Sandra Hall Magnus is a former NASA
astronaut who spent 134 days in orbit and was part of the crew of the final
mission of the Space Shuttle.
Sandra was born in Illinois on
October 30, 1964. A career as an
astronaut was an interest from the beginning and so she pursued engineering,
earning several degrees including a PhD in materials science and
engineering. Early in her career she
designed sought experience, first designing stealth aircraft for McDonnell
Douglas in the 1980s and becoming an astronaut candidate in 1996. Missions she was involved with included:
- Installation of the S1 truss section on the
International Space Station (ISS)
- Survival training in an uninhabited area in the
case of an emergency landing
- Commander of the NEEMO 11 mission testing lunar
gravity and remote-controlled robots
- Flight Engineer on the ISS Expedition 18,
logging 133 days in orbit
- Training to fly a rescue mission for a shuttle
flight
She cited NASA training as the
best preparation for life aboard the ISS.
During her time on the ISS she used her love of cooking to help
experiment with the limited food choices:
Discovery
News. The NASA
website gives Sandra's perspective of a typical day on the ISS.
Sandra left NASA and became
executive director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
(AIAA) in October 2012. She hopes to
play a role in inspiring and recruiting the next generation of scientists,
engineers, and technologists.
Resources: AIAA;
Wikipedia: Sandra Magnus (image);
Womanetics
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