Anne Charlotte McClain (born June 7, 1979) is a lieutenant colonel in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

and a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

astronaut. Her

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assign ...

, "Annimal", dates back to her bruising rugby days; she also uses the call sign in her

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

handle, AstroAnnimal. She was a Flight Engineer for

Expedition 58 Expedition 58 was the 58th expedition to the International Space Station, which began on December 20, 2018 with the departure of the Expedition 57 crew. It was commanded by cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, with astronauts Anne McClain and David Saint-Ja ...

/ 59 to the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...

Education

Born and raised in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Cana ...

, McClain wanted to become an astronaut at a young age. In 1997, McClain graduated from

Gonzaga Preparatory School Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, Washington, is a private, Catholic high school in the Inland Northwest. As a Jesuit institution, "G-Prep" has been recognized for its college preparation education and community service. History Gonzaga Hi ...

in Spokane. She did a brief stint at Spokane Community College where she played softball and enrolled in R.O.T.C. at Gonzaga University, waiting on an appointment to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

, West Point, where she earned a bachelor's degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

and was commissioned as an army officer in 2002. She then attended the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

, where she earned a master's degree in aerospace engineering in 2004, and the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, where she earned a master's degree in

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

in 2005. Both master's degrees were completed through a

Marshall Scholarship The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is widely considered one of the most prestigious sc ...

. Her work on unsteady aerodynamics and flow visualization of free-to-roll non-slender delta wings was later published through the

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...

. McClain traveled to Africa for eight weeks with Operation Crossroads Africa, working on a construction project in Uganda.

Competitive sports

McClain is an avid

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

player who has played in

Women's Premiership The Women's Premiership, also called the RFUW Premiership was the top level of women's rugby union in England until 2017. It was formed in 1990 and was run by the Rugby Football Union for Women. It was superseded in the 2017/18 season by Premier ...

, the top level of the sport in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and for the

United States women's national rugby union team The USA Women's National Team XVs is the senior national team for the United States in the 15-a-side version of rugby. The team was officially formed in 1987 and is nicknamed the Eagles. An international powerhouse during the 1990s— the Eag ...

, known as the Women's Eagles. While her U.S. Army commitments thwarted her international career in rugby and prevented her participation in the

2006 Women's Rugby World Cup The 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup (officially IRB Rugby World Cup 2006 Canada) took place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The tournament began on 31 August and ended on 17 September 2006. The 2006 tournament was the third World Cup approved by the I ...

, she participated at that level for a decade interrupted only by her deployment to Iraq, and credits the sport for her success in becoming an astronaut. According to an interview published in the NASA Johnson YouTube channel, McClain said that the rugby training was helpful when training with a

space suit A space suit or spacesuit is a garment worn to keep a human alive in the harsh environment of outer space, vacuum and temperature extremes. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, ...

in a neutral buoyancy pool.

Military career

Expedition 56 backup crew member Anne McClain of NASA

Following her studies, McClain qualified as a Bell OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter pilot. She was deployed to the 2nd Battalion,

6th Cavalry Regiment The 6th Cavalry ("Fighting Sixth'") is a regiment of the United States Army that began as a regiment of cavalry in the American Civil War. It currently is organized into aviation squadrons that are assigned to several different combat aviatio ...

Wheeler Army Airfield Wheeler Army Airfield , also known as Wheeler Field and formerly as Wheeler Air Force Base, is a United States Army post located in the City & County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Island of O'ahu, Hawaii. It is a National Hi ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. McClain rose through the ranks, starting as an Air Traffic Control Platoon Leader, Aviation Intermediate Maintenance Platoon Leader, to Detachment Commander. McClain was deployed to the Persian Gulf and flew 800 hours and 216 combat missions during the 15 months deployment as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2009, McClain participated in Aviation Captain's Career Course and was then assigned to 1st Battalion, 14th Aviation Regiment at

Fort Rucker Fort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located primarily in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was named for a Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training installation for U.S. Army Aviators and ...

as the battalion operations officer and OH-58D instructor. In May 2010, she was appointed Commander of C Troop, 1st Battalion, 14th Aviation Regiment, responsible for the Army's initial entry training, instructor pilot training, and maintenance test pilot training in the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. She completed Command and General Staff College and the C-12 fixed wing multiengine qualification courses in 2011 and 2012. She also served as a command squadron intelligence officer. McClain graduated from the Naval Test Pilot School in June 2013. In total, McClain has logged over 2,000 hours on various aircraft type including the Kiowa Warrior, the

Beechcraft C-12 Huron The Beechcraft C-12 Huron is the military designation for a series of twin-engine turboprop aircraft based on the Beechcraft Super King Air and Beechcraft 1900. C-12 variants are used by the United States Air Force, United States Army, United S ...

, the

Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System ( ...

, and the

Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota The Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) UH-72 Lakota is a twin-engine helicopter with a single, four-bladed main rotor. The UH-72 is a militarized version of the Eurocopter EC145, built by American Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters, Inc.), a ...

NASA career

ISS-58 Anne McClain between the Harmony and the Destiny module

In June 2013, the same month as her graduation as a test pilot, McClain was selected by

as part of Astronaut Group 21, becoming the youngest astronaut on the NASA roster. She completed training in July 2015, making her available for future missions. She flew to the

in December 2018 and returned to Earth in June 2019. On December 9, 2020, McClain was announced as one of NASA's Artemis astronauts.

Expedition 58/59

For her first spaceflight assignment, McClain was assigned to as flight engineer to ISS Expedition 60/ 61, scheduled for launch aboard

Soyuz MS-13 Soyuz MS-13, also designated ISS flight 59S, was a crewed Soyuz mission launched on 20 July 2019 – the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing – carrying three members of the Expedition 60 crew to the International Space Station: a Rus ...

in June–July 2019, although, in January 2018, NASA astronaut

Jeanette Epps Jeanette Jo Epps (born November 3, 1970) is an American aerospace engineer and NASA astronaut. Epps received both her M. S. and Ph.D degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland, where she was part of the rotor-craft resear ...

was removed from the prime crew of

Expedition 56 Expedition 56 was the 56th expedition to the International Space Station, which began on June 3, 2018, upon the departure of Soyuz MS-07. Andrew Feustel, Oleg Artemyev, and Richard R. Arnold were transferred from Expedition 55, with Andrew Feust ...

Expedition 57 Expedition 57 was the 57th expedition to the International Space Station, which began on October 4, 2018, upon the departure of Soyuz MS-08. History Soyuz MS-09 crew, Alexander Gerst, Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor, and Sergey Prokopyev, since ...

, resulting in her backup,

Serena Aunon-Chancellor Serena most commonly refers to: * Serena Williams (born 1981), professional tennis player Serena may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Serena (genre), 13th-century Occitan poetic genre * ''Serena'' (1962 film), a British crime th ...

taking her place on the flight. Due to this, McClain was moved up to take Aunon-Chancellor's spot on the Expedition 56/57 backup crew, and, in turn, was assigned to the prime crew of

/ Expedition 59, alongside Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

astronaut

David Saint-Jacques David Saint-Jacques ( , ; born January 6, 1970) is a Canadian astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). He is also an astrophysicist, engineer, and a physician. In December 2018, he launched to the International Space Station, as Fligh ...

. The Expedition 58/59 trio launched aboard

Soyuz MS-11 Soyuz MS-11 was a Soyuz spaceflight that launched on 3 December 2018, marking the 100th orbital launch of the year. Originally scheduled for 20 December, the launch date was advanced to 3 December following the failure of Soyuz MS-10. MS-11 was ...

to the

at 06.32 ET (11.32 GMT) on December 3, 2018, from the Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The launch was originally scheduled for December 20, 2018, but was rescheduled to the earlier date after the failure of

Soyuz MS-10 Soyuz MS-10 was a crewed Soyuz MS spaceflight that aborted shortly after launch on 11 October 2018 due to a failure of the Soyuz-FG launch vehicle boosters. MS-10 was the 139th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft. It was intended to transport two me ...

with Expedition 57/58 on October 11, 2018. The crew successfully rendezvoused with the ISS six hours later, spending just over two weeks with the

crew, whose landing had been delayed due to the aborted launch of MS-10. On March 22, 2019, McClain and Nick Hague performed their first Spacewalk to install the adapter plates while

Dextre Dextre, also known as the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), is a two armed robot, or telemanipulator, which is part of the Mobile Servicing System on the International Space Station (ISS), and does repairs that would otherwise r ...

swaps the batteries between spacewalks. The extravehicular activity (EVA) lasted 6 hours and 39 minutes. They also removed debris from the

Unity Module upright=1.0, The ''Unity'' module as seen in May 2011 The ''Unity'' connecting module, also known as Node 1, is the first U.S.-built component of the International Space Station (ISS). It connects the Russian and United States segments of th ...

in preparation for the arrival of

Cygnus NG-11 NG-11, previously known as OA-11, is the twelfth flight of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its eleventh flight to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract with NASA. T ...

in April, stowing tools for the repair of the flex hose rotary coupler, and securing tiebacks on the solar array blanket boxes. ISS-59 EVA-1 (p) Anne McClain takes a space-selfie

ISS-59 EVA-1 (p) Anne McClain takes a space-selfie

McClain was scheduled to perform a second EVA on March 29, with Christina Koch, which would have been the first all-female spacewalk, but spacesuit sizing issues resulted in this EVA's being reassigned to Hague and Koch. McClain conducted a second spacewalk with Saint-Jacques on April 8. McClain, Saint-Jacques and Kononenko returned to Earth on board Soyuz MS-11 on June 24, 2019.

Awards

McClain is a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal, the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

with

Valor device Valor, valour, or valorous may mean: * Courage, a similar meaning * Virtue ethics, roughly "courage in defense of a noble cause" Entertainment * Valor (band), a Christian gospel music group * Valor Kand, a member of the band Christian Death * ...

, two additional Air Medals, two

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

s, two

Army Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to recei ...

s, the

Iraq Campaign Medal The Iraq Campaign Medal (ICM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by Executive Order 13363 of U.S. President George W. Bush on 29 November 2004, and became available for general distribution in June 2005 ...

with two service stars, the

Global War on Terrorism Service Medal The Global War on Terrorism Service Medal (GWOT-SM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created through Executive Order 13289 on 12 March 2003, by President George W. Bush. The medal recognizes those military service ...

, and three

Overseas Service Ribbon An Overseas Service Ribbon is a service military award of the United States military which recognizes those service members who have performed military tours outside the borders of the United States of America. There are different versions of the ...

Personal life

McClain married Summer Worden in 2014 and is step-mother to Worden's son. McClain and Worden divorced in 2019. On August 23, 2019, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' reported that Worden filed a complaint against McClain through the Federal Trade Commission accusing her of illegally accessing financial information while residing in the International Space Station. This accusation

outed Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBT person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia in order to discredit political opponents or to com ...

McClain as lesbian, making her the third known lesbian astronaut after

Sally Ride Sally Kristen Ride (May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012) was an American astronaut and physicist. Born in Los Angeles, she joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 became the first American woman and the third woman to fly in space, after cosmonauts ...

and Wendy B. Lawrence. The claims were later found to be false and McClain was cleared. On April 7, 2020, Worden was handed a two-count federal indictment on charges of making false statements and is currently awaiting trial. McClain resides in suburban Houston, Texas.

Gallery

File:Soyuz MS-09 backup crew at the statue of Sergei Korolev.jpg, Soyuz MS-09 backup crew at the statue of

Sergei Korolev Sergei Pavlovich Korolev (russian: Сергей Павлович Королёв, Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov, sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ kərɐˈlʲɵf, Ru-Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.ogg; ukr, Сергій Павлович Корольов, ...

in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on May 21, 2018 File:Expedition 57 crew gathers inside the Zvezda Service Module.jpg, The newly-expanded six-member

crew poses for a portrait inside the International Space Station's '' Zvezda'' service module on December 10, 2018 File:Expedition 57 crew gathers inside the Destiny laboratory.jpg, Expedition 57 crew gathers inside the ''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

'' laboratory on December 18, 2018 File:Expedition 59 crew members in their crew quarters.jpg, Four Expedition 59 astronauts pose for a playful portrait inside the '' Harmony'' module on May 4, 2019 File:Expedition 59 Soyuz MS-11 Landing (NHQ201906250002).jpg, Anne McClain after her first landing near the town of

Zhezkazgan Jezkazgan, or Zhezkazgan ( kk, Жезқазған, translit=Jezqazğan ), formerly known as Dzhezkazgan (russian: Джезказган) until 1992, is a city and the administrative centre of Ulytau Region, Kazakhstan, on a reservoir of the Kar ...

on June 25, 2019

References

External links

NASA Astronaut Biography

Houston We Have a Podcast: 'Fly 'em All' an interview with Anne McClain
*
Five things you didn't know about Astronaut Anne McClain
NASA Johnson Space Center, November 30, 2018 {{DEFAULTSORT:McClain, Anne C. 1979 births Living people United States Military Academy alumni Alumni of the University of Bath Alumni of the University of Bristol Helicopter pilots People from Spokane, Washington Military personnel from Spokane, Washington United States Army personnel of the Iraq War Female United States Army officers United States Army astronauts United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni Marshall Scholars American women aviators American rugby union players Recipients of the Air Medal Crew members of the International Space Station Women astronauts American sportswomen Women in the Iraq War Female rugby union players American test pilots American female rugby union players American aviators Women military aviators Lesbian military personnel LGBT people from Washington (state) American LGBT military personnel American engineers American Senior Army Aviators United States Army colonels Sportspeople from Spokane, Washington 21st-century American women Spacewalkers