Wendy B. Lawrence facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wendy Lawrence
Born	Wendy Barrien Lawrence (1959-07-02) July 2, 1959 (age 65) Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Space career
NASA astronaut
Rank	Captain, USN (ret.)
Time in space	51d 3h 56m
Selection	NASA Group 14 (1992)
Missions	STS-67 STS-86 STS-91 STS-114
Mission insignia

Wendy Barrien Lawrence (born July 2, 1959) is a retired United States Navy Captain, an engineer, and a former helicopter pilot and NASA astronaut. She was the first woman to graduate from the United States Naval Academy and then fly into space. She also visited the Russian Space Station Mir. She was a mission specialist on STS-114, which was the first Space Shuttle flight after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

Early Life and Family

Wendy Lawrence was born in Jacksonville, Florida. Her family has a strong history in aviation. Both her grandfather, Fatty Lawrence, and her father, William P. Lawrence, were naval aviators. Her father was a Vietnam prisoner of war and later became the leader of the U.S. Naval Academy. A Navy destroyer, the USS William P. Lawrence (DDG-110), is named after him.

Education and Learning

Lawrence finished high school at Fort Hunt High School in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1977. She then went to the U.S. Naval Academy, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Ocean Engineering in 1981. Later, in 1988, she received a Master of Science degree in Ocean Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. This was part of a special joint program between the two schools.

Groups and Associations

Wendy Lawrence has been a part of several important groups, including:

• Phi Kappa Phi
• Association of Naval Aviation
• Women Military Aviators
• Naval Helicopter Association
• The Mars Generation

Military Career

After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1981, Wendy Lawrence became a Naval Aviator (a Navy pilot) in July 1982. She was a top student in flight school. She has flown for more than 1,500 hours in six different types of helicopters. She has also landed on ships over 800 times.

While serving in Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 6 (HC-6), she was one of the first two female helicopter pilots to go on a long trip to the Indian Ocean with a group of Navy ships. After getting her master's degree in 1988, she worked at Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 30 (HSL-30). In October 1990, Lawrence returned to the U.S. Naval Academy. There, she taught physics and coached the new women's crew team.

NASA Career

Captain Lawrence inspects Space Shuttle tiles (Oct 2003)

CAPT Lawrence (2nd from left) aboard Russian Space Station Mir (June 1998)

With James Kelly in Destiny during STS-114. (Aug 2005)

NASA chose Wendy Lawrence to be an astronaut in March 1992. She started her training at the Johnson Space Center in August 1992. After a year of training, she became qualified to fly as a mission specialist.

As an astronaut, she helped check flight software and worked as an assistant training officer. She also helped prepare astronauts for Space Station training. She flew as a flight engineer and pilot on STS-67 in March 1995.

Later, she worked as NASA's Director of Operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. Her job was to help coordinate missions for the joint U.S./Russian Shuttle/Mir program. In September 1996, she began training for a four-month mission on the Russian Space Station Mir. However, she was replaced by David Wolf. This happened because the Russian Orlan spacewalk suit had minimum size requirements that she did not meet.

Because she knew a lot about the Mir systems and how to transfer crews, she flew on STS-86 (September 1997) and STS-91 (June 1998). She has flown on four space flights and spent over 1,200 hours (about 50 days) in space.

Lawrence was also a mission specialist on the crew of STS-114. This was the first "Return To Flight" mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. On this mission, she was in charge of moving supplies and equipment. She also operated the Space Station robotic arm. The crew tested new ways to inspect and repair the Space Shuttle thermal protection system (the heat shield). The mission launched on July 26, 2005, and landed on August 9, 2005.

Captain Lawrence retired from NASA in June 2006.

Spaceflight Missions

Here are the space missions Wendy Lawrence was a part of:

STS-67: Studying the Universe

STS-67 on the Endeavour (March 2–18, 1995) was the second flight of the ASTRO observatory. This observatory had three special telescopes. During this 16-day mission, the crew worked non-stop to study the light from faint objects in space and the way light from hot stars and distant galaxies was polarized. The mission lasted for 399 hours and 9 minutes.

STS-86: Visiting Mir Space Station

STS-86 on the Atlantis (September 25 to October 6, 1997) was the seventh time a Space Shuttle met and docked with the Russian Space Station Mir. Key parts of this mission included exchanging U.S. crew members, Mike Foale and David Wolf. Astronauts Scott Parazynski and Vladimir Titov also did a spacewalk to get back experiments that were left on Mir during an earlier mission. The crew transferred over 10,400 pounds of science equipment and supplies to Mir and brought experiment results back to Earth. The mission lasted for 169 orbits, which was 259 hours and 21 minutes.

STS-91: Final Shuttle-Mir Mission

STS-91 on the Discovery (June 2–12, 1998) was the ninth and final mission where a Space Shuttle docked with Mir. This mission marked the end of the joint U.S./Russian Phase I Program. The mission lasted for 235 hours and 54 minutes.

STS-114: Return to Flight

STS-114 on the Discovery (July 26 – August 9, 2005) was the first "Return to Flight" mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. A major highlight was the first time an in-flight repair was made to the orbiter during a spacewalk. The mission lasted for 333 hours and 33 minutes.

Awards and Honors

Wendy Lawrence has received many awards and honors for her service:

• In 2019, she received the U.S. Naval Academy Distinguished Graduate Award. Her father also received this award in 2000.

See also

In Spanish: Wendy B. Lawrence para niños