David Wolf (astronaut) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
David Wolf
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David Alexander Wolf
August 23, 1956 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
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| Space career | |
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Time in space
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168d 8h 57m |
| Selection | NASA Group 13 (1990) |
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Total EVAs
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7 |
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Total EVA time
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41h 17m |
| Missions | STS-58 Mir 24 (STS-86 / STS-89) STS-112 STS-127 |
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Mission insignia
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David Alexander Wolf (born August 23, 1956) is an American astronaut. He is also a medical doctor and an electrical engineer. David Wolf has traveled to space four times. Three of his spaceflights were shorter missions on the Space Shuttle. His first was STS-58 in 1993, and his most recent was STS-127 in 2009.
Wolf also spent a long time on the Russian space station Mir. This mission lasted 128 days. He arrived on Mir aboard STS-86 in September 1997. He returned to Earth on STS-89 in January 1998. In total, David Wolf has spent over 4,040 hours in space. He has also completed seven spacewalks. These spacewalks lasted a total of 41 hours and 17 minutes. He wore both Russian and American spacesuits.
Contents
Early Life and Education
David A. Wolf was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States. He graduated from North Central High School. After high school, Wolf earned a degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University. He graduated with high honors.
In 1982, he earned a medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine. Later, he trained to be a flight surgeon for the United States Air Force. In 1983, Wolf joined the staff at Johnson Space Center. There, he studied how being in space affects the human body.
Awards and Groups
David Wolf has received many awards and honors. In 1990, he received the NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal. In 1992, he was named NASA Inventor of the Year. He also received an Academic Achievement Award when he finished medical school. He got a scholarship for his research in medical imaging.
Wolf holds 15 U.S. Patents and over 20 Space Act Awards. These awards are mostly for his work on 3-dimensional tissue engineering. He even won the Texas State Bar Patent of the Year in 1994. He has also written more than 40 technical papers.
Dave Wolf is a member of several important groups. These include the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Aerospace Medical Association. He is also part of the Experimental Aircraft Association and the International Aerobatic Club. He is a retired member of the Indiana Air National Guard.
The city of Indianapolis honored Wolf by naming a bridge after him. It is called the "Astronaut David Wolf Bridge."
NASA Career
David Wolf started his career at NASA in the Medical Sciences Division. This was at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He helped develop equipment to study astronauts' hearts in space. Later, he became the chief engineer for the Space Station medical facility. He was in charge of designing this important part of the station.
NASA chose Dave Wolf to be an astronaut in 1990. He trained for 18 months before he was ready to fly. He worked at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There, he helped prepare Space Shuttle orbiters for flight. He also worked as a Capcom. This meant he was the main communicator with astronauts in space. He was a Capcom for the historic docking of Space Shuttle Atlantis with Space Station Mir in 1995.
Wolf is an expert in spacewalks (Extravehicular Activity). He also knows a lot about spacesuits and how to navigate in space. He is skilled in using the Robotic Manipulator System (Robot Arm). He can also repair systems in space and work with computer networks. He was also a flight engineer for the Shuttle's return to Earth.
For his training for the Mir mission, he lived in Star City, Russia. This was at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Wolf learned to speak Russian very well. All his training there was in Russian.
While training, David Wolf and fellow Jewish astronaut Jeffrey A. Hoffman had a friendly competition. They would see who could spin a dreidel the longest. Wolf also took other Jewish items into space, like a yad (a Torah pointer) and a small menorah.
Spaceflight Missions
STS-58 Mission
David Wolf was a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Columbia. This was during the STS-58 mission. STS-58 was a special mission to study how the human body works in space. It focused on the heart, muscles, and brain. The mission lasted 14 days. Columbia landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California. At that time, STS-58 was the longest Space Shuttle mission ever flown.
Mir Expedition 24
Wolf flew on the Space Shuttle Atlantis for STS-86 in September 1997. He was on Atlantis for a short time. His main goal was to travel to the Russian Mir space station. Atlantis docked with Mir on September 27, 1997. This marked the start of Dave Wolf's stay on Mir.
David Wolf spent 128 days aboard the Mir space station. He did many experiments and studies. These included new ways to grow tissues in space and how liquids behave. He also studied how space affects human blood. During his time on Mir, there were several system problems. These included issues with air support and power. He even had to make an emergency entry during a spacewalk. This was because the airlock hatch failed. All his training and the mission itself were conducted entirely in Russian.
While on Mir, Wolf became the first American to vote from space. He cast his ballot in a local election in 1997.
STS-89 was David Wolf's ride back to Earth. STS-89 docked with Mir on January 24, 1998. This marked the end of Wolf's stay on Mir. The Space Shuttle Endeavour landed on January 31, 1998.
STS-112 Mission
Dave Wolf flew on the Space Shuttle Atlantis during the STS-112 mission. STS-112 delivered a large part called the S1 truss segment to the International Space Station (ISS). Atlantis launched on October 7, 2002.
Wolf performed three spacewalks during this mission. He helped install the S1 truss segment and other equipment. He spent a total of 19 hours and 1 minute outside the ISS. Atlantis landed on October 18, 2002. The STS-112 mission lasted about 10 days and 20 hours.
STS-127 Mission
David Wolf's last spaceflight was on the Space Shuttle Endeavour. This was for the STS-127 mission. STS-127 launched on July 15, 2009. The mission delivered a Japanese module and a new crew member to the ISS. The launch was delayed several times due to a leak and bad weather.
Wolf conducted three spacewalks on this mission. They totaled 18 hours and 24 minutes. STS-127 landed on July 31, 2009. The mission lasted about 15 days and 17 hours.
See also
In Spanish: David Wolf (astronauta) para niños
