Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger

Summary

Dorothy Marie "Dottie" Metcalf-Lindenburger (born May 2, 1975) is a retired American astronaut. In 2000, she married Jason Metcalf-Lindenburger, a fellow Whitman College graduate and educator, from Pendleton, Oregon, and they now have one daughter together. She was a science teacher at Hudson's Bay High School in Vancouver, Washington[1] when she was selected in 2004 as an educator mission specialist. Her parents are Joyce and Keith Metcalf, who reside in Fort Collins, Colorado.[2] She was the first Space Camp alumna to become an astronaut.

Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger
Born
Dorothy Marie Metcalf

(1975-05-15) May 15, 1975 (age 48)
EducationWhitman College (BS)
University of Washington (MS)
Space career
NASA astronaut
Time in space
15d 2h 47m
SelectionNASA Group 19 (2004)
MissionsSTS-131
Mission insignia

Education edit

Organization edit

Honors edit

  • 2007 Space Camp Hall of Fame Inaugural Inductee[3]
  • 1999 Outstanding Teacher Preparation Candidate at Central Washington University.
  • 1997 Whitman College Leed's Geology Award
  • 1997 Whitman College Order of the Waiilatpu
  • 1996 GSA Field Camp Award
  • 1995–1996 NAIA Academic All-American in Cross Country and Track
  • 1996 NAIA Conference Champion in the 10K.

Teaching career edit

NASA career edit

Metcalf-Lindenburger was selected by NASA in May 2004 as an astronaut candidate. Astronaut candidate training includes orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training, T-38 flight training, and water and wilderness survival training. Successful completion of this training in February 2006 qualified her as a NASA Astronaut. She served as a mission specialist on STS-131, an April 2010 Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station. The mission's primary payload was the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module.

 
The three astronauts of STS-131 (Metcalf-Lindenburger on the top left) and Tracy Caldwell of ISS Expedition 23, the first time four women were in space at the same time.[4]

On July 20, 2009, Metcalf-Lindenburger sang the national anthem at the Houston Astros game against the St. Louis Cardinals in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. She has been a long-time lead singer with the all-astronaut rock band, "Max Q".

On April 16, 2012, NASA announced that Metcalf-Lindenburger would command the NEEMO 16 undersea exploration mission aboard the Aquarius underwater laboratory, scheduled to begin on June 11, 2012, and last twelve days.[5] The NEEMO 16 crew successfully "splashed down" at 11:05 am on June 11.[6] On the morning of June 12, Metcalf-Lindenburger and her crewmates officially became aquanauts, having spent over 24 hours underwater.[7] The crew safely returned to the surface on June 22.[8]

Metcalf-Lindenburger retired from NASA on June 13, 2014, to live and work in the Seattle area.

Spaceflights edit

STS-131 Discovery (April 5 to 20, 2010), a resupply mission to the International Space Station, was launched at night from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. On arrival at the station, Discovery's crew dropped off more than 27,000 pounds of hardware, supplies and equipment, including a tank full of ammonia coolant that required three spacewalks to hook up, new crew sleeping quarters and three experiment racks. On the return journey, Leonardo, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) inside Discovery's payload bay, was packed with more than 6,000 pounds of hardware, science results and trash. The STS-131 mission was accomplished in 15 days, 2 hours, 47 minutes and 10 seconds and traveled 6,232,235 statute miles in 238 Earth orbits.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ "The Eagle Has Landed! Dottie's Home." Report to the Community – Vancouver Public Schools June 2010: 4. Print.
  2. ^ a b "Biographical Data Dorothy M. Metcalf-Lindenburger NASA astronaut (former)" (PDF). NASA. March 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2021.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ "Space Camp Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  4. ^ "Four Women will Fly in Space for the First Time in the History". Russian Federal Space Agency. April 3, 2010. Archived from the original on April 8, 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  5. ^ NASA (April 16, 2012). "NASA – NASA Announces 16th Undersea Exploration Mission Dates and Crew". NASA. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  6. ^ The NEEMO Mission Management and Topside Support Team (June 11, 2012). "NEEMO 16 Mission Day 1 – Status Report" (PDF). NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 11, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  7. ^ The NEEMO Mission Management and Topside Support Team (June 12, 2012). "NEEMO 16 Mission Day 2 – Status Report" (PDF). NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 4, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  8. ^ The NEEMO Mission Management and Topside Support Team (June 22, 2012). "NEEMO 16 Mission Day 12 – Status Report" (PDF). NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2012.

External links edit

  • "Biographical Data Dorothy M. Metcalf-Lindenburger NASA astronaut (former)" (PDF). NASA. March 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  • Spacefacts biography of Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger
  • The Mars Generation TEDx Talk