Donald A. Thomas

Quick Facts

Full Name	Donald A. Thomas
Occupation	Astronaut
Date Of Birth	May 6, 1955(1955-05-06)
Age	69
Birthplace	Cleveland
Country	United States
Birth City	Ohio
Horoscope	Taurus

Donald A. Thomas Biography

Donald A. Thomas is one of the most popular and richest Astronaut who was born on May 6, 1955 in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Donald Alan Thomas, Ph.D. (born on May 6 1955) is an American engineer and ex- NASA astronaut.

He quit AT&T after 1987 and went on to work at Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Company in Houston, Texas, where his job was to review materials utilized to make Space Shuttle payloads. In 1988, he was hired by NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center as an Engineer in Materials. His work included life-long projections of composite materials to be used on Space Station Freedom. He was also a principal Investigator on the Microgravity Disturbances Experiment an middeck crystal growth study that was carried out on STS-32 during January of 1990. The experiment examined what effects Orbiter as well as crew-related disturbances, on growth of crystals during space.

STS-65 Columbia (July 8, 1994 – July 23, 1994) set a new flight duration record for the Space Shuttle program. The mission flew the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2). During the 15-day flight the crew conducted more than 80 experiments focusing on materials and life sciences research in microgravity. The mission was accomplished in 236 orbits of the Earth, traveling 6.1 million miles in 353 hours and 55 minutes.

Thomas has served in the Safety, Operations Development, and Payloads Branches of the Astronaut Office. He was CAPCOM (spacecraft communicator) for Shuttle missions STS-47, 52 and 53. From July 1999 to June 2000 he was Director of Operations for NASA at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Moscow, Russia. A veteran of four space flights, he logged over 1,040 hours in space. He was a mission specialist on STS-65 (July 8, 1994 – July 23, 1994), STS-70 (July 13, 1995 – July 22, 1995), STS-83 (April 4, 1997 – April 8, 1997) and STS-94 (July 1, 1997 – July 17, 1997). Initially assigned to the ISS Expedition 6 crew, his flight assignment withdrawal resulted from a medical issue affecting long duration space flight qualifications. Thomas has logged over 1,040 hours in space.

After graduating at Cornell University in 1982, Dr. Thomas joined AT&T Bell Laboratories in Princeton, New Jersey, serving as a Senior Member of their Technical Staff. The responsibilities he had there included development of innovative techniques and materials for high-density interconnections in semiconductor devices. He also served as an adjunct lecturer at the Physics Department at Trenton State College in New Jersey. He has two patents, and has written a number of technical research papers.

Donald A. Thomas Net Worth

Donald A. Thomas is one of the richest Astronaut from United States. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Donald A. Thomas 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

graduated of Cleveland Heights High School, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, in 1973. He earned the Master of Science degree in Physics from Case Western Reserve University in 1977. He then earned the master of Science degree and a Doctorate in Materials Science from Cornell University in 1980 and 1982 respectively. His dissertation focused on analyzing the impact of crystalline imperfections and the purity of samples in the properties of superconductivity of Niobium.

Graduated with honors at Case Western Reserve University in 1977. Recognized as the recipient of NASA Sustained Superior Performance Award in 1989. Recognized as the recipient of four NASA Group Achievement Awards, 4 NASA Space Flight Medals 2 NASA Outstanding Service Medals, as well as the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

Selected by NASA in January 1990, Dr. Thomas became an astronaut in July 1991. Thomas was turned down in his application to the astronaut program twice. He decided to differentiate from the applicant competition by getting his pilots license, teaching a university course and furthering his education. In his third application he made the group of 100 semi-finalists. After being invited to Houston, going through a one week medical exam and interviews, he was still turned down. He eventually moved over 1500 miles to live in Houston and was finally accepted on his fourth application .

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

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Who is Donald A. Thomas Dating?

According to our records, Donald A. Thomas is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Donald A. Thomas’s is not dating anyone.

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In 2013, Thomas has written a book e assistance of Mike Bartell “Orbit of Discovery: The All-Ohio Space Shuttle Mission”, referencing the STS-70 flight.

Facts & Trivia

Donald Ranked on the list of most popular Astronaut. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in United States. Donald A. Thomas celebrates birthday on May 6 of every year.