Astronaut Biography: Pamela Ann Melroy

Astronaut Biography: Pamela Ann Melroy
STS-120 commander Pamela Melroy completes suiting up to take part in a simulated launch countdown. Her spacesuit name tag reads Pambo, a nickname from a previous spaceflight. Her crewmates chose their own nicknames for the Oct. 10, 2007 lauch rehearsal. (Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett.)

NAME: Pamela Ann Melroy
Colonel,USAF, Ret.
NASA Astronaut

PERSONALDATA: Born September 17, 1961, in Palo Alto, California. Married to Douglas W. Hollett. ConsidersRochester, New York, to be her hometown. Pam enjoys theatre, tap and jazzdancing, reading, cooking, and flying. Her parents, David and Helen Melroy,reside in upstate New York.

STS-112 Atlantis (October 7-18, 2002) launched from and returned to land at the Kennedy SpaceCenter, Florida. STS-112 was an International Space Station assembly missionduring which the crew conducted joint operations with the Expedition-5 bydelivering and installing the S-One Truss (the third piece of the station's11-piece Integrated Truss Structure). It took three spacewalks to outfit andactivate the new component. The crew also transferred cargo between the twovehicles and used the shuttle's thruster jets during two maneuvers to raise thestation's orbit. STS-112 was the first shuttle mission to use a camera on theExternal Tank, providing a live view of the launch to flight controllers andNASA TV viewers. The mission was accomplished in 170 orbits, traveling 4.5million miles in 10 days, 19 hours, and 58 minutes.

NASA
U.S. Space Agency

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the U.S. government agency in charge of the civilian space program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Founded in 1958, NASA is a civilian space agency aimed at exploring the universe with space telescopes,  satellites, robotic spacecraft, astronauts and more. The space agency has 10 major centers based across the U.S. and launches robotic and crewed missions from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral Florida. Its astronaut corps is based at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. To follow NASA's latest mission, follow the space agency on Twitter or any other social channel, visit: nasa.gov