Astronaut
McMonagle was selected as an astronaut by NASA in June 1987. A veteran of three space flights, McMonagle has logged over 605 hours in space. McMonagle flew as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on Department of Defense mission STS-39 in April 1991. During this highly successful 8-day mission, the seven-man crew deployed, operated, and retrieved a remotely-controlled spacecraft and conducted several science experiments to include research of both natural and induced phenomena in the Earth's atmosphere. In January 1993, McMonagle served as pilot on STS-54 aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The 6-day mission featured the deployment of a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS), and the collection of information about celestial x-rays using a Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer. McMonagle commanded a crew of six aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-66 Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science-3 (ATLAS-3) 11-day mission in November 1994. In January 1996 McMonagle was assigned the task to establish a new Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) Project Office responsible for managing all NASA resources associated with space suits and tools used to conduct space walks in support of Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. This role included responsibility for developing and implementing a plan for research and development of next generation space suits to support future human space exploration.
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Famous quotes containing the word astronaut:
“The report reflects incredibly terrible judgments, shockingly sparse concern for human life, instances of officials lacking the courage to exercise the responsibilities of their high office and some very bewildering thought processes.”
—Jane Jarrell Smith, U.S. widow of American astronaut Michael J. Smith. As quoted in Newsweek magazine, p. 13 (June 30, 1986)
“I’m not making light of prayers here, but of so-called school prayer, which bears as much resemblance to real spiritual experience as that freeze-dried astronaut food bears to a nice standing rib roast. From what I remember of praying in school, it was almost an insult to God, a rote exercise in moving your mouth while daydreaming or checking out the cutest boy in the seventh grade that was a far, far cry from soul-searching.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)