Anna L. Fisher

Anna L. Fisher is a NASA astronaut with a BsC in Chemistry, a PhD in Medicine, and a Master of Science in Chemistry, all from UCLA. In 1978, Fisher was selected by NASA as an astronaut and her early assignments (pre-STS-1 through STS-4) included the following: crew representative to support development and testing of the Remote Manipulator System (RMS), reviewing test requirements and procedures for ascent, in-orbit and Risk Management System (RMS) software verification, and crew evaluator for verification and development testing for STS-2, 3 and 4. From STS-5 through STS-7, Fisher was assigned as a crew representative to support vehicle integrated testing and payload testing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida. In addition, Fisher supported each Orbital Flight Test (STS-1 through STS-4) launch and landing (at prime or backup sites) as a physician in the rescue helicopter and provided both medical and operational inputs on the development of rescue procedures. Fisher was a mission specialist on STS-51A, which launched from Kennedy Space Center, on November 8, 1984. This was the second flight of the orbiter Discovery. During the mission, the crew deployed two satellites: Canada’s Anik D-2 (Telesat H) and Hughes’ LEASAT-1 (Syncom IV-1) and operated the Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME) device and the 3M Company’s Diffusive Mixing of Organic Solutions (DMOS) experiment. As the first space salvage mission, the crew also retrieved the Palapa B-2 and Westar VI satellites for return to Earth. STS-51A completed 127 Earth orbits before landing at Kennedy Space Center on November 16, 1984. With the completion of her first flight, Fisher logged a total of 192 hours in space. Fisher received a NASA Space Flight Medal, Lloyd’s of London Silver Medal for Meritorious Salvage Operations, and Mother of the Year Award in 1984. She has also received UCLA Professional and Medical Achievement Awards and a NASA Exceptional Service Medal.

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