Dr. Donald Thomas

Former NASA Astronaut

Dr. Donald Thomas is a former NASA astronaut. He earned a master of science degree and a doctorate in Materials Science from Cornell University. In 1987 he worked for Lockheed Engineering where he reviewed materials used in Space Shuttle Payloads. A year later he joined NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center as a Materials Engineer. He was also a Principal Investigator for the Microgravity Disturbances Experiment, a middeck crystal growth experiment which flew on STS-32 in January 1990. Dr. Donald Thomas became an astronaut in 1991 and served in the Safety, Operations Development, and Payloads Branches of the Astronaut Office. He was CAPCOM (spacecraft communicator) for Shuttle missions STS-47, 52 and 53. From July 1999 to June 2000 he was Director of Operations for NASA at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. A veteran of four space flights, he has logged over 1,040 hours in space. He is also a private pilot with over 250 hours in single engine land aircraft and gliders, and over 800 hours flying as mission specialist in NASA T-38 jet aircraft.