MOMENTS IN SPACE HISTORY
ELLEN OCHOA was the first Hispanic woman
in space when the shuttle Discovery launched in 1993,
and the first Hispanic woman to direct the Johnson Space
Center. She earned three patents for optical systems prior
to becoming an astronaut. She holds a master’s degree and
doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University
and won many awards for her career service prior to retiring
from NASA.
“ What everyone in the astronaut corps
shares in common is not gender or ethnic
background, but motivation, perseverance,
and desire — the desire to participate in a
voyage of discovery.” — From NASA
SCOTT KELLY, a Navy captain, set a record
with Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko when they served
from March 27, 2015, to March 1, 2016, on the International
Space Station. His first flight was as pilot of the shuttle
Discovery on a Hubble Space Telescope repair mission in
1999. On his third and yearlong fourth missions, he arrived
via the Soyuz spacecraft to the space station. He served stints
there as commander and conducted yearlong biological,
cognitive and genetic tests with his identical twin, Mark, to
document space travel’s effects on humans. After he retired
from NASA, he was appointed the United Nations Champion
for Space. Time magazine featured him on its Dec. 29, 2014,
cover and on its 2015 list of 100 most influential people. He is
the recipient of awards from the Navy and NASA.
“ After spending a year in space, I was absolutely
inspired that if we can dream it we can do it … and most
importantly, if we work as a team because teamwork
makes the dream work. The sky is not the limit. ” — From a UN News June 19, 2018, article
30: SPACE COAST LIVING | SPACECOASTLIVING.COM
Ellen Ochoa logged nearly 1,000 hours in space.
Astronaut Scott Kelly works aboard the space station on May 30, 2015.
/SPACECOASTLIVING.COM