STS-102 Mission Specialist 2: Paul Richards

Crew Member

Paul W. Richards

NAME: Paul William Richards
NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA: Born May 20, 1964 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His hometown is Dunmore, Pennsylvania. Enjoys cycling, golf, sailing, snow skiing, cooking, and home repair/improvement. Married to the former Susan Geiger Palmer, of Flourtown, Pennsylvania. They have three children. His parents are Angela Cordaro Richards and the late James J. Richards. Her parents are Samuel and Joan Geiger of Erdenheim, Pennsylvania.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Dunmore High School, Dunmore, Pennsylvania, in 1982; received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Drexel University in 1987 and a master of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Maryland in 1991.

ORGANIZATIONS: American Society of Mechanical Engineers, National Society of Professional Engineers, American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Society of Naval Engineers, United States Naval Reserves.

AWARDS: NASA Certificate of Recognition for Patent Application (1996). Silver Snoopy Award (1994). NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal (1994). Several Goddard Honor Awards (1994). Several Group Achievement Awards (1994). HST First Servicing Mission Development Team. HST First Servicing Mission Extravehicular Activity Team. HST First Servicing Mission Crew Aids and Tools Development Team. HST First Servicing Mission Integration and Test Team. HST First Servicing Mission Space Support Equipment Team. NASA Manned Flight Awareness Award (1994). NASA Outstanding Performance Awards (1992, 1994, 1995). Quality Increase Award (1993). Certificate of Outstanding Performance (1990, 1993, 1994). Group Achievement Award UARS and GRO MMS and UASE Support Team (1992). NASA Certificate of Recognition for Invention Disclosure (1991). NASA Certificate of Recognition for Technical Brief (1991).

EXPERIENCE: Department of the Navy, Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station, 1983-1987. Transferred to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in 1987. Worked in the Verification Office, Electromechanical Branch, Robotics Branch, Guidance and Controls Branch, all within the Engineering Directorate. Senior EVA Tool Development Engineer for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Servicing Project. Lead Engineer for GSFC HST EVA crew aids and tools. Responsibilities included the design, analysis, fabrication, test, and integration for breadboard, WETF/NBS, engineering, and flight hardware, and the financial tracking, documentation, and review process for these tools. Additional duties included engineering support for the HST WETF/NBS Servicing Mission Simulations as a utility diver and EMU suited subject.

Selected by NASA in April 1996, Richards reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996. Having completed two years of training and evaluation, he is qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. Richards was initially assigned to the Computer Branch working on software for the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. He next served in the Astronaut Office Shuttle Operations Branch assigned to support Payload and General Support Computers (PGSCs) and the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL). He is currently in training for the STS-102 mission, targeted for launch in 2001.

MAY 2000

Updated: 02/27/2001

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