NAME: Lisa M. Nowak (Captain, U.S. Navy)
NASA Astronaut
PERSONAL DATA: Born May 10, 1963, in Washington, D.C. Married,
with three children.
Lisa
enjoys bicycling, running, skeet, sailing, gourmet cooking, rubber stamps,
crossword puzzles, piano, and African violets. As an undergraduate she competed
on the track team. Her parents, Alfredo and Jane Caputo, reside in Rockville,
Maryland.
EDUCATION: Graduated from C.W. Woodward High School, Rockville,
Maryland, in 1981; received a bachelor of science degree in aerospace
engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1985; a master of science degree in
aeronautical engineering and a degree of aeronautical and astronautical
engineer from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, both in 1992.
ORGANIZATIONS: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; U.S.
Naval Academy Alumni Association; Tau Beta Pi Engineering Society.
AWARDS: Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal; Navy
Achievement Medal; various other service awards.
EXPERIENCE: Nowak received her commission from the U.S. Naval Academy
in May 1985, and reported to flight school after six months of temporary duty
at Johnson Space Center.
She
earned her wings as a Naval Flight Officer in June 1987, followed by Electronic
Warfare School at Corry Station, Florida, and initial A-7 training at Naval Air
Station Lemoore, California.
She
was assigned to Electronic Warfare Aggressor Squadron 34 at Point Mugu,
California, where she flew EA-7L and ERA-3B aircraft, supporting the fleet in
small and large-scale exercises with jamming and missile profiles. While
assigned to the squadron, she qualified as Mission Commander and EW Lead.
In
1992, Nowak completed two years of graduate studies at Monterey, and began
working at the Systems Engineering Test Directorate at Patuxent River,
Maryland. In 1993, she was selected for both Aerospace Engineering Duty and
U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.
After
graduation in June 1994, she stayed at Patuxent River working as an aircraft
systems project officer at the Air Combat Environment Test and Evaluation
Facility and at Strike Aircraft Test Squadron, flying the F/A-18 and EA-6B. Nowak
was then assigned to the Naval Air Systems Command, working on acquisition of
new systems for naval aircraft, when she was selected for the astronaut
program.
Nowak
has logged over 1,500 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft.
NASA EXPERIENCE: After receiving her commission Nowak was
assigned temporary duty and from June to November 1985 she provided engineering
support for the JSC's Shuttle Training Aircraft Branch at Ellington, Texas.
Selected
by NASA in April 1996, Nowak reported to the Johnson Space Center in August
1996. Having completed two years of training and evaluation, she became
qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. Initially assigned
technical duties in the Astronaut Office Operations Planning Branch, she also
served in the Astronaut Office Robotics Branch and in the CAPCOM Branch,
working in Mission Control as prime communicator with on-orbit crews. Nowak
flew as a mission
specialist on STS-121 in 2006 and has logged almost 13 days in space.
SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-121 (July 4-17, 2006), was a return-to-flight
test mission and assembly flight to the International Space
Station.
During
the 13-day flight the crew of Space
Shuttle Discovery tested new equipment and procedures that increase the safety
of space shuttles, repaired a rail car on the International Space Station and
produced never-before-seen, high-resolution images of the Shuttle during and
after its July 4th launch.
Nowak
was responsible for operating the remote arm during scheduled EVAs. The crew
also performed maintenance on the space station and delivered and transferred
more than 28,000 pounds of supplies and equipment, and a new Expedition 13 crew
member to the station. The mission was accomplished in 306 hours, 37 minutes
and 54 seconds.
Last
updated: October 2006
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