Weber
Source: Encyclopedia Astronautica (http://www.astronautix.com/):'Weber'
Weber, Dr Mary Ellen (1962-) American chemical engineer mission specialist astronaut. Flew on STS-70, STS-101. Chemist.
NASA Official Biography
NASA Official Biography
- NAME: Mary Ellen Weber, Ph.D.
- NASA Astronaut
- PERSONAL DATA:
- Born August 24, 1962 in Cleveland, Ohio, and Bedford Heights, Ohio is her hometown. She is married to Jerome L. Elkind, whose hometown is Bayonne, New Jersey. She is an avid skydiver, and also enjoys scuba diving and flying. Her mother, Joan Weber, currently resides in Mentor, Ohio; her father, Andrew Weber, Jr., is deceased.
- EDUCATION:
- Graduated from Bedford High School in 1980; received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University in 1984, and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley in 1988.
- EXPERIENCE:
- During her undergraduate studies at Purdue, Dr. Weber was an engineering intern at Ohio Edison, Delco Electronics, and 3M. In her doctoral research at Berkeley, she explored single-collision ion-molecule reactions involving silicon. She then joined Texas Instruments to research new techniques in microelectronics manufacturing, applying models of film growth to improve reactor designs. She was assigned by Texas Instruments to SEMATECH, a U.S. semiconductor manufacturing consortium, and subsequently to Applied Materials and Technology, to develop a world-class high-density plasma reactor, which went into production in 1993. To date, she has received one patent and published eight technical papers.
Dr. Weber has logged over 2,500 skydives since 1983. She received a silver medal in the U.S. National Skydiving Championships, 20-way freefall formation event, in both 1995 and 1991, and was in the world's largest freefall formation, a 297-way, in 1996. She is also an instrument-rated pilot.
- NASA EXPERIENCE:
- Dr. Weber was selected by NASA in the fourteenth group of astronauts, and reported to the Johnson Space Center in 1992. In her technical assignments within the Astronaut Office, she has assisted in the processing and launch of Shuttles at the Kennedy Space Center, and in payload and robotics development. In administrative assignments, she was chairman of the Source Evaluation Board for procurement of a biotechnology contract, and member of the Station Research Facilities Assessment Review Team. She is currently assigned to Legislative Affairs at NASA Headquarters, as a liaison to Congress.
Dr. Weber flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-70, which launched from the Kennedy Space Center on July 13, 1995, and returned there July 22, 1995. The five-member crew deployed the sixth NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, and performed a myriad of scientific experiments. Dr. Weber's primary roles were in check out and deploy of the satellite, operation of biotechnology experiments, and as contingency spacewalk crew member, flight crew, and medical officer. During this nine-day mission, Discovery completed 142 orbits of the Earth and traveled 3.7 million miles.
Departed: December 2002. Departed Date: 2002-12-01. Degree: PhD. Marital Status: Married. Childhood: Grew up in Bedford Heights, Ohio.. Education: Purdue;UC.
AKA: Weber, Dr Mary Ellen.
Location: Cleveland, Ohio.
Status: Inactive.
Longitude: -81.6697 deg.
Latitude: 41.4823 deg.
First date: 1962-08-24.
Number: 2 .
Duration: 18.77 days.
Bibliography
- NASA Astronaut Biographies, Johnson Space Center, NASA, 1995-present. Web Address when accessed: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/.
Associated Programs
- ISS Finally completed in 2010 after a torturous 25-year development and production process, the International Space Station was originally conceived as the staging post for manned exploration of the solar systrem. Instead, it was seemed to be the death knell of manned spaceflight. More...
- STS The Space Transportation System (Space Shuttle) was conceived originally as a completely reusable system that would provide cheap, routine access to space and replace all American and civilian military launch vehicles. Crippled by technological overreach, political compromise, and budget limitations, it instead ended up costing more than the expendable rockets it was to have replaced. STS sucked the money out of all other NASA projects for half a century. The military abandoned its use after the Challenger shuttle explosion in the 1980's. More...
Associated Flights
- STS-101 Crew: Halsell, Helms, Horowitz, Usachyov, Voss, Weber, Williams Jeffrey. First flight with new 'glass cockpit'. ISS Logistics flight. Repair, resupply and construction tasks aboard the international space station. More...
See also
- NASA Group 14 - 1992 Requirement: pilot, engineer, and scientist astronauts for space shuttle flights. Nickname: The Hogs. More...
Associated Countries
Weber Chronology
1992 December 5 - .
- NASA Astronaut Training Group 14 selected. - .
Nation: USA. Related Persons: Barry; Brady; Coleman; Gernhardt; Grunsfeld; Horowitz; Jett; Kregel; Lawrence; Linenger; Linnehan; Lopez-Alegria; Parazynski; Rominger; Scott, Winston; Smith, Steven; Tanner; Thomas, Andrew; Weber. The group was selected to provide pilot, engineer, and scientist astronauts for space shuttle flights.. Qualifications: Pilots: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Advanced degree desirable. At least 1,000 flight-hours of pilot-in-command time. Flight test experience desirable. Excellent health. Vision minimum 20/50 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 vision; maximum sitting blood pressure 140/90. Height between 163 and 193 cm.
Mission Specialists: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics and minimum three years of related experience or an advanced degree. Vision minimum 20/150 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20. Maximum sitting blood pressure of 140/90. Height between 150 and 193 cm.. Four pilots and 15 mission specialists, nine civilians and ten military. Chosen from 2054 applicants, 87 of which screened in December 1991/January 1992. Five additional international astronauts.
1995 July 13 - . 13:41 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39B. Launch Platform: MLP2. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle. LV Configuration: Space Shuttle STS-70.
- STS-70 - . Call Sign: Discovery. Crew: Currie; Henricks; Kregel; Thomas; Weber. Payload: Discovery F21 / TDRS 7 [IUS]. Mass: 20,159 kg (44,442 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Currie; Henricks; Kregel; Thomas; Weber. Agency: NASA Houston. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-70. Spacecraft: Discovery. Duration: 8.93 days. Decay Date: 1995-07-22. USAF Sat Cat: 23612 . COSPAR: 1995-035A. Apogee: 257 km (159 mi). Perigee: 257 km (159 mi). Inclination: 28.4500 deg. Period: 90.50 min. Deployed TDRS 7. Payloads: Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) G/ Inertial Upper Stage (IUS); Bioreactor Demon-stration System (BDS) B; Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC); Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG); Hand-Held, Earth-Oriented, Real-Time, Cooperative, User-Friendly, Location-Targeting and Environmental System (HER-CULES); Microcapsules in Space (MIS) B; Physiological and Anatomical Rodent Experiment (PARE)/National Institutes of Health (NIH) Rodents (R); Radiation Monitoring Experiment (RME) III; Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) II; Space Tissue Loss (STL)/National Institutes of Health (NIH) Cells (C); Military Applications of Ship Tracks (MAST); Visual Function Tester (VFT) 4; Window Experiment (WINDEX).
1995 July 22 - .
- Landing of STS-70 - . Return Crew: Currie; Henricks; Kregel; Thomas; Weber. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Currie; Henricks; Kregel; Thomas; Weber. Program: STS. Flight: STS-70. Summary: STS-70 landed at 12:02 GMT. .
2000 February 24 - .
- ISS Status Report: ISS 00-08 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Altman; Burbank; Halsell; Helms; Horowitz; Malenchenko; Mastracchio; Morukov; Voss; Weber; Wilcutt; Williams, Jeffrey. Program: ISS. The International Space Station continues to orbit quietly without any significant problems hampering its operation as it awaits the arrival of a Space Shuttle crew to perform maintenance tasks while delivering logistics and supplies for use by future astronaut crews. Additional Details: here....
2000 April 6 - .
- ISS Status Report: ISS 00-14 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Helms; Horowitz; Voss; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey. Program: ISS. Shuttle and Station managers yesterday selected April 24 as the launch target date at the conclusion of the Flight Readiness Review, while engineers evaluate an issue with the power drive unit (PDU) for Atlantis' rudder speed brake. Following a hydraulic system test, a higher than normal pressure reading in the suspect PDU was identified. Ongoing analysis will confirm if the PDU needs to be replaced. Managers are evaluating plans to perform the work at the launch pad and currently expect no impact to the launch date. Additional Details: here....
2000 April 13 - .
- ISS Status Report: ISS 00-15 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Helms; Horowitz; Voss; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey. Program: ISS. Atlantis' STS-101 mission remains scheduled for launch at about 4:15 p.m. Eastern time on April 24 with the mission's major goals to accomplish the complete restoration of the electrical power system on the Zarya module and raising the Station's altitude in preparation for Zvezda's arrival in late July. Additional Details: here....
2000 April 20 - .
- ISS Status Report: ISS 00-16 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Helms; Horowitz; Voss; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey. Program: ISS. If all goes as planned, this time next week the International Space Station will house visitors for the first time since the visit by the crew of STS-96 last year. All continues to go smoothly with preparations for the launch of Atlantis to start the STS-101 mission on Monday. Additional Details: here....
2000 May 19 - .
- STS-101 Mission Status Report #02 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Helms; Horowitz; Voss; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-101. The crew of STS-101 was awakened just after 6 p.m. to Tom Petty's song "Free Fallin'," played for Mission Specialist Susan Helms. Once awake, Atlantis' seven-member crew began preparing for its first full day on orbit to ready the vehicle for tomorrow night's docking with the International Space Station and a space walk Sunday night. Additional Details: here....
2000 May 19 - .
- STS-101 Mission Status Report #01 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Helms; Horowitz; Voss; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey; Lu. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-101. Summary: With dawn's first light glimmering above, six American astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center to pay a "home improvement" house call on the fledgling International Space Station.. Additional Details: here....
2000 May 19 - . 10:11 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle. LV Configuration: Space Shuttle STS-101.
- STS-101 - .
Call Sign: Atlantis. Crew: Halsell; Horowitz; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey; Voss; Helms; Usachyov. Payload: Atlantis F21. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Horowitz; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey; Voss; Helms; Usachyov. Agency: NASA Houston. Manufacturer: Boeing. Program: ISS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-101. Spacecraft: Atlantis. Duration: 9.84 days. Decay Date: 2000-05-29. USAF Sat Cat: 26368 . COSPAR: 2000-027A. Apogee: 341 km (211 mi). Perigee: 332 km (206 mi). Inclination: 51.6000 deg. ISS Logistics flight. Launch delayed three times by weather. Objective of mission STS-101 was repair, resupply and construction tasks aboard the international space station. This was the first launch with new electronic cockpit displays and other upgrades. The solid boosters separated at 10:13 GMT and the main engines cutoff at 10:19 GMT. The external tank, ET-102 then separated, with both orbiter and ET-102 in a 52 x 320 km initial orbit. At 10:54 GMT the OMS engines fired to raise perigee to 159 x 329 km x at 51.6 deg. Atlantis docked with the International Space Station's PMA-2 docking adapter on the Unity node at 04:31 GMT on May 21. At that time the ISS was in a 332 x 341 km orbit.
On May 22 mission specialists Jeff Williams and James carried out external maintenance work on the ISS.
On May 23 at 00:03 GMT the Atlantis crew opened the first hatch to PMA-2 and entered the Station. The crew replaced a set of batteries in Zarya, installed fans and ducting to improve airflow, and delivered supplies and equipment. Three hour-long orbit raising burns on May 24 and 25 by the RCS engines on Atlantis raised the station to a 372 x 380 km x 51.6 deg orbit.
The STS-101 crew left the station on May 26, closing the PMA-2 hatch at 08:08 GMT and undocking at 23:03 GMT. Atlantis performed a 180 degree flyaround of the station and departed the vicinity around 23:44 GMT.
Atlantis closed its payload bay doors around 02:30 GMT on May 29 and fired the OMS engines for deorbit at 05:12 GMT. The vehicle landed on RW15 at Kennedy Space Center at 06:20 GMT. Atlantis was to be turned around for the next ISS shuttle flight, STS-106.
Left in orbit was the renovated International Space Station, equipped with an upgraded electrical system, new fans, filters, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and communications gear.
2000 May 20 - .
- STS-101 Mission Status Report #03 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Horowitz; Voss; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-101. Atlantis' crew spent a smooth day in space checking equipment in preparation for upcoming activities: docking with the International Space Station late tonight; a spacewalk planned for late Sunday; and the transfer of over a ton of equipment to the station that will begin late Monday. Additional Details: here....
2000 May 20 - .
- STS-101 Mission Status Report #04 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Helms; Horowitz; Voss; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-101. Atlantis' astronauts were awakened at 4:11 p.m. Central today to the song "Still Shining" by Bob Seger in honor of tonight's rendezvous with the International Space Station. STS-101 Mission Commander Jim Halsell will guide Atlantis to the second Shuttle docking with the International Space Station late this evening. Atlantis is planned to dock with the station at 11:31 p.m. Central. Additional Details: here....
2000 May 21 - .
- STS-101 Mission Status Report #05 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Voss; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-101. Summary: Flying five miles a second above the Ukraine, Commander Jim Halsell gently pulled the Shuttle Atlantis into port last night, flawlessly latching his 100-ton spacecraft to the 35-ton International Space Station for a five-day stay.. Additional Details: here....
2000 May 22 - .
- STS-101 Mission Status Report #07 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Helms; Horowitz; Voss; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-101. Summary: Astronauts Jim Voss and Jeff Williams spent over six hours outside the Space Shuttle Atlantis this morning, completing a variety of planned assembly and maintenance tasks on the International Space Station with ease.. Additional Details: here....
2000 May 23 - .
- STS-101 Mission Status Report #10 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Helms; Horowitz; Husband; Voss; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-101. The STS-101 astronauts aboard Atlantis were awakened at 3:41 p.m. CDT to begin their sixth day in space and third day of docked operations with the International Space Station. Today's wake up song from Mission Control was a long distance dedication from Kathy Halsell to her husband, Mission Commander Jim Halsell, the Flamingoes tune "I Only Have Eyes for You." Additional Details: here....
2000 May 23 - .
- STS-101 Mission Status Report #09 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Helms; Horowitz; Voss; Weber. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-101. Summary: Atlantis' crew ventured into the International Space Station for the first time last night, finding the 35-ton outpost comfortable, clean and in overall good condition as they completed a series of maintenance tasks well ahead of schedule.. Additional Details: here....
2000 May 24 - .
- STS-101 Mission Status Report #12 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Helms; Horowitz; Voss; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-101. STS-101 Commander Jim Halsell and his crew are continuing their efforts aboard the International Space Station as they begin their fourth day of docked operations. The seven astronauts were awakened at 3:28 p.m. CDT with the music, "I'm Gonna Fly" by Amy Grant which was requested by Pilot Scott Horowitz's wife. Additional Details: here....
2000 May 25 - .
- STS-101 Mission Status Report #13 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Helms; Horowitz; Voss; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-101. As their seventh day in space draws to a close this morning, the astronauts aboard Atlantis have virtually completed their maintenance work on the International Space Station, installing equipment that is planned to leave the space outpost in flawless condition. Additional Details: here....
2000 May 25 - .
- STS-101 Mission Status Report #14 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Helms; Horowitz; Voss; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-101. The seven STS-101 astronauts are spending their final full day docked to the International Space Station as they prepare for undocking Friday evening. When Atlantis undocks tomorrow evening, it will leave behind a refurbished orbiting facility, operating at a higher altitude and featuring new electrical and communications components. The station is now primed and ready to receive the next major piece of the station, the Zvezda Service Module, when it is launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan between July 8-14. Commander Jim Halsell, Pilot Scott Horowitz and Mission Specialists Mary Ellen Weber, Jeff Williams, Susan Helms, Jim Voss and Yury Usachev were awakened at 3:11 p.m. CDT. Today's wakeup song -- "Don't It Make You Wanna Dance" by Jerry Jeff Walker -- was played at the request of Williams' son and family. Additional Details: here....
2000 May 26 - .
- STS-101 Mission Status Report #16 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Helms; Horowitz; Voss; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-101. Summary: With a gentle push, Atlantis and the International Space Station parted company this evening as the two spacecraft flew 237 miles over Kazakhstan concluding five days of work to prepare the outpost for its first resident crew.. Additional Details: here....
2000 May 26 - .
- STS-101 Mission Status Report #15 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Helms; Horowitz; Voss; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-101. Summary: With all of their mission's objectives met or exceeded, Atlantis' crew shut the doors to the International Space Station early this morning in preparation for bidding the rejuvenated outpost farewell this evening.. Additional Details: here....
2000 May 27 - .
- STS-101 Mission Status Report #18 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Helms; Horowitz; Ross; Voss; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-101. Summary: With all major mission objectives successfully completed, Atlantis' crew turned its attention to a planned return trip home, with a landing scheduled for 1:20 a.m. Central time on Monday at the Kennedy Space Center.. Additional Details: here....
2000 May 29 - .
- STS-101 Mission Status Report #21 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Helms; Horowitz; Ross; Voss; Weber; Wilcutt; Williams, Jeffrey. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-101. Summary: Atlantis' astronauts glided to a ghostly pre-dawn landing this morning at the Kennedy Space Center to wrap up a successful refurbishment and resupply mission to the International Space Station.. Additional Details: here....
2000 May 29 - .
- Landing of STS-101 - . Return Crew: Halsell; Horowitz; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey; Voss; Helms; Usachyov. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Halsell; Horowitz; Weber; Williams, Jeffrey; Voss; Helms; Usachyov. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-101. Summary: STS-101 landed at 06:20 GMT. .