Donald Alan Thomas, born May 6, 1955 in Cleveland, Ohio, has made four trips into space. He got his BS in Physics from Case Western Reserve University in 1977, a MS and PhD in Materials Science, both from Cornell University.
NASA selected him as an astronaut in January 1990. His first mission was aboard Columbia (STS-65) as mission specialist in July 1994, with birthday twin Chiaki Mukai. It was the mission that deployed the International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) into space. He spent almost 15 days in space.
His second flight was aboard Discovery (SGS-70) as mission specialist in July 1995. It was the last of seven missions to carry a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) into orbit. He spent 9 days in space.
On his third mission, he flew on Columbia (STS-83) as mission specialist in April 1997. The flight was cut short due to a technical problem in a fuel cell, and the crew landed after just 4 days.
His fourth and final spaceflight was aboard Columbia (STS-94) as mission specialist in July 1997. It was the re-flight of STS-83 just three months before. The mission was a success and he landed after almost 16 days in space.
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