Daniel Tani | |
|---|---|
 Tani in 2001 | |
| Born | (1961-02-01)February 1, 1961 (age 64) |
| Education | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS,MS) |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
Time in space | 131d 18h 29m |
| Selection | NASA Group 16 (1996) |
| Missions | STS-108 STS-120/122 (Expedition 16) |
Mission insignia |     |
Daniel Michio Tani (born February 1, 1961) is an Americanengineer and retiredNASAastronaut. He was born inRidley Park, Pennsylvania, but considersLombard, Illinois, to be his hometown.[1]
WithPeggy Whitson, Tani conducted the 100th spacewalk on theInternational Space Station.[1]
Tani graduated fromGlenbard East High School, Lombard, Illinois, in 1979, and received aBachelor of Science andMaster of Science degrees in mechanical engineering fromMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1984, and 1988, respectively.[1] While at MIT, Tani became a brother of the Lambda Phi chapter of theAlpha Delta Phi fraternity.[2]
Tani'sSpace suit is featured prominently in the main hallway ofGlenbard East High School, where he graduated from in 1979.
After Tani received his bachelor's degree from MIT, he worked atHughes Aircraft Corporation inEl Segundo, California as a design engineer in the Space and Communications group.[1] In 1986, he returned to MIT and received his master's degree in mechanical engineering in 1988, specializing in human factors and group decision making. After graduation, Tani worked forBolt, Beranek and Newman inCambridge, Massachusetts, in the experimental psychology department. In 1988, Tani joinedOrbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) inDulles, Virginia, initially as a senior structures engineer, and then as the mission operations manager for the Transfer Orbit Stage (TOS). In that role, he served as the TOS flight operations lead, working with NASA/JSC mission control in support of the deployment of the ACTS/TOS payload during theSTS-51 mission in September 1993. Tani then moved to thePegasus program at OSC as the launch operations manager. In that capacity, he served as lead for the development of procedures and constraints for the launching of the air-launched Pegasus uncrewed rocket. Tani also was responsible for defining, training, and leading the team of engineers who worked in the launch and control room.[1][3]
Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in April 1996, Tani reported to theJohnson Space Center in August 1996.[1] After completing two years of training and evaluation, he qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist in 1998.[1] He performed technical duties in the Astronaut Office Computer Support Branch andExtra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) Branch, and served as a crew support astronaut forExpedition 2.[1]
Tani flew onSTS-108 in 2001, and logged over 11 days in space, including over 4 EVA hours in one spacewalk. STS-108Endeavour (December 5–17, 2001) was the 12th shuttle flight to visit theInternational Space Station. During the mission, Tani served as mission specialist 2. Endeavour's crew delivered theExpedition 4 crew to the station, and returned theExpedition 3 crew. The crew transferred over three tons of supplies, logistics and science experiments from theRaffaelloMulti-Purpose Logistics Module to the station. Tani performed a spacewalk to wrap thermal blankets around the ISS Solar Array Gimbals. STS-108 was accomplished in 185 Earth orbits, traveling 4.8 million miles in 283 hours and 36 minutes, including an EVA of 4 hours and 12 minutes.
In May 2002, Tani served as anaquanaut on theNEEMO 2 (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) crew aboard theAquariusunderwater laboratory. Tani and his fellow crew members lived and worked for one week beneath theAtlantic Ocean.[4]
Following his return from STS-108, Tani was assigned as theExpedition 9 backup flight engineer. Tani was eventually assigned toExpedition 16 as flight engineer, and launched to the station aboardSTS-120 on October 23, 2007. Tani completed one EVA with the crew of STS-120, and four additional spacewalks during his increment aboard the space station. Originally scheduled to return to Earth with the crew ofSTS-122 in December, the mission was delayed due to engine cutoff sensor issues during countdown. Instead, it launched on February 7. Tani returned onSTS-122 on February 20, 2008.
Dan Tani has performed five spacewalks or EVAs to date.
| Number | Date | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EVA 1 | Dec. 10, 2001 | 04:12 | Install thermal blankets over the Beta Gimbal Assemblies (BGAs) |
| EVA 2 | Nov. 20, 2007 | 06:40 | External outfitting of the Harmony node[5] |
| EVA 3 | Nov. 24, 2007 | 07:04 | External outfitting of the Harmony node[5] |
| EVA 4 | Dec. 18, 2007 | 06:56 | International Space Station solar array issues[6] |
| EVA 5 | Jan. 30, 2008 | 07:10 | Replaced a motor at the base of one of the International Space Station's solar wings[7] |
Tani left NASA in August 2012 to become the Vice President of Mission and Cargo Operations in the Advanced Programs Group of Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Virginia.[8]
In August 2016, Tani left Orbital Sciences Corporation (now Orbital ATK) to join the high school faculty at theAmerican School in Japan, where he taught science, engineering and design.[9]
Member,Japanese American Citizens League,Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, andAircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Patron of Blackrock Castle Observatory,Cork, Ireland.
Tani is married to Jane Egan from Cork, Ireland, and enjoys golf, flying, running, tennis, music, and cooking.[1] Tani threw out theceremonial first pitch and sang the "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" atWrigley Field on August 20, 2008.[10]
His parents, Rose and Henry N. Tani, are both deceased. During World War II, they and their children were relocated from their California farm to theTanforan Assembly Center inSan Bruno, where they lived for several months in converted horsestables at theTanforan Racetrack, and thenTopaz War Relocation Center inUtah as part of theJapanese American internment program of the U.S. government.[11] On December 19, 2007, during Tani's stay on the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 16, he was informed by the ground team that his mother had been killed when a freight train collided with her car.[12][13][14][15]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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