Cady Coleman | |
|---|---|
 Coleman in 2009 | |
| Born | Catherine Grace Coleman (1960-12-14)December 14, 1960 (age 64) |
| Education | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS) University of Massachusetts, Amherst (MS,PhD) |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Colonel,USAF (ret.) |
Time in space | 180d 4h 0m |
| Selection | NASA Group 14 (1992) |
| Missions | STS-73 STS-93 Soyuz TMA-20 (Expedition 26/27) |
Mission insignia |     |
Catherine Grace "Cady"Coleman (born December 14, 1960) is an Americanchemist,engineer, formerUnited States Air Force colonel, and retiredNASAastronaut.[1] She is a veteran of twoSpace Shuttle missions, and departed theInternational Space Station on May 23, 2011, as a crew member ofExpedition 27 after logging 159 days in space.
Coleman graduated fromWilbert Tucker Woodson High School,Fairfax, Virginia, in 1978.[1] In 1978–1979, she was an exchange student atRøyken Upper Secondary School inNorway with theAFS Intercultural Programs. She received aB.S.degree inchemistry from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1983 and was commissioned as graduate of theAir Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (Air Force ROTC).,[2] then received aPh.D.degree inpolymer science andengineering from theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst in 1991.[3][1] She was advised byProfessor Thomas J. McCarthy on her doctorate.[4][5] As anundergraduate, she was a member of theintercollegiaterowing crew and was a resident ofBaker House.[6]
Coleman continued to pursue herPhD at theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst as asecond lieutenant. In 1988, she entered active duty atWright-Patterson Air Force Base as aresearch chemist. During her work, she participated as a surface analysis consultant on theNASALong Duration Exposure Facility experiment. In 1991, she received her doctorate inpolymer science andengineering.[1] She retired from the Air Force in November 2009 as acolonel.[1]
_Coleman%2c_Expedition_26_flight_engineer.jpg)
Coleman was selected byNASA in 1992 to join theNASA Astronaut Corps. In 1995, she was a member of theSTS-73 crew on the scientific mission USML-2 with experiments includingbiotechnology,combustion science, and thephysics offluids.STS-93 was Coleman's second space flight in 1999. She wasmission specialist in charge of deploying theChandra X-ray Observatory and itsInertial Upper Stage out of the shuttle's cargo bay.[1]
Coleman served as Chief of Robotics for the Astronaut Office, to includerobotic arm operations and training for all Space Shuttle andInternational Space Station missions.[7] In October 2004, Coleman served as anaquanaut during theNEEMO 7 mission aboard theAquariusunderwater laboratory, living and working underwater for eleven days.[8][9]
Coleman was assigned as a backup U.S. crew member for Expeditions19,20 and21 and served as a backup crew member for Expeditions24 and25 as part of her training forExpedition 26.
Coleman launched on December 15, 2010 (December 16, 2010Baikonur time), aboardSoyuz TMA-20 to join theExpedition 26 mission aboard theInternational Space Station.[10] She retired from NASA on December 1, 2016.
STS-73 on Space ShuttleColumbia (October 20 to November 5, 1995) was the second United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) mission. The mission focused onmaterials science,biotechnology,combustion science, thephysics offluids, and numerous scientific experiments housed in the pressurizedSpacelab module. In completing her first space flight, Coleman orbited theEarth 256 times, traveled over 6 million miles, and logged a total of 15 days, 21 hours, 52 minutes and 21 seconds in space.
STS-93 onColumbia (July 22 to 27, 1999) was a five-day mission during which Coleman was the leadmission specialist for the deployment of theChandra X-ray Observatory. Designed to conduct comprehensive studies of theuniverse, thetelescope will enable scientists to study exoticphenomena such as explodingstars,quasars, andblack holes. Mission duration was 118 hours and 50 minutes.
Soyuz TMA-20 / Expedition 26/27 (December 15, 2010, to May 23, 2011) was an extended duration mission to theInternational Space Station.[11]
Coleman is married toglass artistJosh Simpson who lives inMassachusetts.[12] They have two sons Jamey (born 2002) and Cady. She is part of the band Bandella, which also includes fellow NASA astronautStephen Robinson, Canadian astronautChris Hadfield, and Micki Pettit (wife of the astronautDonald Pettit). Coleman is aflute player and has taken several flutes with her to the ISS, including apennywhistle fromPaddy Moloney ofThe Chieftains, an oldIrish flute fromMatt Molloy of The Chieftains, and a flute fromIan Anderson ofJethro Tull (band). On February 15, 2011, she played one of the instruments live from orbit onNational Public Radio.[13]
On April 12, 2011, she played a duet with Ian Anderson to honourYuri Gagarin's 50th anniversary of his flight. She first recorded her part, which later on Anderson joined while on tour inPerm.[14][15]
On May 13 of that year, Coleman delivered a taped commencement address to the class of 2011 at theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst.[16]
As do many other astronauts, Coleman holds anamateur radio license (callsign: KC5ZTH).
As of 2015, she is also known to be working as a guest speaker at theBaylor College of Medicine, for the children's program "Saturday Morning Science".
In 2018, she gave a graduation address toCarter Lynch, the sole graduate ofCuttyhunk Elementary School, onCuttyhunk Island,Massachusetts.[17]
In 2019 the Irish postal serviceAn Post issued a set of commemorative stamps for the 50th anniversary of theApollo Moon landings, Catherine Coleman is featured alongside fellow astronautsNeil Armstrong,Michael Collins, andEileen Collins.[18]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:"Biographical Data: Catherine "Cady" Coleman, Ph.D. (Colonel, USAF, Ret.) NASA Astronaut"(PDF). NASA. December 2016. RetrievedJanuary 15, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:"Preflight Interview: Catherine Coleman". NASA. October 28, 2010. Archived fromthe original on November 2, 2012. RetrievedDecember 9, 2010.Some background on Cady Coleman: She graduated MIT with a bachelor's degree in Chemistry, lived in my dorm, Baker House, and rowed on the Varsity Crew Team.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:"NASA – Preflight Interview: Catherine Coleman".nasa.gov. Archived fromthe original on November 2, 2012. RetrievedDecember 9, 2010. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:"NEEMO 7". NASA. October 13, 2004. Archived fromthe original on September 25, 2012. RetrievedSeptember 23, 2011. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:NASA Television Will Air Next Soyuz Landing And Launch – Media Advisory : M10-164A – November 18, 2010.
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