Dorothy Metcalf was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado to Joyce and Keith Metcalf.[2]
Metcalf graduated from Fort Collins High School, Fort Collins, Colorado. She went on to attend Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, where she studied geology. As an undergrad, she undertook research with the KECK Consortium for two summers. In 1995, she worked in Wyoming mapping the last glaciations of Russell Creek, and in 1996 she mapped and determined the petrology of the rocks in the Wet Mountain region of Colorado. She graduated from Whitman College in 1997.
1995–1996 NAIA Academic All-American in Cross Country and Track
1996 NAIA Conference Champion in the 10K.
NASA career
Metcalf-Lindenburger was selected by NASA in May 2004 as an astronaut candidate. Astronaut candidate training includes orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training, T-38 flight training, and water and wilderness survival training. Successful completion of this training in February 2006 qualified her as a NASA Astronaut. She served as a mission specialist on STS-131, an April 2010 Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station. The mission's primary payload was the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module.
On July 20, 2009, Metcalf-Lindenburger sang the national anthem at the Houston Astros game against the St. Louis Cardinals in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. She has been a long-time lead singer with the all-astronaut rock band, "Max Q".
On April 16, 2012, NASA announced that Metcalf-Lindenburger would command the NEEMO 16 undersea exploration mission aboard the Aquariusunderwater laboratory, scheduled to begin on June 11, 2012, and last twelve days.[5] The NEEMO 16 crew successfully "splashed down" at 11:05 am on June 11.[6] On the morning of June 12, Metcalf-Lindenburger and her crewmates officially became aquanauts, having spent over 24 hours underwater.[7] The crew safely returned to the surface on June 22.[8]
Metcalf-Lindenburger retired from NASA on June 13, 2014, to live and work in the Seattle area.
Spaceflights
STS-131 Discovery (April 5 to 20, 2010), a resupply mission to the International Space Station, was launched at night from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. On arrival at the station, Discovery's crew dropped off more than 27,000 pounds of hardware, supplies and equipment, including a tank full of ammonia coolant that required three spacewalks to hook up, new crew sleeping quarters and three experiment racks. On the return journey, Leonardo, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) inside Discovery's payload bay, was packed with more than 6,000 pounds of hardware, science results and trash. The STS-131 mission was accomplished in 15 days, 2 hours, 47 minutes and 10 seconds and traveled 6,232,235 statute miles in 238 Earth orbits.[2]
References
^"The Eagle Has Landed! Dottie's Home." Report to the Community – Vancouver Public Schools June 2010: 4. Print.