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.
