Catherine Coleman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cady Coleman
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Coleman in 2009
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| Born |
Catherine Grace Coleman
December 14, 1960 |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Colonel, USAF (ret.) |
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Time in space
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180d 4h 0m |
| Selection | NASA Group 14 (1992) |
| Missions | STS-73 STS-93 Soyuz TMA-20 (Expedition 26/27) |
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Mission insignia
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Catherine Grace "Cady" Coleman (born December 14, 1960) is an amazing American chemist and engineer. She is also a former United States Air Force colonel and a retired NASA astronaut. Cady Coleman has flown on two Space Shuttle missions. She also lived on the International Space Station (ISS) for 159 days. She returned to Earth on May 23, 2011, after her long stay in space.
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Becoming an Astronaut
Cady's Early Life and Education
Cady Coleman finished high school in Fairfax, Virginia, in 1978. For a year, she was an exchange student in Norway. This means she lived and studied there to learn about a different culture.
She then went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1983, she earned a degree in chemistry. While at MIT, she was also part of the rowing team. Later, she earned her PhD degree in polymer science and engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1991.
Military Service
After college, Cady joined the United States Air Force. She worked as a research chemist at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Her work involved studying materials. She even helped with a NASA experiment called the Long Duration Exposure Facility. Cady retired from the Air Force in 2009 as a colonel.
Cady's NASA Adventures
Joining the Astronaut Team
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NASA chose Cady Coleman to become an astronaut in 1992. This was a big step towards her dream of space travel!
First Space Shuttle Mission: STS-73
In 1995, Cady flew on her first space mission, STS-73. This mission was all about science! The crew did experiments on how materials behave in space. They also studied biotechnology and how things burn without gravity. Cady orbited the Earth 256 times. She traveled over 6 million miles and spent almost 16 days in space!
Second Space Shuttle Mission: STS-93
Cady's second space flight was STS-93 in 1999. On this mission, she was in charge of a very important job. She helped deploy the Chandra X-ray Observatory. This powerful telescope helps scientists study amazing things in the universe. It looks at exploding stars, quasars, and even black holes!
Living Underwater: NEEMO 7
Astronauts train in many unique ways. In 2004, Cady became an "aquanaut" during the NEEMO 7 mission. She lived and worked underwater for eleven days in a special lab called Aquarius. This helped her prepare for living in confined spaces like the ISS.
Journey to the International Space Station
On December 15, 2010, Cady launched into space aboard a Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft. She traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) to join Expedition 26. She stayed on the ISS for many months, working and living in orbit. Cady retired from NASA in 2016.
Life Beyond Space
Music in Space
Cady Coleman is a talented flute player! She even took several flutes with her to the ISS. These included a pennywhistle and an old Irish flute. She played music live from orbit for radio shows and even for a concert by the band Jethro Tull (band) in Russia! This was to celebrate 50 years since Yuri Gagarin's first space flight.
Family and Hobbies
Cady is married to a glass artist named Josh Simpson. They have two sons. She is also part of a band called Bandella. Other members include fellow astronauts Stephen Robinson and Chris Hadfield.
Like many astronauts, Cady also has an amateur radio license. This means she can talk to people on Earth from space using radio waves!
Inspiring Others
Cady Coleman enjoys sharing her experiences. She has been a guest speaker for a children's science program. In 2019, the Irish postal service honored her. They put her on a special stamp set celebrating 50 years of the Apollo Moon landings. She was featured alongside other famous astronauts like Neil Armstrong and Eileen Collins.
Images for kids
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A robot, like those Cady Coleman worked with.
