Anna Fisher

Anna L. Fisher, M.D., (born August 24, 1949) is a NASA astronaut.

She was born in New York City, New York. She considers San Pedro, California, California, to be her hometown. Her mother, Mrs. Riley F. Tingle, resides in San Pedro, California; her father died on July 3, 1982.

She graduated from San Pedro High School, San Pedro, California, in 1967, and received a bachelor of science in Chemistry in 1971 at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). After her graduation from UCLA in 1971, during her year in graduate school in chemistry at UCLA, Dr. Fisher worked in the field of x-ray crystallographic studies of metallocarbonanes. She co-authored 3 publications relating to these studies for the Journal of Inorganic Chemistry. In 1976 she received her doctor of Medicine degree from UCLA. She completed a 1-year internship at Harbor General Hospital in Torrance, California in 1977, after which she specialized in emergency medicine and worked in several hospitals in the Los Angeles area. In 1987, she received a master of science in Chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles.

NASA experience

Dr. Fisher was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978. In August 1979, she completed a one year training and evaluation period, making her eligible for assignment as a mission specialist on future Space Shuttle flight crews. Following the one-year basic training program, Dr. Fisher’s early NASA assignments (pre-STS-1 through STS-4) included the following: Crew representative to support development and testing of the Remote Manipulator System (RMS); Crew representative to support development and testing of payload bay door contingency EVA procedures, the extra-small Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), and contingency on-orbit TPS repair hardware and procedures; Verification of flight software at the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) -- in that capacity she reviewed test requirements and procedures for ascent, on-orbit, and RMS software verification -- and served as a crew evaluator for verification and development testing for STS-2, 3 and 4.

For STS-5 through STS-7, Dr. Fisher was assigned as a crew representative to support vehicle integrated testing and payload testing at KSC. In addition, Dr. Fisher supported each Orbital Flight Test (STS 1-4) launch and landing (at either a prime or backup site) as a physician in the rescue helicopters, and provided both medical & operational inputs to the development of rescue procedures. Dr. Fisher was also an on-orbit CAPCOM for the STS-9 mission.

Dr. Fisher was a mission specialist on STS-51-A which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on November 8, 1984. She was accompanied by Captain Frederick (Rick) Hauck (spacecraft commander), Captain David M. Walker (pilot), and fellow mission specialists, Dr. Joseph P. Allen, and Commander Dale H. Gardner. This was the second flight of the orbiter Discovery. During the mission the crew deployed two satellites, Canada’s Anik D-2 (Telesat H) and Hughes’ LEASAT-1 (Syncom IV-1), and operated the Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME) device, and the 3M Company’s Diffusive Mixing of Organic Solutions (DMOS) experiment. In the first space salvage mission in history the crew also retrieved for return to earth the Palapa B-2 and Westar VI satellites. STS-51A completed 127 orbits of the Earth before landing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on November 16, 1984. With the completion of her first flight, Dr. Fisher has logged a total of 192 hours in space.

Dr. Fisher was assigned as a mission specialist on STS-61-H prior to the Challenger accident. Following the accident she worked as the Deputy of the Mission Development Branch of the Astronaut Office, and as the astronaut office representative for Flight Data File issues. In that capacity she served as the crew representative on the Crew Procedures Change Board. Dr. Fisher served on the Astronaut Selection Board for the 1987 class of astronauts. Dr. Fisher also served in the Space Station Support Office where she worked part-time in the Space Station Operations Branch. She was the crew representative supporting space station development in the areas of training, operations concepts, and the health maintenance facility.

Dr. Fisher returned to the Astronaut Office in 1996 after an extended leave of absence to raise her family (1989-1996). When she first returned to the Astronaut Office, she was assigned to the Operations Planning Branch to work on the Operational Flight Data File (procedures) and training issues in support of the International Space Station (ISS). She served as the Branch Chief of the Operations Planning Branch from June 1997-June 1998. Following a reorganization of the Astronaut office, she was assigned as the Deputy for Operations/Training of the Space Station Branch from June 1998-June 1999. In that capacity, she had oversight responsibility for Astronaut Office inputs to the Space Station Program on issues regarding operations, procedures, and training for the ISS. She next served as Chief of the Space Station Branch of the Astronaut Office with oversight responsibility for 40-50 astronauts and support engineers. In that capacity, she coordinated all astronaut inputs to the Space Station Program Office on issues regarding the design, development, and testing of space station hardware. Additionally, she coordinated all Astronaut Office inputs to Space Station operations, procedures, and training and works with the International Partners to negotiate common design requirements and standards for displays and procedures. She also served as the Astronaut Office representative on numerous Space Station Program Boards and Multilateral Boards. Dr. Fisher is currently assigned to the Shuttle Branch and works technical assignments in that branch while awaiting an assignment as either a Space Shuttle crewmember on a Space Station assembly mission or as a crewmember aboard the International Space Station.

She was awarded a National Science Foundation Undergraduate Research Fellowship in 1970, 1971. Graduated from UCLA cum laude and with honors in chemistry. Recipient of: NASA Space Flight Medal; Lloyd’s of London Silver Medal for Meritorious Salvage Operations; Mother of the Year Award 1984; UCLA Professional Achievement Award, UCLA Medical Professional Achievement Award. NASA Exceptional Service Medal, 1999.

External links

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