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Dr. Ellen Ochoa on the Flight Deck of Shuttle Atlantis

NASA astronaut Ellen Ochoa aboard space shuttle with window overhead looking out toward Earth
On April 15, 2002, STS-110 Mission Specialist Ellen Ochoa works at the Remote Manipulator System controls on the aft flight deck of space shuttle Atlantis. Dr. Ochoa, a veteran astronaut, is currently the 11th director of Johnson Space Center. She became the first Hispanic woman to go to space when she served on the STS-56 mission.

On April 15, 2002, STS-110 Mission Specialist Ellen Ochoa works at the Remote Manipulator System controls on the aft flight deck of space shuttle Atlantis during the orbiter’s visit to the International Space Station.

Dr. Ochoa, a veteran astronaut, is currently the 11th director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. She is JSC’s first Hispanic director, and its second female director. She became the first Hispanic woman to go to space when she served on the STS-56 nine-day mission aboard the Discovery space shuttle, launched on April 8, 1993. Over the span of her career, Ochoa has flown on four space missions — STS-56, STS-66, STS-96 and STS-110 — logging nearly 1,000 hours in orbit. Dr. Ochoa joined NASA in 1988 as a research engineer at Ames Research Center, where she managed the Intelligent Systems Technology Branch, moving to JSC in 1990 when she was selected as an astronaut candidate. She is a co-inventor on three patents for an optical inspection system, an optical object recognition method, and a noise removal method for imagery. She has received numerous awards including NASA’s highest award, the Distinguished Service Medal, and will be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in May 2017.

Image Credit: NASA