Daniel Michio Tani (born February 1, 1961) is an American engineer and retired NASA astronaut. He was born in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, but considers Lombard, Illinois, to be his hometown.
Education
Tani graduated from Glenbard East High School, Lombard, Illinois, in 1979, and received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1984, and 1988, respectively.
Tani's Space suit is featured prominently in the main hallway of Glenbard East High School, where he graduated from in 1979.
Career
After Tani received his bachelor's degree from MIT, he worked at Hughes Aircraft Corporation in El Segundo, California as a design engineer in the Space and Communications group.
NASA career
thumb|left|Tani during his STS-108 spacewalk
Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in April 1996, Tani reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996.
Expedition 16
Following his return from STS-108, Tani was assigned as the Expedition 9 backup flight engineer. Tani was eventually assigned to Expedition 16 as flight engineer, and launched to the station aboard STS-120 on October 23, 2007. Tani completed one EVA with the crew of STS-120, and four additional spacewalks during his increment aboard the space station. Originally scheduled to return to Earth with the crew of STS-122 in December, the mission was delayed due to engine cutoff sensor issues during countdown. Instead, it launched on February 7. Tani returned on STS-122 on February 20, 2008.
Extra Vehicular Activities
Dan Tani has performed six spacewalks or EVAs to date.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Number
! Date
! Duration
! Description
|-
| EVA 1
| Dec. 10, 2001
| 04:12
| Install thermal blankets over the Beta Gimbal Assemblies (BGAs)
|-
|EVA 2
|Oct. 28, 2007
|06:33
|Disconnected the Z1-to-P6 umbilicals, detached P6 from Z1, configured the S1 radiator, installed handrails onto Harmony, and inspected the S4 starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ).
|-
| EVA 3
| Nov. 20, 2007
| 06:40
| External outfitting of the Harmony node
|-
| EVA 4
| Nov. 24, 2007
| 07:04
| External outfitting of the Harmony node
|-
| EVA 6
| Jan. 30, 2008
| 07:10
| Replaced a motor at the base of one of the International Space Station's solar wings
|}
Retirement from NASA
Tani left NASA in August 2012 to become the Vice President of Mission and Cargo Operations in the Advanced Programs Group of Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Virginia.
In August 2016, Tani left Orbital Sciences Corporation (now Orbital ATK) to join the high school faculty at the American School in Japan, where he taught science, engineering and design.
Organizations
Member, Japanese American Citizens League, Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Patron of Blackrock Castle Observatory, Cork, Ireland.
Awards
- Orbital Sciences Corporation Outstanding Technical Achievement Award, 1993
- Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" (Russia, 12 April 2011) – for outstanding contribution to the development of international cooperation in crewed space flight
Personal life
Tani is married to Jane Egan from Cork, Ireland, and enjoys golf, flying, running, tennis, music, and cooking.
His parents, Rose and Henry N. Tani, are both deceased. During World War II, they and their children were relocated from their California farm to the Tanforan Assembly Center in San Bruno, where they lived for several months in converted horse stables at the Tanforan Racetrack, and then Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah as part of the Japanese American internment program of the U.S. government. On December 19, 2007, during Tani's stay on the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 16, he was informed by the ground team that his mother had been killed when a freight train collided with her car.
See also
- List of Asian American astronauts
References
External links
- Spacefacts biography of Daniel M. Tani