Terence Thomas "Tom" Henricks (born July 5, 1952) is a retired in the United States Air Force colonel and former NASA astronaut. He served on four Space Shuttle missions.

Personal life and education

Henricks was born on July 5, 1952, in Bryan, Ohio, to Terry and Martha Henricks, but considers Woodville, Ohio, to be his hometown. He graduated from Woodmore High School in 1970. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the United States Air Force Academy in 1974 and his Master of Public Administration degree from Golden Gate University in 1982. He is married and has three children. He currently resides in Blanco, Texas, with his wife Rebecca.

Special honors

  • The Distinguished Flying Cross

STS-55, the German D-2 Spacelab mission, was launched on April 26, 1993, aboard Columbia, and landed 10 days later on May 6, 1993, at Edwards AFB California. During the ambitious mission 89 experiments were performed in many disciplines such as materials processing, life sciences, robotics, technology, astronomy, and Earth mapping.

STS-70 launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on July 13, 1995, and returned there July 22, 1995. During 142 orbits of the Earth, the crew performed a variety of experiments in addition to deploying the sixth and final NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite. STS-70, with an "all-Ohio" crew, was the first mission controlled from the new combined control center.

STS-78 launched June 20, 1996 and landed July 7, 1996, becoming the longest Space Shuttle mission to date (later that year the STS-80 mission broke its record by 19 hours.) The 16-day mission included studies sponsored by 10 nations and five space agencies, and was the first mission to combine both a full microgravity studies agenda and a comprehensive life science investigation. The Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission served as a model for future studies on board the International Space Station.

References

  • Spacefacts biography of Terence T. Henricks