Metcalf-Lindenburger Credit: www.spacefacts.de |
Status: Inactive; Active 2004-2013. Born: 1975-05-02. Spaceflights: 1 . Total time in space: 15.12 days. Birth Place: Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Educated Whitman.
Official NASA Biography as of June 2016:DOROTHY M. METCALF-LINDENBURGER
NASA Astronaut (FORMER)
PERSONAL DATA: Born in May 1975, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but considers Fort Collins, Colorado, her hometown. Married Jason Metcalf-Lindenburger of Pendleton, Oregon, in 2000. They have one child. Her parents are Joyce and Keith Metcalf, who reside in Fort Collins, Colorado. Metcalf-Lindenburger enjoys running marathons, hiking, drawing, singing and playing music.
EDUCATION: Fort Collins High School, Fort Collins, Colorado; Bachelor of Arts, Geology, Whitman College, Washington, 1997 (graduated with honors in her major and cum laude); Teaching Certification, Central Washington University, Washington, 1999.
ORGANIZATIONS: Phi Beta Kappa, Geological Society of America, National Science Teachers Association, International Technology Education Association, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
SPECIAL HONORS: Ducan Bonjorni Extraordinary Achievement Award from Central Washington University (2010), Pete Reid Award for Young Alumni from Whitman College (2009), Space Camp Hall of Fame Inductee (2007), VIP for the Vancouver School District (2004), Outstanding Teacher Preparation Candidate at Central Washington University (1999), Geological Society of America (GSA) Field Camp Award (1996) and the following Whitman College Awards: Leed’s Geology Award and Order of the Waiilaptu, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (NAIA) Academic All-American in Cross Country and Track (1995-1996) and NAIA Conference Champion in the 10K (1996).
EXPERIENCE: Five years of teaching Earth Science and Astronomy at Hudson’s Bay High School in Vancouver, Washington. Three years of coaching cross-country running at the high-school level and two years of coaching Science Olympiad. Undergraduate research with the KECK Consortium for two summers: Mapping the last glaciations of Russell Creek in Wyoming (1995) and mapping and determining the petrology of the rocks in the Wet Mountain region of Colorado (1996). Both research positions led to publications.
NASA EXPERIENCE: Metcalf-Lindenburger was selected by NASA as a Mission Specialist in May 2004. In February 2006, she completed Astronaut Candidate Training, which included 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. Completion of this initial training qualified her for technical assignments within the Astronaut Office and future flight assignment. Metcalf-Lindenburger served as the Astronaut Office Station Branch twig lead for systems and crew interfaces. In 2010, she was a mission specialist on the crew of STS-131 and logged more than 362 hours in space. After her space flight, she worked as a Cape Crusader for the final three shuttle missions. She also supported the Astronaut Office Station Operation Branch as a lead for the provisions, manifests, and stowage twig.
In June 2012, Metcalf-Lindenburger commanded the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 16. In this underwater habitat, the international crew of four aquanauts and two habitat technicians carried out simulated spacewalks to investigate the techniques and tools that may be used at a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA). Additionally, they operated under a 50-second, one€‘way communication delay and conducted educational and public live video appearances.
Metcalf-Lindenburger retired from NASA on June 13, 2014, to live and work in the Seattle area.
SPACEFLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-131 Discovery (April 5 to April 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, 02 hours, 47 minutes and 10 seconds and traveled 6,232,235 statute miles in 238 Earth orbits.
MAY 2014
This is the only version available from NASA. Updates must be sought direct from the above named individual.
Official NASA Biography - May 2004
Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, Mission Specialist-Educator
AGE: 29
BORN:Colorado Springs, Colorado
EDUCATION: BS, Geology, Whitman College, Washington, 1997
CURRENT JOB: Science Teacher and Cross Country Coach, Hudson's Bay High School, Vancouver, Washington
QUICK FACT: Hikes, bikes, roller blades, and has finished the Boston Marathon
QUOTE: "When this big of a dream comes true, it's unreal."
One of Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger's astronomy students at Hudson's Bay High School in Vancouver, Washington once wanted to know how astronauts use the bathroom in space.
"Mrs. M.L.," as she's known to her students, went to the NASA.gov Web site looking to answer her student's question, and what she found changed her life.
"The educator astronaut position had just been posted," she says. "I got so excited. It seemed so perfect." She got the call in mid-April that she had been accepted to begin astronaut training this summer at NASA's Johnson Space Center. "When this big of a dream comes true, it's unreal."
Metcalf-Lindenburger considers herself a science teacher even when she's outside of the classroom. "My husband and I built a telescope last year and took it on our summer vacation, and wherever we stopped, we showed people things like Jupiter or the moon," she says. "So many of the adults had never even looked through a telescope."
"I guess I see myself as sort of a teacher for all people," she adds.
"A lot of kids aren't necessarily interested in science and math," she says. "But they do get excited about things like the Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. I want to continue to build more connections with the community to get them jazzed about studying science."
Metcalf-Lindenburger grew up in Ft. Collins, Colorado and went to Ft. Collins High School. She has a younger sister who is a math teacher in Chicago, and the siblings often help each other with their lesson plans.
"We're very close," she says. "We had a lot of fun growing up. We were always creating newspapers or putting on shows for our grandparents."
Metcalf-Lindenburger got excited about science in high school when she traveled with a teacher to California to present ideas on how to turn food waste into fuel. She later earned a geology degree from Whitman College in Washington. Metcalf-Lindenburger is an avid runner, and exactly one week after she was notified of her acceptance for astronaut training, she celebrated another accomplishment: completing the Boston Marathon. She and her husband Jason also enjoy hiking, biking, roller blading, and traveling.
At 29, she is the youngest of the 2004 class of astronaut candidates. Metcalf-Lindenburger says, "I like learning from people who are a little older, who have more life experiences. Sometimes I feel like, because I'm younger, I have to prove myself. Then, I realize I'm fortunate that I have so many opportunities to learn."
"People are doing great things with their lives to further science," she says. "I hope to bring the community into what's going on."
The group was selected to provide pilot and mission specialists for post-ISS spaceflights to the moon and beyond. Qualifications: Pilots: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Advanced degree desirable. At least 1,000 flight-hours of pilot-in-command time. Flight test experience desirable. Excellent health. Vision minimum 20/50 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 vision; maximum sitting blood pressure 140/90. Height between 163 and 193 cm.
Mission Specialists: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics and minimum three years of related experience or an advanced degree. Vision minimum 20/150 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20. Maximum sitting blood pressure of 140/90. Height between 150 and 193 cm.. Due to a surplus of astronauts and a dearth of missions, NASA cancelled the planned 2002 astronaut selection. The next call for applications was made in May 2003, with a due date of 1 July. 'Educator astronauts' were especially requested, and 1100 applications were received in this category. The final selection was two pilots and nine mission specialists; nine men and two women. Given the drastic reduction if shuttle flights and ISS crew size planned for the post-Columbia disaster period, the chances for astronauts from this group flying in the next decade seemed slim indeed. Also training in this group were three NASDA astronauts from Japan.