Nicholas Patrick

  • STS- 116 (2006)
  • STS- 130 (2010)

Nicholas James MacDonald "Nick" Patrick ( born March 22, 1964 in Saltburn by the Sea, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom) is a former American astronaut.

Training

Patrick grew up in London. After primary school, he went 1978 to the Harrow School, a private school for boys in the British capital. He then studied engineering at Trinity College, Cambridge, and reached financial statements as a bachelor (1986 ) and Master ( 1990).

Already at the beginning of his studies Patrick had traveled during the summer months to the East Coast of the United States and had worked there as a civil engineer. After 1986 passed his BA examination, he left England and moved to Boston ( Massachusetts). He took a job as an engineer at General Electric and worked on aircraft engines, which manufactures the Group, continued his studies but continued. In 1990 he received from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT), a master's degree in mechanical engineering. After that, he switched sides and remained as a lecturer and research assistant at MIT. During this time he was also a flight instructor at a nearby Luftsportverein and programmers for medical devices.

Patrick received his doctorate in 1996 as a mechanical engineer, left the MIT and moved to the U.S. state of Washington in the Pacific Northwest. He took a job with the Boeing Company in Seattle and worked in the development department of cockpit systems for street machines. From this period two of his three patents that were granted to him.

Astronauts activity

Patrick was introduced four years after his naturalization as one of 17 candidates for the post of mission specialists from NASA in June 1998. From a total of 2,618 applicants who met the formal selection criteria, 101 finalists had emerged. They were invited in autumn 1997 to the Johnson Space Center (JSC ) to Houston in Texas to testing, interviews and medical examinations.

The two-year basic training joined Patrick in the fall of 2000. After that he worked on the development of the shuttle cockpit and was awarded for it. Following this, he supervised the crew of Expedition 8 during their preparation for use on the International Space Station (ISS ).

In the summer of 2004, Patrick, who is a trained sports and rescue divers went into the water for NASA. Together with two other astronauts and other volunteers he spent in July and a half weeks in the underwater laboratory "Aquarius". This excursion was through as part of the NEEMO program ( NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations ).

STS -116

As of February 2005 Patrick coached for STS -116, his first space flight, which began on 10 December 2006 and on which he participated as a mission specialist. The landing took place on 22 December.

NEEMO -13

In August 2007, he was a Commander of the NEEMO - 13 mission, an undersea research habitat for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA) off the coast of Florida, where he worked for ten days.

STS -130

On 5 December 2008, his participation in the mission STS -130 was announced as a mission specialist. The launch took place on 8 February 2010. Together with Robert Behnken led by Patrick three spacewalks. The landing took place on 22 February.

Patrick left the NASA 31 May 2012.

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