Stephanie Wilson: Second African-American woman in space

Astronaut Stephanie D. Wilson
Second African-American woman in space
Revised 4/21/10


Stephanie Wilson was selected by NASA in 1996, becoming one of only four African-American female astronauts to serve in the Astronaut Corps.

After ten years of service with NASA, Stephanie became the second African-American woman astronaut to travel in space, making her 2006 voyage fourteen years after Dr. Mae Jemison’s historic flight in 1992.

Stephanie was assigned to the return-to-flight test mission and assembly flight aboard Shuttle Discovery with STS-121, NASA’s first Independence Day shuttle mission. Stephanie served as a mission specialist 3 with duties to operate the shuttle and station robotic arm and transfer supplies and equipment to the International Space Station (ISS).

In 2007, a mere fifteen months after her first flight mission, Stephanie was assigned to her second space flight with STS 120 as the flight engineer and lead space shuttle robotic arm operator. The primary goal of this mission was to install the Italian-built laboratory (NODE 2) module and to relocate and deploy the P6 solar array.

In 2008, NASA assigned Stephanie to her third space flight with STS-131 aboard Shuttle Discovery. The fifteen day mission was scheduled to launch in April of 2010. This mission will deliver a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module filled with science experiments, supplies and critical spare parts to the International Space Station (ISS). Stephanie will serve as mission specialist 3.

A native of Massachusetts, Stephanie Wilson, received an engineering science degree from Harvard University and a master degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas. She is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for
Harvard University.

A veteran of three space flights, Stephanie has logged over 43 days in space, the most space hours logged by an African-American female astronaut. She is the only African-American female to have flown on multiple space missions.

Stephanie continues to make history one mission at a time.


This document is approved by the
Stephanie Wilson’s Ground Crew