Anne McClain facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anne McClain
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Anne Charlotte McClain
June 7, 1979 Spokane, Washington, U.S.
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| Awards | Defense Superior Service Medal |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Colonel, US Army |
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Time in space
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203 days, 15 hours, 16 minutes |
| Selection | NASA Group 21 (2013) |
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Total EVAs
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2 |
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Total EVA time
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13 hours, 9 minutes |
| Missions |
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Mission insignia
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Anne Charlotte McClain, born on June 7, 1979, is a brave Colonel in the U.S. Army. She is also a talented engineer and a NASA astronaut. Her friends call her "Annimal" because of her rugby days. She even uses this nickname on her Twitter page, AstroAnnimal. Anne McClain served as a Flight Engineer on Expedition 58 and Expedition 59 to the International Space Station.
Contents
Anne McClain: Astronaut and Explorer
Early Life and Education
Anne McClain grew up in Spokane, Washington. From a young age, she dreamed of becoming an astronaut. After graduating from Gonzaga Preparatory School in 1997, she attended Spokane Community College. She also joined the R.O.T.C. program at Gonzaga University.
In 2002, she graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. There, she earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. She then became an officer in the U.S. Army.
McClain continued her studies in England. She earned a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Bath in 2004. In 2005, she received another master's degree in international relations from the University of Bristol. She completed both degrees with the help of a Marshall Scholarship.
Her research on how air moves around certain types of wings was later published. Before her advanced studies, McClain spent eight weeks in Africa. She worked on a construction project in Uganda with a group called Operation Crossroads Africa.
Sports and Teamwork
Anne McClain is a very skilled rugby player. She played in the top league in England, called the Women's Premiership. She also played for the United States women's national rugby union team, known as the Women's Eagles.
Her duties with the U.S. Army sometimes kept her from playing international rugby. For example, she could not join the 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup. However, she played at a high level for ten years. Only her time serving in Iraq interrupted her rugby career.
McClain believes that playing rugby helped her become an astronaut. She once shared in an interview that rugby training was useful. It prepared her for training in a neutral buoyancy pool while wearing a space suit. This pool helps astronauts practice moving in space.
Flying High: Military Career
After finishing her studies, McClain became a pilot for the Bell OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter. She was sent to Hawaii, where she served at Wheeler Army Airfield. McClain quickly moved up in the Army ranks.
She started as a leader for air traffic control and aircraft maintenance. Later, she became a Detachment Commander. McClain was sent to the Persian Gulf for 15 months. During this time, she flew 800 hours and completed 216 combat missions. This was part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In 2009, she became an instructor for the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter. She also commanded a troop responsible for training new Army pilots. In 2011 and 2012, she completed more training courses. She also worked as an intelligence officer for a command squadron.
In June 2013, McClain graduated from the United States Naval Test Pilot School. In total, she has flown over 2,000 hours. She has piloted many different aircraft types. These include the Kiowa Warrior, the Beechcraft C-12 Huron, the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, and the Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota.
Journey to Space: NASA Career
In June 2013, NASA chose Anne McClain to join NASA Astronaut Group 21. She was the youngest astronaut selected at that time. She finished her astronaut training in July 2015. This made her ready for future space missions.
She traveled to the International Space Station in December 2018. She returned to Earth in June 2019. On December 9, 2020, NASA announced that McClain was chosen for the Artemis program. This program aims to send humans back to the Moon.
Expedition 58/59 Mission
For her first space mission, McClain was assigned as a flight engineer. She was part of Expedition 58 and Expedition 59 to the International Space Station. She launched with Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques.
The crew launched aboard Soyuz MS-11 on December 3, 2018. They lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch was moved up after an earlier Soyuz mission failed. The crew reached the ISS six hours later. They spent over two weeks with the Expedition 57 crew.
On March 22, 2019, McClain and Nick Hague performed their first Spacewalk. They installed adapter plates and prepared for battery swaps. This spacewalk lasted 6 hours and 39 minutes. They also cleaned up debris from the Unity Module. They stored tools and secured parts of the solar array.
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McClain was scheduled for a second spacewalk with Christina Koch. This would have been the first spacewalk with only women. However, due to spacesuit sizing, the plan changed. Instead, Hague and Koch performed that spacewalk. McClain completed her second spacewalk with Saint-Jacques on April 8.
McClain, Saint-Jacques, and Kononenko returned to Earth. They landed aboard Soyuz MS-11 on June 24, 2019.
Future Space Adventures
McClain has been chosen to command the SpaceX Crew-10 mission. This mission will also go to the International Space Station. Her crew will include pilot Nichole Ayers and mission specialists Takuya Onishi and Kirill Peskov. This flight is planned for March 2025 or later.
Awards and Recognition
Anne McClain has received many awards for her service. These include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star Medal. She also has the Air Medal with a "V" for valor, plus two more Air Medals.
Other awards include two Army Commendation Medals and two Army Achievement Medals. She earned the Iraq Campaign Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. She also has three Overseas Service Ribbons. The University of Bath has given her an honorary Doctorate in Engineering.
Personal Life
Anne McClain lives in suburban Houston, Texas.
Images for kids
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The newly-expanded six-member Expedition 57 crew poses for a portrait inside the International Space Station's Zvezda service module on December 10, 2018
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Expedition 57 crew gathers inside the Destiny laboratory on December 18, 2018
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Four Expedition 59 astronauts pose for a playful portrait inside the Harmony module on May 4, 2019
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Anne McClain after her first landing near the town of Zhezkazgan on June 25, 2019
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See also
In Spanish: Anne McClain para niños
