Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Tracy Dyson!

Tracy Caldwell Dyson, born August 14, 1969 in Arcadia, California, is a veteran of two missions into space.  She studied atmospheric chemistry at the University of California, Irvine.

Her first mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-118) as mission specialist in August 2007 to the International Space Station.  She celebrated her 38th birthday during the flight.

Her second flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-18 as flight engineer in April 2010. She participated in Expeditions 23 and 24.  She returned to Earth in September 2010.

Soyuz TMA-18 launched 2010

Soyuz TMA-18 crew (L-R): Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Aleksandr Skvortsov, Mikhail Korniyenko

Mission patch

Soyuz TMA-18, launched April 2, 2010, carried three members of Expedition 23 to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Aleksandr Skvortsov, Mikhail Korniyenko, Tracy Caldwell Dyson.

They returned to Earth September 24 after several attempts to undock the Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft from the ISS.

Endeavour (STS-118) launched 2007

STS-118 crew (L-R): Richard Mastracchio, Barbara Morgan, Charles Hobaugh, Scott Kelly,  Tracy Caldwell, Dafydd Williams, Alvin Drew.

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-118), launched August 8, 2007 to the International Space Station, was the first flight of Endeavour since the Columbia disaster in 2003.  Its crew consisted of Commander Scott Kelly, Pilot Charles Hobaugh, Tracy Caldwell, Richard Mastracchio, Dafydd Williams, Barbara Morgan and Alvin Drew.

Barbara Morgan had trained as a backup to Christa McAuliffe as NASA's Teacher in Space, but that ended with the Challenger disaster.  However, when Morgan flew on STS-118, she was not considered a Mission Specialist Educator, but rather a Mission Specialist who had once been a teacher.  During the mission, she spoke to school children on Earth.

Four EVAs were conducted by Rick Mastracchio, Dafydd Williams and Clayton Anderson, who had arrived on the ISS with STS-117. 

They returned to Earth August 21.