Thomas Akers

Thomas Dale Akers (born May 20, 1951 in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.) is a former astronaut in the United States Space Shuttle program. He graduated from the University of Missouri–Rolla with B.S. and M.S. degrees in Applied Mathematics in 1973 and 1975, respectively. In 1979, he entered the Air Force, and was selected for the astronaut program in 1987. Akers is a veteran of four shuttle flights in which he spent over 800 hours in orbit, including m... more

Thomas Dale Akers (born May 20, 1951 in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.) is a former astronaut in the United States Space Shuttle program. He graduated from the University of Missouri–Rolla with B.S. and M.S. degrees in Applied Mathematics in 1973 and 1975, respectively. In 1979, he entered the Air Force, and was selected for the astronaut program in 1987. Akers is a veteran of four shuttle flights in which he spent over 800 hours in orbit, including more than 29 hours of extra-vehicular activity (EVA) experience. In each of his flights, his role was as a mission specialist. His first space flight was in 1990 on STS-41, the 11th flight of shuttle Discovery. He was instrumental in deploying the European Space Agency satellite Ulysses, a solar-exploration craft, as well as tending several secondary payloads and experiments. His next mission was in 1992 on STS-49, the maiden flight of shuttle Endeavour. A primary goal of that mission was to capture and repair the non-functional Intelsat VI-F3... less