Shannon Walker | NASA photo
Shannon Walker | NASA photo
For the first time, a native Houstonian is commanding the International Space Station.
“Having the Johnson Space Center here in my backyard growing up, I was always aware of what NASA was doing in the space program,” Shannon Walker said in a news release. “I’m so proud to represent my hometown on the International Space Station where we conduct scientific research that can benefit all of humankind.”
Walker – a veteran astronaut who was born, raised and earned three science degrees in Houston – accepted command of the space station on April 15, succeeding Russian commander commander Sergey Ryzhikov, NASA said in a news release. Walker attended Houston’s Westbury High School and Parker Elementary before graduating from Rice University in 1987, where she later received a master of science degree and Ph.D. in space physics. She became a robotics flight control engineer in NASA’s space shuttle program in 1987 and had her first space flight in 2010 to the International Space Station.
"If there's a city that knows a thing or two about space – the home of the Rockets, the Astros, and of course, Johnson Space Center – it's Houston,” Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas) said. “ Congratulations on your achievement, Shannon, and thank you for inspiring Houstonians of all ages!"
NASA’s Mission Control in Houston leads the space station, which has hosted international astronauts since 2000.
“We like to call Johnson Space Center the home of the astronauts, and all of them live here while they’re training and supporting human spaceflight,” Johnson Space Center Director Mark Geyer said in a statement. “But in Shannon’s case, she’s a homegrown Houstonian, and we couldn’t be prouder for our community to have her representing Space City as commander of the space station.”
Walker was a member of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission, the first commercial human spacecraft system, NASA said. During the six-month mission, astronauts grew radishes in different types of light and soils and tested a system to remove heat from spacesuits.
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