NASA Johnson Facts:

NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) is located in Houston, Texas. JSC was established in 1961 as the Manned Spacecraft Center. The Center was renamed in 1973 in honor of the late President Lyndon B. Johnson. JSC serves as the lead NASA center for the International Space Station -- a U.S.-led collaborative effort of 16 nations, and the largest, most powerful, complex human facility to ever operate in space. JSC is also home to the NASA astronaut corps, and is responsible for training space explorers from the United States and our space station partner nations. As such, it is the principal training site for both space shuttle crews and International Space Station Expedition crews.

For more information, visit
NASA Johnson Space Center home page.

ELLEN OCHOA, Ph.D. NASA Johnson Space Center

First Hispanic Female Astronaut

Dr. Ellen Ochoa was born on May 10, 1958 in Los Angeles, CA, but considers Las Mesa, California to be her hometown. She received her bachelor of science degree in physics from San Diego State University, and a master of science degree and doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Dr. Ochoa has worked throughout her career with optical systems and is a co-inventor on three patents relating to optical systems. She was the Chief of Intelligent Systems Technology at the Ames Research Center and supervised 35 engineers and scientists.

Dr. Ellen Ochoa was the first Hispanic woman to become an Astronaut. Sally Ride, the first woman Astronaut in the United States, was one of her role models. Ochoa is not only an Astronaut but also an inventor, holding three patents. When she is in space, she says that she loves "looking out the window at the Earth."

Selected by NASA in January 1990, Dr. Ochoa is a veteran of four space flights (STS-56, STS-66, STS-96, STS-110). She first flew in space on the shuttle Discovery in 1993. She has logged 978 hours in space. Her most recent mission was aboard the space shuttle Atlantis in April, 2002. This was an 11-day mission that visited the International Space Station. Dr. Ellen Ochoa operated the Station's robotic arm to maneuver spacewalkers around the Station. This marked the first time that the Station's robotic arm was used to maneuver space walker around the Station. In 2002, she became Deputy Director of Flight Crew Operations, and in 2006 she was named Director of Flight Crew Operation at Johnson.

In September 2007, Dr. Ellen Ochoa was named the Deputy Director of NASA's Johnson Space Center. Her current duties include sharing in the responsibilities of the JSC Director to plan, organize, and direct all activities required to accomplish the missions assigned to Johnson Space Center. She also serves as the Active Johnson Space Center Director when necessary.

On-Line Articles &/or Profile links:

• NASA websites: NASA Quest and JSC - Astronaut Biographies
• Press Release (Sept '07): Dr. Ellen Ochoa becoming Deputy Director of Johnson
• NASA's First Female Hispanic Astronaut Shares Experiences (6/03 )
• On-line interview(s) at: GraduatingEngineer (11/99)

MAY 2008