Thomas Akers | |
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| Born | Thomas Dale Akers (1951-05-20)May 20, 1951 (age 73) |
| Education | Missouri University of Science and Technology (BS,MS) |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Colonel,USAF |
Time in space | 33d 22h 44m |
| Selection | NASA Group 12 (1987) |
| Missions | STS-41 STS-49 STS-61 STS-79 |
Mission insignia |     |
Thomas Dale Akers (born May 20, 1951) is a former Americanastronaut inNASA'sSpace Shuttle program.[1]
Akers was the valedictorian of his 29-member 1969 senior class fromEminence, Missouri. He worked summers as a park ranger in the 80,000 acre federal wilderness that borders Eminence.[2] He graduated from theUniversity of Missouri-Rolla (now theMissouri University of Science and Technology) withB.S. andM.S. degrees inapplied mathematics in 1973 and 1975, respectively.[1] At the age of 24, he returned to Eminence to become its math teacher, and subsequently its high school principal.[3] In 1979, when aUnited States Air Force recruiter left brochures on his desk for his students, it was Akers who decided to sign up. He was selected for the astronaut program in 1987[4] and officially became an astronaut in 1988. As part of his training with NASA, Akers taught science classes atTroy State University for a brief period of time.[2]
Akers is a veteran of four shuttle flights in which he spent over 800 hours in orbit, including more than 29 hours ofextra-vehicular activity (EVA) experience. In each of his flights, his role was as amission specialist.
His first space flight was in 1990 onSTS-41,[5] the 11th flight ofSpace ShuttleDiscovery.[6] He was instrumental in deploying theEuropean Space AgencysatelliteUlysses,[3] a solar-exploration craft, as well as tending several secondary payloads and experiments.[7]
His next mission was in 1992 onSTS-49, the maiden flight of ShuttleEndeavour.[8] A primary goal of that mission was to capture and repair the non-functionalIntelsatVI-F3 satellite. The first two attempts failed; Akers joined the third attempt which was successful.[9] This marks the first three-person EVA in human history[10] and was also the longest EVA (8 hours, 29 minutes) ever conducted to that time.[11]
On Akers' third mission in 1993 onSTS-61,[2] the fifth flight ofEndeavour, he was one of four mission specialists who repaired and upgraded theHubble Space Telescope on its first servicing mission.[12] Akers spent just under 13.5 hours outside theEndeavour in two EVAs.[13]
On May 18, 1994, Akers appeared onHome Improvement as himself along with rest of the STS-61 crew.[14]
His last mission was in 1996 onSTS-79, the 17th flight of shuttleAtlantis.[15] This was the fourth shuttle flight to rendezvous with the Russianspace stationMir and the first to exchange U.S. astronauts with Mir, returningShannon Lucid to earth and leavingJohn Blaha.[16]
Akers retired fromNASA in 1997 and the Air Force in 1999 at the rank ofcolonel, taking a position as instructor of Mathematics at theUniversity of Missouri–Rolla,[1] which in 2008 changed its name to the Missouri University of Science and Technology. Akers retired from teaching in 2010.[17]
Akers made acameo appearance on the TV showHome Improvement byTouchstone Television. In Series 3, Episode 24, "Reality Bytes", Akers and the Hubble crew appeared as guests on Tool Time and showed some of the tools they used in space. They also brought a video showing the firstTim Taylor 'grunt' used in communications during a space walk.
High School Valedictorian.[4] Graduated summa cum laude from University of Missouri-Rolla.[1] Named a Distinguished Graduate of U.S.Air Force Officer Training School,Squadron Officer School, andU.S. Air Force Test Pilot School.[1] Recipient of theDefense Superior Service Medal with twooak leaf clusters;[1]Legion of Merit Award;[1]Defense Meritorious Service Medal;[1]Air Force Meritorious Service Medal;[1]Air Force Commendation Medal;[1]Air Force Achievement Medal;[1]NASA Distinguished Service Medal;[1] twoNASA Exceptional Service Medals;[1] fourNASA Space Flight Medals.[1] Awarded an honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1992.[1] Awarded ten Outstanding Teacher awards from UMR/S&T 2000–2010,[citation needed] and the Missouri Governors Teaching Award 2004.[18]
NASA Astronaut Group 11 ← NASA Astronaut Group 12 →NASA Astronaut Group 13 | |||||||
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