Thatcher, Robert Lee

Robert Thatcher was born on September 22, 1965 in Hampton , Virginia . In 1982 he graduated from high school in Denmark . In 1986, he received a bachelor 's degree in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . In 1994 received a Ph. D. at Harvard Medical School at Harvard University . In 1994-2000 he studied at the internship and residency at the University of California at Berkeley . In 2000-2001 he studied in the field of orthopedic oncology at the University of Florida.

Married, has two children. Setcher loves an interesting job, scuba diving and reading. ^[1] .

Satcher was an assistant professor at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University , at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. He also worked as a nurse at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago , Illinois , specializing in musculoskeletal oncology, as well as the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the School of Engineering at the same university. Thatcher visited Gabon , worked at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in the city of Lambarene . In the field of chemical engineering, Thatcher gained experience during an internship at DuPont , a group of researchers in textile fibers and polymer products. [ ^[2] .

May 6, 2004 was enrolled in the NASA squad as part of the nineteenth set , a candidate for astronauts . Since August 1998, he began to study at the course of General Space Training (OKP). At the end of the course, in August 1999 he received the qualification of “flight specialist” and was appointed to the NASA Astronaut Office . As a specialist in polymer materials, he was sent to the Department of Robotics.

• The first flight is STS-129 ^[3] , the Atlantis shuttle . From November 16 to November 27, 2009, as a “flight specialist”. The STS-129 mission is the first of these final shuttle missions, the task of which is to deliver large-sized and critical spare nodes and devices to the station. Such devices include, in particular, orientation gyroscopes and tanks of station cooling systems. The payload delivered by the shuttle to the station is secured on two experimental transport platforms (ExPRESS Logistics Carrier, ELC-1, ELC-2), which were placed in the cargo compartment of the shuttle. Two orientation gyroscopes were delivered to the station, a high-pressure tank with oxygen for the gateway module , tanks with nitrogen and ammonia, and a pump for the station's cooling system. Among the payloads are also spare parts for the robot manipulator and the Dextre manipulator, spare power cables for the transport trolley, a device for charging and discharging solar batteries , a device to protect the station from possible electrical discharges between the station and the upper layers of the Earth’s atmosphere . Spare S-band antenna kit, a set of equipment for amateur radio communications and equipment for tracking ships on the high seas. During the planned spacewalks, two experimental transport platforms were fixed on specially designed places for them on the S3 and P3 segments of the station truss . Devices that are located on experimental transport platforms are connected to the ISS power and information circuits. In total, the weight of the cargo delivered to the ISS was about 14 tons . During the flight, he performed two EVAs : on November 19, 2009, lasting 6 hours 37 minutes, astronauts installed a spare antenna on the main farm ; installed ammonia lines on the Unity block , lubricated the capture of the payload operations system on the mobile base system (MBS), lubricated the capture on the Japanese robotic arm. November 23 - 5 hours 42 minutes, completed: installation of an additional oxygen tank on the Quest module ; a new kit was installed for the MISSE-7A and 7B materials research project on the ELC-2 block; work with heating cables for the docking unit of the Tranquility module (the launch of which is scheduled for February 2010) on the Unity module; work with other goods. The flight duration was 10 days 19 hours 16 minutes ^[4] .

The total duration of extra-ship activity (ACV) for 2 exits is 12 hours 19 minutes. The total duration of space flights is 10 days 19 hours 16 minutes.

In September 2011, he left the astronaut detachment, returned to medical activities, and continued to deal with the problems of oncology.

Awarded: Medal "For Space Flight" (2009) and many others.

• List of astronauts and astronauts (and candidates) .
• List of US astronauts - participants in orbiting space flights .
• Chronology of manned space flights (2000s) .

• Biography of Robert L. Satcher