David Wolf (astronaut) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids David Wolf

Born	David Alexander Wolf (1956-08-23) August 23, 1956 (age 68) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Space career
NASA astronaut
Time in space	168d 8h 57m
Selection	NASA Group 13 (1990)
Total EVAs	7
Total EVA time	41h 17m
Missions	STS-58 Mir 24 (STS-86 / STS-89) STS-112 STS-127
Mission insignia

David Alexander Wolf (born August 23, 1956) is an American astronaut, medical doctor, and electrical engineer. He has traveled to space four times. Three of his spaceflights were short trips on the Space Shuttle. His first mission was STS-58 in 1993, and his most recent was STS-127 in 2009.

Wolf also lived for 128 days on the Russian space station Mir. He went to Mir on STS-86 in September 1997 and returned on STS-89 in January 1998. In total, David Wolf has spent over 4,040 hours in space. He has also completed seven spacewalks, lasting over 41 hours, using both Russian and American spacesuits.

David Wolf's Early Life and Education
Awards and Achievements
David Wolf's NASA Career
David Wolf's Spaceflight Missions
Images for kids
See also

David Wolf's Early Life and Education

David A. Wolf was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. He went to North Central High School in Indianapolis. After high school, he studied electrical engineering at Purdue University. He graduated with high honors.

In 1982, he earned a medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine. He then trained to be a flight surgeon for the United States Air Force. A flight surgeon is a doctor who specializes in the health of pilots and astronauts.

Awards and Achievements

David Wolf has received many awards and honors for his work. 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.

Wolf has been granted 15 U.S. Patents. These patents are mostly for new ways to grow tissues in 3D, which is called tissue engineering. He has also written over 40 technical papers. The city of Indianapolis honored him by naming a bridge the "Astronaut David Wolf Bridge."

David Wolf's NASA Career

David Wolf started working at NASA in 1983. He worked in the Medical Sciences Division at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He helped design equipment to study how microgravity (weightlessness) affects the human body. He also worked as the chief engineer for the medical facility on the Space Station.

NASA chose David Wolf to be an astronaut in 1990. He trained for 18 months before he was ready for spaceflight. He worked at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There, he helped prepare Space Shuttles for launch. He also worked as a Capcom, which means he was a main communicator with astronauts in space.

Wolf is an expert in spacewalks (Extravehicular Activity or EVA). He also knows a lot about spacesuits and how to navigate in space. He is skilled in using the Robotic Manipulator System (the Space Shuttle's robot arm). He can also repair systems in space and work with computer networks.

For his mission to the Mir space station, he trained in Star City, Russia. He learned to speak Russian fluently because all his training there was in Russian.

David Wolf's Spaceflight Missions

Wolf performing an experiment during the STS-58 mission

STS-58: Studying Life in Space

David Wolf was a mission specialist on the STS-58 mission aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. This mission, called Spacelab Life Sciences 2, focused on studying how the human body works in space. Scientists looked at the heart, lungs, muscles, and brain.

The mission lasted for 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: Living on a Space Station

Wolf flew to space on Atlantis during the STS-86 mission in September 1997. 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 David Wolf's long stay on Mir.

David Wolf lived on the Mir space station for 128 days. He did many experiments, including studies on growing tissues in microgravity. He also studied how human blood changes in space. During his time on Mir, some systems on the station had problems, like the air supply and power. He even had to make an emergency return during a spacewalk because of a hatch problem. All his training and work on Mir were done 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 the mission that brought David Wolf back to Earth. Endeavour docked with Mir on January 24, 1998, ending Wolf's stay. Endeavour landed on January 31, 1998.

STS-112: Building the International Space Station

Dave Wolf flew on Atlantis during the STS-112 mission. This mission 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 spent over 19 hours outside the ISS to help install the S1 truss and other equipment. Atlantis landed on October 18, 2002. The mission lasted about 10 days.

STS-127: Final Space Shuttle Mission

David Wolf's last spaceflight was on Endeavour during the STS-127 mission. This mission launched on July 15, 2009. It delivered a Japanese science module and a new crew member to the ISS.

The launch of STS-127 was delayed several times due to a fuel leak and bad weather. Wolf conducted three spacewalks during this mission, totaling over 18 hours. STS-127 landed on July 31, 2009. The mission lasted about 15 days.