Catherine G. Coleman
Catherine Grace "Cady" Coleman is an American chemist, Air Force officer, musician, and retired NASA astronaut. Selected in NASA Astronaut Group 14 in 1992, she brought laboratory science and military technical experience into both shuttle and station work.
- Born
- December 14, 1960
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- Charleston, South Carolina,United States
Flights
3
Spacewalks
0
EVA time
N/A
In space
180 days, 4 hours
Bio
Coleman studied chemistry at MIT and polymer science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst before entering the Air Force. At NASA she first flew on STS-73, a Spacelab microgravity science mission, and then on STS-93, the mission that deployed the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Her long-duration flight launched on Soyuz TMA-20. Coleman served aboard 26 and 27, living on the ISS for more than five months while supporting research, robotics, station maintenance, and visiting-vehicle operations.
Coleman's profile is also strongly tied to science communication. She brought musical instruments to orbit, spoke often about life aboard the station, and helped make the lived experience of ISS research understandable to people outside .
After NASA, Coleman continued working in science education, exploration outreach, and public communication. Her career connects chemistry, Air Force service, shuttle-era science, and modern ISS expedition life.