Loral Ashley O'Hara (born May 3, 1983) is an American

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

and

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

astronaut.

Early life and education

Loral Ashley O'Hara was born on May 3, 1983, in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, to Cindy and Steve O'Hara. She grew up in

Sugar Land, Texas Sugar Land (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Sugarland) is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a po ...

, where she attended

Clements High School William P. Clements High School, more commonly known as Clements High School, is a public high school in Sugar Land, Texas. Named after former Texas governor Bill Clements, Clements High School is a part of the Fort Bend Independent School Dist ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

in 2005, and a Master of Science in aeronautics and astronautics from

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

in 2009. While she was a student at KU, O'Hara participated in the KC-135 Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program.

Engineering career

Prior to completing her Master of Science degree, O'Hara worked for Rocketplane Limited in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

. In 2009, O'Hara began working at the

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, acronym pronounced ) is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering. Established in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it i ...

. She has participated in upgrades to the submersible DSV ''Alvin'', and has worked as an engineer and data processor for the remotely-operated vehicle ''

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Med ...

''.

NASA career

O'Hara has previously participated in the NASA Academy at

Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C., in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959, as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC ...

, and completed an internship at the

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...

. In June 2017, she was selected as an astronaut candidate, and began training in August. On January 10, 2020, she graduated from NASA's astronaut candidate program to its astronaut corps, and became eligible for spaceflight. On July 15, 2022, NASA announced she would fly on board

Soyuz MS-23 Soyuz MS-23 was an uncrewed Russian Soyuz spaceflight that launched from Baikonur on 24 February 2023 to the International Space Station to replace the damaged Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft for landing that NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio and Roscosm ...

as part of

Expedition 68 Expedition 68 was the 68th List of International Space Station expeditions, long-duration expedition to the International Space Station. The expedition began upon the departure of Soyuz MS-21 on 29 September 2022 with ESA astronaut Samantha Cris ...

. However, following the on-orbit problems with the

Soyuz MS-22 Soyuz MS-22 was a Russian Soyuz spaceflight to the International Space Station with a crew of three launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 21 September 2022. The launch, previously planned for 13 September 2022, was subsequently delayed to 21 Sep ...

spacecraft that necessitated repurposing of the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft, O'Hara's crew shifted to

Soyuz MS-24 Soyuz MS-24, Russian production No. 755 and identified by NASA as Soyuz 70S, was a Russian crewed Soyuz spaceflight launched from Baikonur on 15 September 2023 to the International Space Station. Crew They were originally assigned to Soyuz M ...

. O'Hara launched aboard Soyuz MS-24 on September 15, 2023 and returned on April 6, 2024.

Personal life

O'Hara is a private pilot, certified

emergency medical technician An emergency medical technician (often, more simply, EMT) is a medical professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found serving on ambulances and in fire departments in the US and Canada, as full-time and som ...

, and a

wilderness first responder Wilderness first responders are individuals who are trained to respond to emergency situations in remote locations. They are part of a wide variety of wilderness medical providers who deal with medical emergencies that occur in wilderness settings ...

. She enjoys traveling, whitewater rafting, surfing, diving, flying, sailing, skiing, hiking, caving, reading, and painting.

Awards and honors

In 2008, O'Hara was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. In 2015, she was an invited speaker at

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

New Bedford New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, New Bedford had a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OHara, Loral Living people American astronauts People from Houston University of Kansas alumni Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics alumni People from Sugar Land, Texas American women astronauts 21st-century American women engineers 21st-century American engineers 1983 births Crew members of the International Space Station Spacewalkers