Nicole Stott facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nicole Stott
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Stott's official astronaut photograph in 2009
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| Born | November 19, 1962 Albany, New York, U.S.
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| Space career | |
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Time in space
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103d 5h 49m |
| Selection | NASA Group 18 (2000) |
| Missions | STS-128 Expedition 20 Expedition 21 STS-129 STS-133 |
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Mission insignia
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Nicole Stott is an American engineer and a retired NASA astronaut. She was born on November 19, 1962. Nicole Stott spent 27 years working at NASA. She retired from the space agency on June 1, 2015.
Stott flew to the International Space Station (ISS) as a flight engineer. She was part of Expedition 20 and Expedition 21. She also served as a mission specialist on two Space Shuttle flights: STS-128 and STS-133. Nicole is married to Christopher Stott, who is a space entrepreneur.
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Early Life and Education
Nicole Stott was born in Albany, New York. She grew up and lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. She studied aviation administration at St. Petersburg College. In 1987, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering. This was from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Later, in 1992, she received her Master of Science degree in Engineering Management. This degree was from the University of Central Florida.
Before joining NASA, Nicole Stott worked as a structural design engineer. She started her career in 1987 at Pratt & Whitney Government Engines. She worked on advanced jet engine designs. Stott is also a private pilot. This means she can fly small planes.
NASA Career and Space Missions
Nicole Stott joined NASA in 1988. She worked at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Her first role was as an Operations Engineer. She helped prepare the Space Shuttles for flight. She also worked on improving how quickly Shuttles could be ready.
Stott helped develop a special computer program. This program helped schedule tasks for space shuttle processing. It was very successful and even used by other companies. She held many different jobs at KSC. These included being a Vehicle Operations Engineer. She also helped manage the Space Shuttle Endeavour.
In 1998, she moved to the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. There, she became a Flight Simulation Engineer. She helped train astronauts using a special plane. This plane could fly like the Space Shuttle.
Becoming an Astronaut
Nicole Stott was chosen as a NASA astronaut in July 2000. She began her training in August 2000. After two years, she became a fully qualified astronaut. She then worked on evaluating equipment for the International Space Station. She also worked as a CAPCOM. This meant she was the main person talking to astronauts in space from Mission Control.
In April 2006, Stott was part of the NEEMO 9 mission. This mission involved living underwater for 18 days. She and her crew lived in the Aquarius undersea research habitat. This helped them practice living in extreme environments, similar to space.
Flights to Space
Nicole Stott flew to the International Space Station on STS-128. This was a Space Shuttle mission. During this mission, she took part in her first spacewalk. A spacewalk is when an astronaut goes outside the spacecraft. She returned to Earth on STS-129. This made her the last astronaut to return from the ISS on a Space Shuttle.
Her second spaceflight was on STS-133. This was one of the last flights of the Space Shuttle program.
First Live Tweet-up from Space
On October 21, 2009, Nicole Stott made history. She and her fellow astronaut, Jeff Williams, held the first live "Tweet-up" from space. They talked directly with people on Earth using Twitter. Before this, astronauts would send their messages to Mission Control. Then, Mission Control would post them online. This event was a big step in connecting astronauts with the public.
Life After NASA
Since retiring from NASA, Nicole Stott has been very active. She appeared in a Super Bowl LIV commercial. This commercial promoted an organization called Girls Who Code. This group encourages girls to learn computer science.
Stott also wrote a book called "Back To Earth." The book shares what she learned about our home planet while in space. It talks about how important it is to protect Earth.
Nicole Stott is also a talented artist. She even brought a small watercolor paint kit with her to the ISS. She was the first person to paint with watercolors in space! Her artwork often shows space and Earth. In 2022, she narrated a musical piece called "Voyager: A Journey to the Stars." This was performed by the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra.
See also
In Spanish: Nicole P. Stott para niños
