October 15, 2007
University of Texas at Austin alumnus Stephanie Wilson, the second African-American female astronaut to fly in space, will make the trip a second time this fall. Wilson will serve as Mission Specialist for the STS-120 mission to the International Space Station which will deliver the U.S. Node 2 Harmony module. This will expand the station's capabilities for future international laboratories.
Wilson and the rest of the crew are scheduled to launch from NASA space station in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 11:38 am on October 23, 2007.
On her first trip to space in July 2006, Stephanie operated the shuttle's and station's robotic arms to support assembly tasks and space walks.
A Boston, Massachusetts native, Wilson received a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1992. She began her NASA career at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. There she worked with the team operating the Galileo spacecraft, which explored Jupiter. She was selected as an astronaut in 1996.
Wilson enjoys stamp collecting, skiing, travel, and music. Some personal items Wilson brought on board her first flight were a bible and items from the University of Texas.
Read Stephanie's preflight NASA interview here.
Read more about the STS-120 mission here.
