NASA Astronaut to Visit St. Anne School

Information provided by St. Anne School

NASA astronaut Dr. Shannon Walker will be speaking at St. Anne Catholic School and Parish in Barrington on Jan. 9, 2013. She will share her experiences as an astronaut with the students at two morning assemblies, and also with parish families at an evening assembly. Each hour long assembly will consist of a 30 minute presentation, followed by a 30 minute question and answer period. 

Dr. Walker began her professional career with the Rockwell Space Operations Company at the Johnson Space Center in 1987 as a robotics flight controller for the Space Shuttle Program. She worked several Space Shuttle missions as a flight controller in the Mission Control Center.

She later joined the NASA civil service and began working in the International Space Station (ISS) Program at the Johnson Space Center. Dr. Walker worked in the area of robotics integration, working with the ISS International Partners in the design and construction of the robotics hardware for the Space Station.

Eventually, she joined the ISS Mission Evaluation Room (MER) as a manager for coordinating on-orbit problem resolution for the International Space Station.   Dr. Walker then moved to Moscow, Russia to work with the Russian Space Agency and its contractors.  After returning back to Houston, she became the technical lead for the ISS MER as well as the Deputy Manager of the On-Orbit Engineering Office

Dr. Walker completed Astronaut Candidate Training, and became qualified to fly aboard the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. She has also completed qualification in the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Skills program and the Canadian Space Agency Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Robotics Operator (MRO) course.

Following her Astronaut Candidate Training, Dr. Walker assumed the duties as the crew support astronaut for the ISS Expedition 14 crew.  In addition, Dr. Walker was assigned as a Spacecraft Communicator (CAPCOM) in the Mission Control Center in Houston.

Dr. Walker began training for a long duration flight on the International Space Station. She launched and served as flight engineer (co-pilot) of Russian Soyuz spacecraft, TMA-19, for a long duration mission aboard the International Space Station. The mission lasted 163 days, 161 of them aboard the Station.

For more information, contact Donna Cherwin, dcherwin@stanneschool.org