1. Shannon Walker was born on June 4,1965 and is an American physicist and a NASA astronaut selected in 2004.
17 Facts About Shannon Walker
1. 2.
Shannon Walker launched on her first mission into space on June 25,2010, onboard Soyuz TMA-19 and spent over 163 days in space.
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Shannon Walker returned to space for her second long-duration mission on November 15,2020, onboard SpaceX Crew-1, the first operational flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft.
4.
Shannon Walker studied physics at Rice University in Texas, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Physics in 1987.
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Shannon Walker began her professional career with the Rockwell Space Operations Company at the Johnson Space Center later that year as a robotics flight controller for the Space Shuttle program.
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Shannon Walker worked several Space Shuttle missions as a flight controller in the Mission Control Center, including STS-27, STS-32, STS-51, STS-56, STS-60, STS-61, and STS-66.
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From 1990 to 1993, Shannon Walker took a leave of absence from Johnson Space Center to attend graduate school, where her area of study was the solar wind interaction with the Venusian atmosphere.
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Shannon Walker received a Master of Science and a PhD in Space Physics from Rice University in 1992 and 1993.
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Shannon Walker worked in robotics integration, working with the ISS International Partners to design and build the robotics hardware for the Space Station.
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In 1999, Shannon Walker moved to Moscow to work with the Russian Space Agency and its contractors in avionics integration and integrated problem solving for the ISS.
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Shannon Walker returned to Houston in 2000 and became the technical lead for the ISS MER and the Deputy Manager of the On-Orbit Engineering Office.
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In May 2004, Shannon Walker was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate as part of the 19th class of astronauts.
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Shannon Walker was removed from the flight and replaced with Christina Koch well before launch.
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On June 15,2010, Shannon Walker launched onboard Soyuz TMA-19, alongside fellow NASA astronaut Douglas Wheelock and Roscosmos cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin.
15.
On March 31,2020, NASA announced Shannon Walker would be returning to space for her second spaceflight onboard USCV-1, the first operational flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft and the first operational flight of the Commercial Crew Program.
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Shannon Walker is a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and The Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots.
17.
Shannon Walker is married to retired NASA astronaut, Australian-born Andy Thomas.