Anna fisher astronaut biography

American astronaut and physician (born 1949)

Anna Lee Fisher (née Tingle; born August 24, 1949) is an American chemist, emergency physician and a former NASAastronaut. Formerly married to fellow astronaut Bill Fisher, and the mother of two children, in 1984, she became the first mother to fly in space. During her career at NASA, she was involved with three major programs: the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station and the Orion spacecraft.

A graduate of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry in 1971, Fisher started graduate school in chemistry, conducting X-ray crystallographic studies of metallocarboranes. The following year she moved to the UCLA School of Medicine, where she received her Doctor of Medicine degree in 1976. She completed her internship at Harbor General Hospital in Torrance, California, in 1977, and chose to specialize in emergency medicine.

Fisher was selected as an astronaut candidate with NASA Astronaut Group 8, the first group of NASA astronauts to include women, in January 1978. She became the Astronaut Office representative for the development and testing of the Canadarm remote manipulator system and the testing of payload bay door contingency spacewalk procedures. For the first four Space Shuttle missions she was assigned to the search and rescue helicopters supporting the flights. For the next four missions, she was involved in the verification of flight software at the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL), and was a "Cape Crusader"—one of the astronauts who supported vehicle integration and payload testing at Kennedy Space Center. She flew in space on the Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-51-A mission in November 1984, during which she used the Canadarm to retrieve two satellites that had been placed in incorrect orbits.

After a leave of absence to raise her family from 1989 to 1995, Fisher returned to the Astrona

Anna Lee Fisher boasts quite an impressive resume. A chemist, an emergency physician and a NASA astronaut – she was also the first mom to go to space in November of 1984.

Now, Fisher is embarking on a new journey and adding “instructor” to her resume as she joins the USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s Aviation Safety and Security Program. 

“I was so impressed by this program that when I was asked to join, I said yes, even though I’m a triple Bruin,” Fisher said with a smile. 

The internationally recognized USC Aviation Safety and Security Program, now in its 70th year, was the first of its kind in the world. The program has educated more than 10,000 aviation professionals, including Jim Lovell, the astronaut who commanded NASA’s Apollo 13 mission, and Charles Bolden, the 12th Administrator of NASA who piloted both the space shuttle Columbia and Discovery missions.

Growing up, Fisher moved across the country from military base to military base as an Army brat, but she considers San Pedro, California her hometown. A San Pedro High School graduate, she went on to receive a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Doctor of Medicine degree from UCLA before returning there to earn a Master of Science in Chemistry.

Fisher became the first mom in history to go to space when she was assigned to the mission STS-51-A, where she and her team engaged in NASA’s first salvage mission to bring two satellites back to earth. While in space, Fisher operated the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) to physically retrieve the satellites. 

“That ride on the shuttle is the most amazing eight and a half minutes to get into earth’s orbit that you could ever imagine,” said Fisher, “and then the view from space is just, words just aren’t adequate.” 

“I think the more people that get to see our planet from that vantage point will realize just how precious it is and how lucky we are to have this amazing planet to live on.” 

Status: Inactive; Active 1980-2006.. Born: 1949-08-24. Spaceflights: 1 . Total time in space: 7.99 days. Birth Place: New York, New York.

Grew up in San Pedro, California. Educated UCLA.

Official NASA Biography as of June 2016:Anna L. Fisher (M.D.)
NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA:  Born August 24, 1949, in New York City, New York, but considers San Pedro, California, to be her hometown.  Fisher enjoys snow and water skiing, jogging, flying, scuba diving, reading, photography and spending time with her daughters.  Her mother, Riley F. Tingle, formerly of San Pedro, now resides in Houston.  Her father is deceased. 

EDUCATION:  Graduated from San Pedro High School, San Pedro, California, 1967; received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 1971 and 1976, respectively; received a Master of Science in Chemistry from UCLA, 1987.

SPECIAL HONORS:  Awarded a National Science Foundation Undergraduate Research Fellowship, 1970, 1971;  Graduated from UCLA cum laude and with honors in chemistry;  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.

EXPERIENCE:  After graduating from UCLA in 1971, Fisher spent a year in graduate school, working in the field of x-ray crystallographic studies of metallocarbonanes.  She co-authored three publications relating to these studies for the Journal of Inorganic Chemistry.  She began medical sch

Raising the Bar

Astronaut Anna Fisher joined NASA in 1978 and became the first mother to fly in space when she launched on her space shuttle mission. See photos from her space career here. She retired from NASA in 2017.

This Photo: Anna Lee Fisher was part of the first group of women announced by NASA as astronaut candidates in 1978.

Discovery Crew

On November 12, 1984, the Discovery Crew — from left to right astronauts David M. Walker, Dale A. Gardner, Anna Lee Fisher, Frederick H. (Rick) Hauck and Joseph P. Allen — celebrate a successful mission.

Opening a Door

The first female astronaut candidates (ASCANS) named by NASA photographed with a model of the NASA shuttle — from left to right, Rhea Seddon, Anna L. Fisher, Judith A. Resnik, Shannon W. Lucid, Sally K. Ride and Kathryn D. Sullivan — during a January 31, 1978 press conference at Johnson Space Center. Along with these six women, 14 other mission specialist candidates and 15 pilot astronaut candidates were introduced to the press at the Teague Auditorium.

Training for the Big Day

Anna Lee Fisher, seen here in Houston, Texas, served on STS-51A in 1984 as a mission specialist.

Flight Experience

Astronaut Anna Lee Fisher completed a year of training before being eligible to fly as a mission specialist on space shuttle flight crews. Anna Lee Fisher was the first mother to go into space.

Training and Experience

Astronaut Anna Lee Fisher completed many different assignments once her training ended. She was crew representative for both support development and testing of the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) and payload bay door contingency spacewalk procedures, the extra-small Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) and contingency in-orbit Thermal Protection System (TPS) repair hardware and procedures and more for pre-STS-1 through STS-4. She was also crew evaluator for verification and development testing for STS-2,