Rick Mastracchio
From The Space Library
 Rick Mastracchio | |
| Birth Name | Rick Mastracchio |
|---|---|
| Birth Date | Feb 11 1960 |
| Occupation | NASA Astronaut |
Contents |
Personal Data
Born February 11, 1960 in Waterbury, Connecticut.
Education
Graduated from Crosby High School, Waterbury, Connecticut, in 1978; received a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering/computer science from the University of Connecticut in 1982, a master of science of degree in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1987, and a master of science degree in physical science from the University of Houston-Clear Lake in 1991.
Experience
Rick Mastracchio worked for Hamilton Standard in Connecticut as an engineer in the system design group from 1982 until 1987. During that time, he participated in the development of high performance, strapped-down inertial measurement units and flight control computers.
Spaceflight Experience
NASA EXPERIENCE: In 1987, Mastracchio moved to Houston, Texas, to work for the Rockwell Shuttle Operations Company at the Johnson Space Center. In 1990, he joined NASA as an engineer in the Flight Crew Operations Directorate. His duties included the development of space shuttle flight software requirements, the verification of space shuttle flight software in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory, and the development of ascent and abort crew procedures for the Astronaut Office. From 1993 until 1996, he worked as an ascent/entry Guidance and Procedures Officer (GPO) in Mission Control. An ascent/entry GPO has both premission and real-time Space Shuttle support responsibilities in the areas of onboard guidance, navigation, and targeting. During that time, he supported seventeen missions as a flight controller. In April 1996, Mastracchio was selected as an Astronaut Candidate and started training in August 1996. Mastracchio has worked technical issues for the Astronaut Office Computer Support Branch, Space Station Operations, the EVA Branch and as a CAPCOM. He served as the display design lead for the Space Shuttle cockpit avionics upgrades in 2003. From 2004 until 2009, he has worked various Constellation and Orion tasks including Cockpit design lead, and Constellation deputy branch chief. A veteran of three spaceflights, Mastracchio flew as a mission specialist on STS-106, STS-118, and STS-131, and has logged nearly 40 days in space, including 6 EVAs totaling 38 hours and 30 minutes. Mastracchio has been assigned to the Expedition 38 crew as a flight engineer and is scheduled to fly to the ISS aboard Soyuz 37 in late November 2013. STS-106 Atlantis (September 8-20, 2000). During the 12-day mission, the crew successfully prepared the International Space Station for the arrival of the first permanent crew. The five astronauts and two cosmonauts delivered more than 6,600 pounds of supplies and installed batteries, power converters, a toilet and a treadmill on the Space Station. Two crewmembers performed a space walk in order to connect power, data and communications cables to the newly arrived Zvezda Service Module and the Space Station. Mastracchio was the ascent/entry flight engineer, the primary robotic arm operator, and responsible for the transfer of items from the Space Shuttle to the Space Station. STS-106 orbited the Earth 185 times, and covered 4.9 million miles in 11 days, 19 hours, and 10 minutes. STS-118 (August 8-21, 2007) was the 119th space shuttle flight, the 22nd flight to the station, and the 20th flight for Endeavour. During the mission Endeavour's crew successfully added another truss segment, a new gyroscope and external spare parts platform to the International Space Station. Mastracchio was the ascent/entry flight engineer and as EVA lead he participated in three of the four spacewalks. Traveling 5.3 million miles in space, the STS-118 mission was completed in 12 days, 17 hours, 55 minutes and 34 seconds. STS-131 Discovery (April 5-20, 2010), a resupply mission to the International Space Station, was launched at night from the Kennedy Space Center. On arrival at the station, Discovery's crew dropped off more than 27,000 pounds of hardware, supplies and equipment, including a tank full of ammonia coolant, new crew sleeping quarters, and three experiment racks. As the EVA lead, Mastracchio performed 3 spacewalks during this mission and logged 20 hours and 17 minutes of evtravehicular activity. On the return journey the MPLM (Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module) inside Discovery's payload bay was packed with over 6,000 pounds of hardware, science results, and trash. The STS-131 mission was accomplished in 15 days, 02 hours, 47 minutes, 10 seconds, and traveled 6,232,235 statute miles in 238 orbits.
Organizations
Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Special Honours
Other Information
Mar-11
