7–9.
- ^ a b "Rhea Seddon – Rats, Folks, and Jellyfish: Studying Life in Space". NASA. January 11, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 16–17.
- ^ a b Hinds, Andrea (September 5, 2018). "Murfreesboro Native & Astronaut to Speak at Historical Society Meeting". Rutherford Source. Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
- ^ a b Seddon 2015, pp. 9–11.
- ^ "Significant Sigma Kappas". Sigma Kappa. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Significant Sig Kap's". Radford College. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 10–11.
- ^ a b Seddon 2015, p. 20.
- ^ a b Seddon 2015, p. 14.
- ^ Seddon 2015, p. 18.
- ^ a b "NASA to Recruit Space Shuttle Astronauts" (PDF) (Press release). NASA. July 8, 1976. 76-44. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 15–19.
- ^ Reim, Milton (August 25, 1977). "Third Group of 20 Astronaut Applicants Includes Eight Women" (PDF) (Press release). NASA. 77-46. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 37–42.
- ^ Mullane 2007, p. 63.
- ^ Seddon 2015, p. 46.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 54–56.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 70–71.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 88–92.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 82–87.
- ^ Reim, Milton (August 31, 1979). "35 Astronaut Candidates Complete Training and Evaluation Period" (PDF) (Press release). NASA. 79-53. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
- ^ Shayler & Burgess 2020, p. 191.
- ^ Shayler & Burgess 2020, p. 199.
- ^ Shayler & Burgess 2020, pp. 206–207.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 108–109.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 126–128.
- ^ Johnston, Laurie; Thomas, Robert McG. (April 30, 1981). "Notes On People; 2 Astronauts Plan Terrestrial Wedding, in Hawaii". The New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ "The newborn son of America's first astronaut couple was ..." UPI Archives. July 27, 1982. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ Canetti, Barbara (August 5, 1982). "The first baby born to an astronaut couple suffered ..." UPI Archives. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 188–190.
- ^ Garrett, Dave; Nesbitt, Steve (November 17, 1983). "STS Flight Assignments" (Press release). 83-046. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- ^ Lawrence, John (February 2, 1984). "STS-51-D, 61-D crew announcements" (Press release). 84-005. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- ^ NASA (August 3, 2000). "Space Shuttle Mission Summaries". NASA. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
- ^ Shayler & Burgess 2020, pp. 338–339.
- ^ Walker, Charles D. (April 14, 2005). "Oral History Transcript". NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project (Interview). Interviewed by Johnson, Sandra. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- ^ "STS-51-D". NASA. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 198–205.
- ^ "STS-51I". NASA. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ "The LEASAT Program That Launched HCI Completes 13 Years Of Service". Uplink. Hughes Communications. Winter 1993. Archived from the original on May 7, 1999.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 193–194.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 335–336.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 339–340.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 341–345.
- ^ "Margaret Rhea Seddon (M.D.) NASA Astronaut". NASA. February 1992. Archived from the original on December 24, 2016.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 358–368.
- ^ Robinson, Julie A. (April 17, 2013). "Remembering Dr. Bob Phillips". NASA. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
- ^ "STS-40". NASA. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 395–404.
- ^ Shayler & Burgess 2020, pp. 419–421.
- ^ Seddon 2015, p. 404.
- ^ Shayler & Burgess 2020, p. 519.
- ^ Campion, Ed; Schwartz, Barbara (October 23, 1991). "Seddon Named Payload Commander For SLS-2" (Press release). NASA. 91-175. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- ^ Shayler & Burgess 2020, p. 418.
- ^ Shayler & Burgess 2020, pp. 57, 238–239.
- ^ Shayler & Burgess 2020, p. 431.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 414–416.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 418–422.
- ^ Evans, Ben (October 19, 2013). "A Controversial Mission: 20 Years Since STS-58 (Part 1)". AmericaSpace. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- ^ Evans, Ben (October 20, 2013). "A Controversial Mission: 20 Years Since STS-58 (Part 2)". AmericaSpace. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- S2CID 109235972.
- ^ "STS-58". NASA. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
- ^ Souza, Etheridge & Callahan 2000, pp. 64–70.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 450–451.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. 441–444.
- ^ Campbell, Doug (November 22, 1996). "Former NASA astronaut's skills, the experience put to use at VUMC". Reporter. Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Archived from the original on July 14, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ Seddon 2015, pp. iv–ix.
- ^ Willard, Michelle (April 22, 2016). "Rhea Seddon book takes gold at publishing awards". Daily News Journal. Nashville, Tennessee. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
- ^ "Historical Recipient List" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
- ^ "Rhea's Biography". Rhea Seddon. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
- ^ "Rhea Seddon, MD, Former Astronaut and UTHSC Alumna, to be Inducted into Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame". UTHSC News. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
- ^ "U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame". Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^ Grinter, Kay (June 1, 2015). "Four NASA Heroes Inducted into U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame" (Press release). NASA. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ "100 Distinguished Alumni". University of Tennessee. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
- ^ De Gennaro, Nancy (January 12, 2017). "Astronauts Rhea Seddon and Capt. Robert "Hoot" Gibson Receive 2017 Great American Award". Daily News Journal. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
References
- OCLC 671034758.
- Shayler, David J.; OCLC 1145568343.
- Souza, Kenneth; Etheridge, Guy; Callahan, Paul X., eds. (2000). Life into Space: Space Life Sciences Experiments Ames Research Center Kennedy Space Center 1991–1998 (PDF). NASA. SP–2000-534. Retrieved November 12, 2022.