Shannon Walker entered NASA in 2004 in order to be an astronaut. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rice in Astronomy, a Master of Science and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Space Physics. In 1987, Walker started her professional career at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) as a Space Shuttle Program Robotics Flight Controller. Let’s read about Shannon Walker wiki.
Shannon Walker served as Flight Engineer for Expedition 24/25 in 2010, a long-term mission that lasted 163 days aboard the International Space Station. She is currently assigned to the NASA Crew 1 flight, launching another long-duration mission onboard the ISS on a SpaceX Dragon. NASA Crew-1 astronaut Shannon Walker is able to upgrade to SpaceX from Soyuz.
Married to astronaut Andy Thomas, Walker says she likes cooking, hiking, weight training, camping and traveling.
“There’s no one path to get to where I am today. Some people are scientists. Some people are engineers,some people are medical doctors. and some people come from the military. Because what we need as astronauts are people who can do a lot of different things. We needs lots of diverse people and we need diversity within a single person.”
Earlier life of Shannon Walker
Shannon was born in Houston, Texas, on June 4, 1965. She married Andy Thomas, an astronaut. Cooking, hiking, weight lifting, camping and travel provide leisure interests. Her mum, Sherry Walker, lives in the Texas city of Houston. Robert Walker, her father, died recently.
Also read: The family life of Karen Nyberg with her Husband and son
Graduated in 1983 from Westbury Senior High, Houston, Texas; received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics from Rice University in 1987; received a Master of Science from Rice University in 1992 and 1993, respectively, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Space Physics.
“Even in high school I knew I wanted to be an astronaut, but I had no idea what it took to be an astronaut,” Walker said.
Before an Astronaut
Walker started her professional career at the Johnson Space Center. She joined Rockwell Space Operations Company in 1987 as a Space Shuttle program robotics flight controller. She served in the Mission Control Center on many Space Shuttle flights as a flight controller, including STS-27, STS-32, STS-51, STS-56, STS-60, STS-61, and STS-66.
She entered the NASA civil service in 1995 and started working at the Johnson Space Center for the International Space Station (ISS) Program.
Walker collaborated with ISS Foreign Collaborators in the field of robotics integration in the design and development of robotics hardware for the Space Station. She joined the ISS Project Assessment Room (MER) in 1998 as a consultant for the ISS’s on-orbit problem resolution coordination.
In 1999, Walker moved to Moscow, Russia, to work in the fields of avionics integration for the ISS as well as integrated problem solving for the ISS for the Russian Space Agency and its contractors. One year later, in 2000, she returned to Houston and became the technical lead for both the ISS MER and the Deputy Manager of the On-Orbit Engineering Office. Most recently, Walker was the Acting Manager of the On-Orbit Engineering Office prior to his selection as an astronaut candidate.
Working experience and new task with SpaceX
On 15 June 2010, Dr. Walker launched and acted as Flight Engineer (pilot) of the Russian spacecraft Soyuz, TMA-19. The Soyuz docked with the ISS two days later, and Dr. Walker worked as a long-duration mission flight engineer aboard the International Space Station. During the undock and landing of her crew, which happened on November 25, 2010, she again acted as the Soyuz pilot. Her whole mission lasted 163 days, 161 of which were aboard the station.
According to the Shannon Walker wiki, she is currently assigned to the NASA Crew 1 flight, launching another long-duration mission onboard the ISS on a SpaceX Dragon.