Perspectives from Space

Magnus served 16 years in the NASA astronaut corps. She flew two shuttle missions to the International Space Station, serving on the ISS as a member of Expedition 18 for four and a half months. This talk encompasses stories, experiences and insights gained over her years as an astronaut.

Magnus is executive director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the world’s largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace profession. Originally from Illinois, she holds degrees from the Missouri University of Science and Technology (BS 1986, MS 1990) and Georgia Tech (Ph.D. 1996). Before joining NASA in 1996, Magnus worked for McDonnell Douglas as a stealth engineer. Selected as an astronaut in 1996, she flew on the STS-112 shuttle mission in 2002 and was on the final shuttle flight, STS-135, in 2011. In addition, she flew to the ISS on STS-126 in November 2008, serving as flight engineer and science officer for the duration of her stay. Since her return she has also worked at NASA Headquarters in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate and as deputy chief of the Astronaut Office.

The talk is sponsored by Caltech’s Graduate Aerospace Laboratories of the California Institute of Technology and the Keck Institute for Space Studies.

Date/Time: 
03/19/2014 - 17:00
Presenter: 
Sandra Magnus
Location: 
Caltech - Guggenheim 101