Catherine Coleman

A veteran of two Shuttle Space missions, Catherine Coleman has logged over 500 hours in space. She was a mission specialist on STS-73 in 1995 and was the lead mission specialist on STS-93 in 1999, deploying the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. She will fly to the ISS on her 50th birthday.

Born in South Carolina, USA, she received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate in polymer science and engineering from the University of Massachusetts.

Coleman was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the US Air Force, where she worked as a research chemist for optical applications such as advanced computers and data storage.

As a volunteer test subject for the centrifuge programme at the Armstrong Aeromedical Laboratory, Coleman set several endurance and tolerance records during her participation in physiological and new equipment studies.

She has served as a primary communicator between flight control and astronauts for both the Space Shuttle and ISS for a number of years.