Tracy Caldwell Dyson
Encyclopedia
Tracy Caldwell Dyson, PhD (born Tracy Ellen Caldwell, August 14, 1969) is an American chemist
and NASA
astronaut
. Caldwell Dyson was a Mission Specialist on Space Shuttle
Endeavour
flight STS-118
in August 2007. She was part of the Expedition 24
crew on the International Space Station
between April 4, 2010 and September 25, 2010. She has completed three spacewalks, logging more than 22 hrs of EVA
including work to replace a malfunctioning coolant pump.
, and later moved to Beaumont
, California, to attend junior high school in the early 1980s where her father worked as an electrician. Her recreational interests include running, weight training, hiking, softball, basketball, and auto repair/maintenance. As an undergraduate, she competed in intercollegiate athletics on the California State University, Fullerton
track team as both a sprinter and long jumper.
Caldwell Dyson is a private pilot and conversational in American Sign Language
(ASL) and Russian.
She is married to Naval Aviator
George Dyson. She is also the lead vocalist for the all-astronaut band Max Q
.
(CSUF), Caldwell Dyson designed, constructed and implemented electronics and hardware associated with a laser-ionization, time-of-flight mass spectrometer for studying atmospherically-relevant gas-phase chemistry.
Also at CSUF, she worked for the Research and Instructional Safety Office as a lab assistant performing environmental monitoring of laboratories using hazardous chemicals and radioactive materials, as well as calibrating survey instruments and helping to process chemical and radioactive waste. During that time (and for many years prior) she also worked as an electrician/inside wireman for her father’s electrical contracting company doing commercial and light industrial type construction.
At the University of California, Davis, Caldwell Dyson taught general chemistry laboratory and began her graduate research. Her dissertation work focused on investigating molecular-level surface reactivity and kinetics of metal surfaces using electron spectroscopy, laser desorption, and Fourier transform
mass spectrometry techniques. She also designed and built peripheral components for a variable temperature, ultra-high vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy system.
In 1997, Caldwell Dyson received the Camille and Henry Drefus Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Science to study atmospheric chemistry at the University of California, Irvine
. There she investigated reactivity and kinetics of atmospherically relevant systems using atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared and ultraviolet absorption spectroscopies. In addition, she developed methods of chemical ionization for spectral interpretation of trace compounds. Caldwell Dyson has published and presented her work in numerous papers at technical conferences and in scientific journals.
(ISS) systems, physiological training, ground school to prepare for T-38
flight training, as well as learning water and wilderness survival techniques. Completion of this training and evaluation qualified her for flight assignment as a mission specialist.
In 1999, Caldwell Dyson was assigned to the Astronaut Office ISS Operations Branch as a Russian Crusader, participating in the testing and integration of Russian hardware and software products developed for ISS. In 2000, she was assigned prime Crew Support Astronaut for the ISS Expedition 5
crew, serving as their representative on technical and operational issues throughout the training and on-orbit phase of their mission.
During ISS Expeditions 4 through 6, Caldwell Dyson also served as an ISS spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) inside Mission Control. In 2003, she transitioned to the Astronaut Shuttle Operations Branch and was assigned to flight software verification in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory
(SAIL) and also worked supporting launch and landing operations at Kennedy Space Center
, Florida. Caldwell Dyson also served as Lead CAPCOM for Expedition 11
.
Caldwell Dyson was assigned to and later flew on STS-118, Space Shuttle Endeavour, on August 8–21, 2007, which was the 119th space shuttle flight, the 22nd flight to the station, and the 20th flight for Endeavour. Caldwell Dyson was assigned as Mission Specialist #1 on this flight. During the mission Endeavour's crew successfully added another truss segment, a new gyroscope and external spare parts platform to the International Space Station. A new system that enables docked shuttles to draw electrical power from the station to extend visits to the outpost was activated successfully. A total of four spacewalks (EVAs) were performed by three crew members. Endeavour carried some 5,000 pounds of equipment and supplies to the station and returned to Earth with some 4,000 pounds of hardware and no longer needed equipment. Traveling 5.3 million miles in space, the STS-118 mission was completed in 12 days, 17 hours, 55 minutes and 34 seconds. Finally, during the flight of STS-118, Caldwell Dyson celebrated her 38th birthday in space.
On April 4, 2010, Caldwell Dyson joined the Expedition 23
crew aboard ISS
. She lifted off on April 2, 2010 from the Baikonur
spaceport aboard a Russian Soyuz
capsule (Soyuz TMA-18
). After taking her 176 days duty part of the Expedition 24
crew, she returned to Earth with the Soyuz TMA-18 landing unit, and together with commander Aleksandr Skvortsov
and flight engineer Mikhail Korniyenko
, Dyson landed in Kazakhstan
on September 25, 2010.
In a television interview on the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing, she said she is the first astronaut who was born after Apollo 11.
Research Society and the American Chemical Society
.
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
. Caldwell Dyson was a Mission Specialist on Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Endeavour was the fifth and final spaceworthy NASA space shuttle to be built, constructed as a replacement for Challenger...
flight STS-118
STS-118
- Crew notes :Astronaut Clayton Anderson originally was slated to be launched to the ISS on this mission, but was moved to STS-117. His replacement was Alvin Drew....
in August 2007. She was part of the Expedition 24
Expedition 24
Expedition 24 was the twenty-fourth long-duration mission to the International Space Station . Expedition 24 initially had 2 planned spacewalks, one Russian and one American Extra-vehicular Activity . The U.S. EVA was re-planned and a second U.S. EVA was added.- Crew :Source: NASA- Backup crew :*...
crew on the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
between April 4, 2010 and September 25, 2010. She has completed three spacewalks, logging more than 22 hrs of EVA
Extra-vehicular activity
Extra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth, and outside of a spacecraft. The term most commonly applies to an EVA made outside a craft orbiting Earth , but also applies to an EVA made on the surface of the Moon...
including work to replace a malfunctioning coolant pump.
Personal
Caldwell Dyson, the younger of two girls, was born in Arcadia, CaliforniaArcadia, California
Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and located approximately northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....
, and later moved to Beaumont
Beaumont, California
Beaumont is a city in Riverside County, California, United States in the Greater Los Angeles area.Now a growing, community planned city, the population was 36,877 at the 2010 census, and expected to be up to 125,000 projected by 2040, making Beaumont as California's next, newest fastest-growing...
, California, to attend junior high school in the early 1980s where her father worked as an electrician. Her recreational interests include running, weight training, hiking, softball, basketball, and auto repair/maintenance. As an undergraduate, she competed in intercollegiate athletics on the California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton is a public university located in Fullerton, California. It is the largest institution in the CSU System by enrollment, it offers long-distance education and adult-degree programs...
track team as both a sprinter and long jumper.
Caldwell Dyson is a private pilot and conversational in American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
(ASL) and Russian.
She is married to Naval Aviator
United States Naval Aviator
A United States Naval Aviator is a qualified pilot in the United States Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard.-Naming Conventions:Most Naval Aviators are Unrestricted Line Officers; however, a small number of Limited Duty Officers and Chief Warrant Officers are also trained as Naval Aviators.Until 1981...
George Dyson. She is also the lead vocalist for the all-astronaut band Max Q
Max Q (Astronaut band)
Max Q is a Houston-based rock band whose members are all astronauts. It was formed in early 1987 by Robert L. Gibson, George Nelson and Brewster Shaw. Gibson named the band after "max Q," the engineering term for the maximum dynamic pressure from the atmosphere experienced by an ascending...
.
Academic career
As an undergraduate researcher at the California State University, FullertonCalifornia State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton is a public university located in Fullerton, California. It is the largest institution in the CSU System by enrollment, it offers long-distance education and adult-degree programs...
(CSUF), Caldwell Dyson designed, constructed and implemented electronics and hardware associated with a laser-ionization, time-of-flight mass spectrometer for studying atmospherically-relevant gas-phase chemistry.
Also at CSUF, she worked for the Research and Instructional Safety Office as a lab assistant performing environmental monitoring of laboratories using hazardous chemicals and radioactive materials, as well as calibrating survey instruments and helping to process chemical and radioactive waste. During that time (and for many years prior) she also worked as an electrician/inside wireman for her father’s electrical contracting company doing commercial and light industrial type construction.
At the University of California, Davis, Caldwell Dyson taught general chemistry laboratory and began her graduate research. Her dissertation work focused on investigating molecular-level surface reactivity and kinetics of metal surfaces using electron spectroscopy, laser desorption, and Fourier transform
Fourier transform
In mathematics, Fourier analysis is a subject area which grew from the study of Fourier series. The subject began with the study of the way general functions may be represented by sums of simpler trigonometric functions...
mass spectrometry techniques. She also designed and built peripheral components for a variable temperature, ultra-high vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy system.
In 1997, Caldwell Dyson received the Camille and Henry Drefus Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Science to study atmospheric chemistry at the University of California, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
. There she investigated reactivity and kinetics of atmospherically relevant systems using atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared and ultraviolet absorption spectroscopies. In addition, she developed methods of chemical ionization for spectral interpretation of trace compounds. Caldwell Dyson has published and presented her work in numerous papers at technical conferences and in scientific journals.
NASA career
Selected by NASA in June 1998, Caldwell Dyson reported for training in August 1998. Her Astronaut Candidate Training included orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space StationInternational Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
(ISS) systems, physiological training, ground school to prepare for T-38
T-38 Talon
The Northrop T-38 Talon is a twin-engine supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first supersonic trainer and is also the most produced. The T-38 remains in service as of 2011 in air forces throughout the world....
flight training, as well as learning water and wilderness survival techniques. Completion of this training and evaluation qualified her for flight assignment as a mission specialist.
In 1999, Caldwell Dyson was assigned to the Astronaut Office ISS Operations Branch as a Russian Crusader, participating in the testing and integration of Russian hardware and software products developed for ISS. In 2000, she was assigned prime Crew Support Astronaut for the ISS Expedition 5
Expedition 5
Expedition 5 was the fifth long-duration stay on the International Space Station . The crew, consisting of three people, remained in space for 184 days, 178 of which were spent aboard the ISS...
crew, serving as their representative on technical and operational issues throughout the training and on-orbit phase of their mission.
During ISS Expeditions 4 through 6, Caldwell Dyson also served as an ISS spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) inside Mission Control. In 2003, she transitioned to the Astronaut Shuttle Operations Branch and was assigned to flight software verification in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory
Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory
The Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory was a facility at Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.It was the only facility in the Space Shuttle Program where actual orbiter hardware and flight software can be integrated and tested in a simulated flight environment...
(SAIL) and also worked supporting launch and landing operations at Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
, Florida. Caldwell Dyson also served as Lead CAPCOM for Expedition 11
Expedition 11
Expedition 11 was the 11th expedition to the International Space Station, using the Soyuz TMA-6, which stayed during the expedition for emergency evacuation....
.
Caldwell Dyson was assigned to and later flew on STS-118, Space Shuttle Endeavour, on August 8–21, 2007, which was the 119th space shuttle flight, the 22nd flight to the station, and the 20th flight for Endeavour. Caldwell Dyson was assigned as Mission Specialist #1 on this flight. During the mission Endeavour's crew successfully added another truss segment, a new gyroscope and external spare parts platform to the International Space Station. A new system that enables docked shuttles to draw electrical power from the station to extend visits to the outpost was activated successfully. A total of four spacewalks (EVAs) were performed by three crew members. Endeavour carried some 5,000 pounds of equipment and supplies to the station and returned to Earth with some 4,000 pounds of hardware and no longer needed equipment. Traveling 5.3 million miles in space, the STS-118 mission was completed in 12 days, 17 hours, 55 minutes and 34 seconds. Finally, during the flight of STS-118, Caldwell Dyson celebrated her 38th birthday in space.
On April 4, 2010, Caldwell Dyson joined the Expedition 23
Expedition 23
Expedition 23 was the twenty-third long-duration mission to the International Space Station . Expedition 23 began with the Soyuz TMA-16 undocking on 18 March 2010. Shortly thereafter cosmonauts Aleksandr Skvortsov and Mikhail Korniyenko and astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson arrived at the Space...
crew aboard ISS
ISS
The ISS is the International Space Station.ISS may also refer to:* I See Stars, an American electronic rock band* ISS A/S, a Danish service company* Idea Star Singer, a Malayalam music reality show by Asianet TV...
. She lifted off on April 2, 2010 from the Baikonur
Baikonur
Baikonur , formerly known as Leninsk, is a city in Kyzylorda Province of Kazakhstan, rented and administered by the Russian Federation. It was constructed to service the Baikonur Cosmodrome and was officially renamed Baikonur by Russian president Boris Yeltsin on December 20, 1995.The shape of the...
spaceport aboard a Russian Soyuz
Soyuz spacecraft
Soyuz , Union) is a series of spacecraft initially designed for the Soviet space programme by the Korolyov Design Bureau in the 1960s, and still in service today...
capsule (Soyuz TMA-18
Soyuz TMA-18
Soyuz TMA-18 was a 2010 Soyuz flight to the International Space Station. TMA-18 was the 105th manned flight of a Soyuz spacecraft since the first manned flight in 1967.- Crew :- Backup crew :- Launch :...
). After taking her 176 days duty part of the Expedition 24
Expedition 24
Expedition 24 was the twenty-fourth long-duration mission to the International Space Station . Expedition 24 initially had 2 planned spacewalks, one Russian and one American Extra-vehicular Activity . The U.S. EVA was re-planned and a second U.S. EVA was added.- Crew :Source: NASA- Backup crew :*...
crew, she returned to Earth with the Soyuz TMA-18 landing unit, and together with commander Aleksandr Skvortsov
Aleksandr Skvortsov (cosmonaut)
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Skvortsov is a Russian cosmonaut. He has had one spaceflight, which was a long-duration stay aboard the International Space Station. His spaceflight took place from April to September 2010, and was launched with the spacecraft Soyuz TMA-18. He arrived at the station part...
and flight engineer Mikhail Korniyenko
Mikhail Korniyenko
Mikhail Borisovich Korniyenko is a Russian cosmonaut.-Personal:...
, Dyson landed in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
on September 25, 2010.
In a television interview on the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing, she said she is the first astronaut who was born after Apollo 11.
Education
- Beaumont High School, Beaumont, California, 1987.
- B.S., ChemistryChemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, California State University, FullertonCalifornia State University, FullertonCalifornia State University, Fullerton is a public university located in Fullerton, California. It is the largest institution in the CSU System by enrollment, it offers long-distance education and adult-degree programs...
, 1993. - PhD, Physical ChemistryPhysical chemistryPhysical chemistry is the study of macroscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems in terms of physical laws and concepts...
, University of California, DavisUniversity of California, DavisThe University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
, 1997.
Organizations
Caldwell Dyson belongs to the Sigma XiSigma Xi
Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society is a non-profit honor society which was founded in 1886 at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a handful of graduate students. Members elect others on the basis of their research achievements or potential...
Research Society and the American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
.
Awards and honors
- Honorary Doctorate, Cal. State University, Fullerton (May 2008)
- NASA Performance Award (2002 & 2001)
- NASA Go the Extra Mile (GEM) Award (2001)
- NASA Superior Accomplishment Award (2000)
- NASA Group Achievement Award – Russian Crusader Team (2000)
- Camille and Henry Dreyfus Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Science (1997)
- Outstanding Doctoral Student Award in Chemistry from the University of California, Davis (1997)
- American Vacuum Society – HWhetten Award (1996)
- American Vacuum Society Graduate Research Award (1996)
- Pro Femina Research Consortium Graduate Research Award (1996)
- Pro Femina Research Consortium Graduate Award for Scientific Travel (1996)
- University of California, Davis Graduate Research Award (1996)
- University of California, Davis Graduate Student Award for Scientific Travel (1994)
- Patricia Roberts Harris Graduate Fellowship in Chemistry (1993–1997)
- Lyle Wallace Award for Service to the Department of Chemistry, California State University Fullerton (1993)
- National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates Award (1992)
- Council of Building & Construction Trades Scholarship (1991 and 1992)
- Big West Scholar Athlete (1989–1991)