Dr. Ellen Ochoa

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Dr. Ellen Ochoa
The 1st Hispanic Woman Astronaut
By Erin Klapper and Stacy Melchert
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Background

• Born May 10, 1958 in Los Angeles, CA
• Her parents were Rosanne and Joseph Ochoa
• Mother was of European descent and her father
  was Hispanic
• She was 1 of 5 children one sister and three
  brothers

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Early Education

• Excelled in math and science and loved to read
• Won the San Diego County spelling bee
• Loved music and became a flutist
• While in junior high school, her parents
  divorced and she moved with her mother
• In 1975 she graduated from Grossmont High School
  in La Mesa, California

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COLLEGE

• She earned her bachelors of science in physics
  from San Diego State University in 1980
• In 1981 she earned her masters and 1985 her
  doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford
  University, specializing in optics.
• She was valedictorian of San Diego State and
  maintained a perfect 4.0 while obtaining her
  doctorate at Stanford.
• Around the same time, 3 of her brothers and
  sisters went to SDSU.

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Role Model

• Her mother always set an excellent example for
  her to follow. She attended school for 23 years
  taking one university class a semester,
  graduating in 1982, shortly after her daughter,
  Dr. Ochoa.
• Her mother triple majored in biology, business,
  and journalism.
• Dr. Ochoa learned about hard work from her
  mother and that a good education could help her
  become anything she wanted.
• Looked up to her mother because she raised 5
  kids and continued to attend college.
• Rosanne Ochoa was a good role model for all her
  children, who each eventually obtained a college
  degree.

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Obstacles

• Early in her college career she talked to her
  engineering professor about making a decision for
  her major. He told her that engineering was too
  hard for a girl.
• Next, she talked with her physics professor who
  encouraged her to take physics and that she would
  enjoy it.
• Being a woman, she felt there was added pressure
  because she stood out due to the few amount of
  women in the math and science world.
• Dr. Ochoa feels that minority women will not be
  very well represented in the math and science
  fields because they are male dominated areas.

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Research

• After graduating with her Ph. D. she worked as
  a research engineer at Sandia National
  Laboratories and obtained three patents in
  optical processing.
• Her patented optical system detects defects in
  a repeating pattern which can be used to inspect
  quality in manufacturing.
• Her optical system could also be used in
  robotic manufacturing to help guide robots.
• She joined the NASA Ames Research Center and
  was selected Chief of the Intelligent Systems
  Technology Branch. She was head of 35 engineers
  and scientists as they researched and developed
  computational systems for aerospace missions.

8
Becoming an Astronaut

• Applied to NASA in 1985, but was originally
  rejected.
• Three years later she was admitted after meeting
  more requirements.
• Qualifications for being an astronaut
• 1) At least 1000 hours of pilot in command time
  in jet aircraft.
• 2) Must pass a NASA Class 1 space physical, and
  meet vision standards.
• 3) Must be between 50and 64 tall.
• 4) Must go through claustrophobia test.
• 5) Must go through weightless environment
  training.
• 6) Must go through zero-gravity experience.

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MISSIONS
On April 8, 1993, she was a mission specialist on
the space shuttle Discovery. Discoverys mission
was to make observations of the sun and Earths
atmosphere. Ellen took pictures of the oceans
and continents for future research. She also
operated the shuttles robot arm which released
and retrieved a satellite that collected
information about the suns outer layer and solar
wind. The mission lasted 9 days. In November
1994, Ellen also served as a mission specialist
on the space shuttle Atlantis. During this
mission, the astronauts released a satellite to
map ozone and other gases in Earths atmosphere.
Again, Ellen operated the shuttles robot arm to
retrieve the satellite.
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MISSIONS (cont.)
On May 27, 1999 Dr. Ochoa was aboard the space
shuttle Discovery, which was the first shuttle
that docked to the International Space Station.
The astronauts transferred supplies from the
shuttle to the space station. On April 8, 2002
Dr. Ochoa was aboard the space shuttle Atlantis,
which was the 13th shuttle mission to visit the
International Space Station. On the mission, the
stations robotic arm was used to maneuver
spacewalkers around the station for the first
time. The mission lasted for 11 days.
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ACHIEVEMENTS

• Student Soloist Award for the Stanford Symphony
  Orchestra
• 2 Space Act Tech Brief Awards (1992)
• 3 Space Flight Medals (1993, 1994 1999)
• Hispanic Engineer Albert Baez Award for
  Outstanding Technical Contributions to Humanity
  (1995)
• Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award (1995)
• NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal (1995)
• Exceptional Service Medal (1997)
• Women in Aerospace Outstanding Achievement Award
  (1997)
• San Diego State Universitys Alumna of the Year
  (1998)
• Selected by President Clinton to serve on the
  Presidential Commission on the Celebration of
  Women in American History (1999)
• Has a middle school in Pasco, Washington named
  after her, which first opened in the 2002-2003
  school year.

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Personal Life

• Married to Coe Fulmer Miles, who moved with her
  to Houston in 1990 where the space program is
  located.
• They have two sons.
• She is a private pilot and enjoys volleyball and
  bicycling.
• She is also a classical flutist, and she played
  her flute on the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1993.

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Dr. Ochoa's other job...

• Ellen Ochoa sees a major part of her job as being
  a role model for young women, especially women of
  Hispanic heritage.
• She travels to schools across the country talking
  about the importance of a good education.
• She encourages people to take one day and one
  class at a time, and take advantage of all the
  help available.
• She is a firm believer that with a good
  education, a person can achieve whatever he or
  she wants.