Tracy Caldwell Dyson
Tracy Caldwell Dyson | |
---|---|
NASA astronaut | |
Time in space | Currently in space |
Selection | NASA Group 17 (1998) |
Total EVAs | 3 |
Total EVA time | 22h 49m |
Missions | STS-118 Soyuz TMA-18 (Expedition 23/24) Soyuz MS-25 (Expedition 70/71) |
Mission insignia | |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Physical chemistry |
Thesis | A Mechanistic and Kinetic Study of Heterocycle and Cyclization Chemistry on Pd(111) Using Laser-Induced Thermal Desorption with Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry (1997) |
Tracy Caldwell Dyson (born Tracy Ellen Caldwell; August 14, 1969) is an American chemist and NASA astronaut. She was a mission specialist on Space Shuttle Endeavour flight STS-118 in August 2007 and part of the Expedition 23 and Expedition 24 crew on the International Space Station from April 2010 to September 2010. She has completed three spacewalks, logging more than 22 hours of extravehicular activity.[1][2] She is currently in space since March 23, 2024 for a third time, for a six-month mission onboard the ISS.
Early life and education
Caldwell Dyson was born in Arcadia, California.[1] She is the younger of two girls. In the early 1980s, she and her family moved to Beaumont, California, where her father worked as an electrician and where she attended junior high school. Her recreational interests included running, weight training, hiking, softball, basketball, and auto repair and maintenance.
She attended
As an undergraduate researcher at California State University, Fullerton, she designed, constructed and implemented electronics and hardware associated with a laser-ionization,
At the
In 1997, Caldwell Dyson received the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Science to study atmospheric chemistry at the University of California, Irvine.[8] There, she investigated reactivity and kinetics of atmospherically relevant systems using atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared and ultraviolet absorption spectroscopies. In addition, she developed methods of chemical ionization for spectral interpretation of trace compounds. Caldwell Dyson has published and presented her work in numerous papers at technical conferences and in scientific journals.[1]
Career
NASA
In June 1998, Caldwell Dyson was hired by
In 1999, Caldwell Dyson was assigned to the Astronaut Office ISS Operations Branch as a Russian Crusader, participating in the testing and integration of Russian hardware and software products developed for ISS. In 2000, she was assigned prime crew support astronaut for the ISS Expedition 5 crew, serving as their representative on technical and operational issues throughout the training and on-orbit phase of their mission. During ISS Expeditions 4 through 6, Caldwell Dyson served as an ISS spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) inside Mission Control. In 2003, she made a transition to the Astronaut Shuttle Operations Branch and was assigned to flight software verification in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory and worked supporting launch and landing operations at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Caldwell Dyson also served as Lead CAPCOM for Expedition 11.
Between her second and third flights, Caldwell Dyson continued to work inside Houston’s Mission Control Center as CAPCOM for both space shuttle and space station operations, serving as the lead CAPCOM for various ISS missions, including the lead and development of the CAPCOM cadre for
Caldwell Dyson initiated and led several projects to improve training and operations aboard the ISS, most notably developing the EVA Qualification training flow (EVQ) for astronaut candidates.
As Tracy Dyson, she is the host of a series on NASA TV called StationLife, which focuses on facets of life aboard the International Space Station.[9]
On March 21, 2017, Dyson stood behind
STS-118
Caldwell Dyson was assigned to
On August 8, 2007, Caldwell Dyson lifted off for the first time on the 119th Space Shuttle flight, the 22nd flight to the station, and the 20th flight for Endeavour. During the mission, she successfully added another truss segment, a new gyroscope and external spare parts platform to the International Space Station. A new system that enables docked shuttles to draw electrical power from the station to extend visits to the outpost was activated successfully. A total of four spacewalks (EVAs) were performed by three crew members. Endeavour carried some 5,000 pounds of equipment and supplies to the station and returned to Earth with some 4,000 pounds of hardware and no-longer-needed equipment. Traveling 5.3 million miles in space, the STS-118 mission was completed in 12 days, 17 hours, 55 minutes and 34 seconds. On day 7 of the flight of STS-118, Caldwell-Dyson celebrated her 38th birthday in space.
Expedition 23/24
Caldwell Dyson was assigned for her second space flight on November 21, 2008. Her second space mission consisted of a six-month mission to the International Space Station.[12]
After a successful liftoff on April 2, 2010, from the
During the first half of her flight, Caldwell-Dyson and the Expedition 23 crew were joined by the STS-131 crew from April 7 to April 17. This period was the first and only time that four women were together on board the same spacecraft: Caldwell-Dyson, NASA astronauts Stephanie Wilson and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, and JAXA astronaut Naoko Yamazaki. From May 16 to May 23, the second and last Space Shuttle visiting mission for Caldwell-Dyson's flight, STS-132, joined the Expedition 23 crew for the installation of the Russian-built module Rassvet.
The second half of Caldwell-Dyson's mission was marked by the failure of a coolant pump at the beginning of August. Caldwell Dyson performed her first spacewalk on August 7, 2010, with NASA astronaut
After 176 days, 1 hour, 18 minutes and 38 seconds in space, Caldwell-Dyson landed in Kazakhstan on September 25, 2010.[14] During this spaceflight, she completed three spacewalks, logging 22 hrs and 49 minutes of EVA work to replace a malfunctioning coolant pump.[13]
Expedition 70/71
Since December 2021, Tracy Caldwell-Dyson has been back in flight training as a backup crew member of the Soyuz MS-24. She backed up her NASA astronaut colleague Loral O'Hara.[15]
On May 29, 2023, she was officially assigned to the
Other activities
Caldwell Dyson is a private pilot. She is conversational in American Sign Language and Russian.[5][17]
She is also the lead vocalist for the all-astronaut band
In 2011, Caldwell Dyson served as the guest judge on a space-themed episode of the
Caldwell Dyson advised Jessica Chastain when the actress was preparing to appear as an astronaut and mission commander in the 2015 movie The Martian. Chastain said she was very inspired by Caldwell Dyson.[21]
Caldwell Dyson is a member of Sigma Xi Research Society and the American Chemical Society.[22]
Awards and honors
- Honorary Doctorate, California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) (May 2008)[5]
- NASA Performance Award (2002 & 2001)
- NASA Go the Extra Mile (GEM) Award (2001)
- NASA Superior Accomplishment Award (2000)
- NASA Group Achievement Award – Russian Crusader Team (2000)
- Camille and Henry Dreyfus Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Science (1997)[8]
- Outstanding Doctoral Student Award in Chemistry from the University of California, Davis (1997)
- American Vacuum Society – HWhetten Award (1996)
- American Vacuum Society Graduate Research Award (1996)
- Pro Femina Research Consortium Graduate Research Award (1996)
- Pro Femina Research Consortium Graduate Award for Scientific Travel (1996)
- University of California, Davis Graduate Research Award (1996)
- University of California, Davis Graduate Student Award for Scientific Travel (1994)
- Patricia Roberts Harris Graduate Fellowship in Chemistry (1993–1997)
- Lyle Wallace Award for Service to the Department of Chemistry, California State University Fullerton (1993)
- National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates Award (1992)
- Council of Building & Construction Trades Scholarship (1991 and 1992)
- Big West Scholar Athlete (1989–1991)[8][3]
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the
- ^ a b c d e "Tracy Caldwell Dyson Biographical Data" (PDF). March 2016. NASA. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
- ^ a b Wesson, Gail. "BEAUMONT: Astronaut talks about her space adventure, return". October 18, 2010. The Press Enterprise. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ a b Romero, Oscar (April 7, 2010). "CSUF Alumna travels beyond the globe for the second time". Daily Titan. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ NASA Preflight Interview of Tracy Caldwell Dyson, March 23, 2010. Dyson says of her education and early career: "but I think God planted enough people in my life that said, you need to just follow your heart, you need to do what interests you." URL: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition23/dyson_interview.html.
- ^ a b c "Impact of the CSU - Alumni". www2.calstate.edu. Fullerton: California State University. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ Seipel, Brooke E. (January 28, 2016). "The Challenger disaster, 30 years later: Mission's astronauts still inspire". Orange County Register. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- OCLC 1014023765. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ a b c Reed, Dave (2004). "The Sky's No Limit". TITAN Magazine. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
- ^ "Astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson hosts NASA show". Atmospheric Integrated Research at University of California, Irvine. January 19, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
- ^ President Trump Signs NASA Authorization Bill, March 21, 2017, retrieved March 21, 2017
- ^ "Four Women will Fly in Space for the First Time in the History". Russian Federal Space Agency. April 3, 2010. Archived from the original on April 8, 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
- ^ "ISS-20 - ISS-26 crews assignment". NASA. November 21, 2008.
- ^ a b "Caldwell-Dyson EVA Spacefacts".
- ^ "Soyuz TMA-18 Spacefacts".
- ^ "GCTC Current crew in training".
- ^ "Soyuz MS-24/25 assignment".
- ^ "Astronaut Biography: Tracy E. Caldwell". Space.com. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
- ^ Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds. (November 15, 2010). "Home from Above". Astronomy Picture of the Day. NASA. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "Cupcake Wars Recap: The Final Frontier - FN Dish – Food Network Blog". June 30, 2011.
- ^ Viralvideoz007 (January 1, 2016). "MasterChef Junior Season 4 Episode 3 - Hashtag Best Day Ever [HDTV]". Dailymotion. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "The Martian - Jessica Chastain & Tracy Dyson Junket Interview".
- ^ "Member Directory". www.sigmaxi.org. Sigma Xi. Retrieved May 24, 2020.