Andrew Sydney Withiel Thomas, born December 18, 1951, is the first Australian-born professional astronaut in space. Fellow countryman Paul Scully-Power was the first Aussie in space but he was an oceanographer. Thomas has flown on 5 shuttle missions, including time spent on Mir.
His first mission was on Endeavour (STS-77) May 1996 as a Mission Specialist. On January 23, 1998, he took off on Endeavour (STS-89) and transferred to the Mir spacecraft where he spent four months. He returned to Earth in May aboard Discovery (STS-91).
In March 2001, he flew on Discovery (STS-102) to the International Space Station for resupplying and rotating Expedition 1 and Expedition 2 crews.
His fifth and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-114) for NASA's "Return to Flight" mission July-August 2005. It was the first space shuttle mission following the Columbia disaster.
Thomas retired from NASA in February 2014.
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