Biographical Data |
NAME: Donald A. Thomas (Ph.D.)
NASA Astronaut
PERSONAL DATA: Born May 6, 1955, in Cleveland, Ohio. Married to the former Simone Lehmann of Göppingen, Germany. They have one son. He enjoys swimming, biking, camping, flying. His mother, Mrs. Irene M. Thomas, resides in Bloomington, Indiana. Her parents, Margrit and Gerhard Lehmann, reside in Göppingen, Germany.
EDUCATION: Graduated from Cleveland Heights High School, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, in 1973; received a bachelor of science degree in Physics from Case Western Reserve University in 1977, and a master of science degree and a doctorate in Materials Science from Cornell University in 1980 and 1982, respectively. His dissertation involved evaluating the effect of crystalline defects and sample purity on the superconducting properties of niobium.
ORGANIZATIONS: Tau Beta Pi; Association of Space Explorers (ASE).
SPECIAL HONORS: Graduated with Honors from Case Western Reserve University in 1977. Recipient of NASA Sustained Superior Performance Award, 1989. Recipient of 4 NASA Group Achievement Awards, 4 NASA Space Flight Medals, 2 NASA Exceptional Service Medals, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.
EXPERIENCE: Following graduation from Cornell
University in 1982, Dr. Thomas joined AT&T Bell Laboratories in Princeton,
New Jersey, working as a Senior Member of the Technical Staff. His
responsibilities there included the development of advanced materials and
processes for high density interconnections of semiconductor devices. He was
also an adjunct professor in the Physics Department at Trenton State College in
New Jersey. He holds two patents and has authored several technical papers. He
left AT&T in 1987 to work for Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Company in
Houston, Texas, where his responsibilities involved reviewing materials used in
Space Shuttle payloads. In 1988 he joined NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
as a Materials Engineer. His work involved lifetime projections of advanced
composite materials for use on Space Station Freedom. He was also a Principal
Investigator for the Microgravity Disturbances Experiment, a middeck crystal
growth experiment which flew on STS-32 in January 1990. This experiment
investigated the effects of Orbiter and crew-induced disturbances on the growth
of crystals in space.
He is a private pilot with over 250 hours in single engine land aircraft and
gliders, and over 800 hours flying as mission specialist in NASA T-38 jet
aircraft.
NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in January 1990, Dr. Thomas became an astronaut in July 1991. Dr. Thomas has served in the Safety, Operations Development, and Payloads Branches of the Astronaut Office. He was CAPCOM (spacecraft communicator) for Shuttle missions STS-47, 52 and 53. From July 1999 to June 2000 he was Director of Operations for NASA at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. A veteran of four space flights, he has logged over 1,040 hours in space. He was a mission specialist on STS-65 (July 8-23, 1994), STS-70 (July 13-22, 1995), STS-83 (April 4-8, 1997) and STS-94 (July 1-17, 1997). Initially assigned to the ISS Expedition-6 crew, his flight assignment withdrawal resulted from a medical issue affecting long duration space flight qualifications.
SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-65 Columbia (July 8-23,
1994) set a new flight duration record for the Space Shuttle program. The
mission flew the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2). During
the 15-day flight the crew conducted more than 80 experiments focusing on
materials and life sciences research in microgravity. The mission was
accomplished in 236 orbits of the Earth, traveling 6.1 million miles in 353
hours and 55 minutes.
STS-70 Discovery (July 13-22, 1995). During the STS-70 mission, Dr.
Thomas was responsible for the deployment of the sixth and final Tracking and
Data Relay Satellite from the Space Shuttle. Mission duration was 214 hours and
20 minutes, traveling 3.7 million miles in 142 orbits of the Earth.
STS-83 Columbia (April 4-8, 1997). The STS-83 Microgravity Science
Laboratory (MSL-1) Spacelab mission, was cut short because of problems with one
of the Shuttle's three fuel cell power generation units. Mission duration was 95
hours and 12 minutes, traveling 1.5 million miles in 63 orbits of the Earth.
STS-94 Columbia (July 1-17, 1997), was a re-flight of the Microgravity
Science Laboratory (MSL-1) Spacelab mission, and focused on materials and
combustion science research in microgravity. Mission duration was 376 hours and
45 minutes, traveling 6.3 million miles in 251 orbits of the Earth.
AUGUST 2002