Saturday, August 17, 2019

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Kathryn Thornton!


Kathryn Thornton, born August 17, 1952 in Montgomery, Alabama is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.  She obtained her PhD in physics from the University of Virginia in 1979.

Her first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-33) as mission specialist in November 1989.  It carried a classified payload from the Department of Defense into space.

Her second flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-49) as mission specialist in May 1992.  It was the maiden voyage of the Endeavour.  She performed an EVA with fellow astronaut Thomas Akers which lasted 7 hours 44 minutes.

Her third flight was back on Endeavour (STS-61) as mission specialist in December 1993.  She and Akers performed two EVAs lasting over 13 hours total.

Her fourth and final mission was aboard Columbia (STS-73) as mission specialist in October-November 1995.  It was the second mission of the US Microgravity Laboratory which studied the effects of the microgravity environment in space.



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