Piers Sellers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Piers John Sellers (1955-04-11)11 April 1955 Crowborough, Sussex, England |
| Died | 23 December 2016(2016-12-23) (aged 61) Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Education | University of Edinburgh (BSc) University of Leeds (PhD) |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
Time in space | 35d 9h 2m |
| Selection | NASA Group 16 (1996) |
TotalEVAs | 6 |
Total EVA time | 41h 10m |
| Missions | STS-112 STS-121 STS-132 |
Mission insignia |    |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Meteorology |
| Thesis | Vegetation Type and Catchment Water Balance: A Simulation Study (1981) |
Piers John SellersOBE (11 April 1955 – 23 December 2016) was a British-Americanmeteorologist,NASA astronaut[1] and Director of theEarth Science Division atNASA/GSFC. He was a veteran of threeSpace Shuttle missions.Sellers attendedCranbrook School,Cranbrook, Kent, United Kingdom, until 1973, and achieved a bachelor's degree inecological science from theUniversity of Edinburgh in 1976. In 1981 he gained a doctorate inbiometeorology from theUniversity of Leeds. In 2011, Sellers retired from theNASA Astronaut Corps.[2]
Before joining theastronaut corps, Sellers worked atNASA Goddard Space Flight Center on research into how the Earth'sbiosphere and atmosphere interact. This work involved climate systemcomputer modelling and field work utilising aircraft, satellites and ground support input.
Sellers was born inCrowborough,Sussex, the second born of five boys for mother Lindsey. His education started at Tyttenhanger Lodge Pre-preparatory School inSeaford, East Sussex, andCranbrook School,Kent, from which he graduated in 1973 and where he was trained as aRoyal Air Force cadet to pilotgliders andpowered aircraft.[1][3][4] He earned aBachelor of Science degree inecological science from theUniversity of Edinburgh and adoctorate inbiometeorology from theUniversity of Leeds.[5] Sellers married Amanda Lomas, a nurse fromHebden Bridge, Yorkshire, before they moved to the US. This marriage ended in divorce.[6]
Sellers appeared in theLeonardo DiCaprio-produced documentary filmBefore the Flood.[7]
In January 2016, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with stage 4pancreatic cancer.[8] Sellers died 23 December 2016 at the age of 61.[9]
Sellers and his wife left the UK in 1982, moving to the United States, where he began his NASA career as a research meteorologist atGoddard Space Flight Center inGreenbelt, Maryland.[1][3] Sellers' work in the field ofmeteorology focused primarily on computer modelling of climate systems, but he maintained his aircraft pilot skills.[10] Sellers began applying annually to become an astronaut in 1984, but his lack ofUS citizenship was a problem. In 1991 he became anaturalized citizen of the United States.[11]
Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in April 1996, Sellers reported to the NASAJohnson Space Center in August 1996.[1] He completed two years of training and evaluation and was initially assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Computer Support Branch, followed by service in the Astronaut Office Space Station Branch.[1] During that time, he worked part-time inMoscow as a technical liaison on ISS computer software. Sellers logged over 559 hours in space, including almost 41 EVA hours in 6 spacewalks.[1] He retired as an astronaut in 2011[12] and then served as deputy director of sciences and exploration at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.[13]
STS-112Space Shuttle Atlantis (7–18 October 2002) was anInternational Space Station assembly mission during which the crew conducted joint operations with theExpedition-5 in delivering and installing the S-One Truss (the third piece of the station's 11-pieceIntegrated Truss Structure). To outfit and activate the new component, Sellers performed threespacewalks and logged a total of 19 hours and 41 minutes ofEVA. The crew also transferred cargo between the two vehicles and used the shuttle's thruster jets during two manoeuvres to raise the station's orbit. STS-112 was the first shuttle mission to use a camera on the External Tank, providing a live view of the launch to flight controllers and NASA TV viewers. The mission was accomplished in 170 orbits, travelling 4.5 million miles in 10 days, 19 hours, and 58 minutes.[1]
STS-121Space Shuttle Discovery (4–17 July 2006) was a return-to-flight test mission and assembly flight to the International Space Station. During the 13-day flight, the crew ofDiscovery tested new equipment and procedures that increased the safety of space shuttles, and produced never-before-seen, high-resolution images of the Shuttle during and after its 4 July launch. The crew also performed maintenance on the space station and delivered and transferred more than 28,000 pounds of supplies and equipment, and a newExpedition 13 crew member to the station. Sellers andMike Fossum performed three EVAs to test the 50-foot robotic arm boom extension as a work platform. They removed and replaced a cable that provides power, command and data and video connections to the station's mobile transporter rail car. They also tested techniques for inspecting and repairing the reinforced carbon-carbon segments that protect the shuttle's nose cone and leading edge of the wings. The STS-121 mission was accomplished in 306 hours, 37 minutes and 54 seconds.[1]
Sellers brought a velvet patch of theUniversity of Edinburghcrest into space on this flight, which was sewn to the graduating bonnet used during the university'sgraduation ceremonies.[14]
STS-132Space Shuttle Atlantis (14–26 May 2010) was anInternational Space Station assembly mission. The primary payload was the RussianRassvet Mini-Research Module along with an Integrated Cargo Carrier-Vertical Light Deployable (ICC-VLD). This was the final scheduled mission ofAtlantis. Sellers took a four-inch wood sample of SirIsaac Newton'sapple tree, a piece from the original tree that supposedly inspired Newton'stheory of gravity, along with a picture of Newton.[15] The wood is part of the collection of theRoyal Society archives in London, and was returned after the flight.[16] He also took an original watercolor portrait ofCranbrook School painted byBrenda Barratt.[17]
Sellers was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to science,[19][20] and in June 2016 received theNASA Distinguished Service Medal.[21]
In April 2017,James Ellis, the retired U.S. Navy admiral and chair of theSpace Foundation's Board of Directors, honored Sellers posthumously with theGeneral James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award.[22]
In honor of Piers Sellers, the Priestley International Centre of Climate at the University of Leeds, awards the Piers Sellers Prizes[23] for a 'World leading contribution to solution-focused climate research', and for 'exceptional PhD research'. Laureates include Joeri Roegelj (2016),Felix Creutzig (2017), Mark New (2018), Petra Tschakert (2019), and Katharine Mach (2020). In 2022, Joyeeta Gupta was awarded the main prize, with the PhD prize jointly awarded to Angus Naylor and Adele Dixon.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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