Astronaut to Advisor: KMI Welcomes Dr. Anna Fisher
Corinne Moore, Technical Business Development Lead
5 minute read
Dr. Anna Lee Fisher (NASA Bio)
KMI
Astronaut. Doctor. Mom. While each title is individually impressive and associated with tremendous responsibility and leadership, in today’s column we’d like to share someone who holds all three. KMI is delighted to introduce and announce the newest member of our formal advisory board, Dr. Anna Lee Fisher. We had a one-on-one interview with her to write this column so we can give you a glimpse into her remarkable career, achievements, and what the road ahead will look like with her on the KMI team.
An alumnus of UCLA, Anna obtained her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1971, followed by a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1976, and finally a Master of Science in Chemistry in 1987. As we spoke about her experience in medical school, Anna shed light on the difficulty of it and how it applied to her later training as an astronaut. “In terms of preparation, medical school is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done, both mentally and physically. The year of internship is probably one of the most grueling things that I’ve ever done because even when you’re training for spaceflight you generally go home in the evening and get a good night’s rest.” This perspective informed her mindset for what was to come after medical school, “The good thing about it was it made everything else look easy in comparison. Medical training was for me probably the best preparation for being an astronaut because up until that time, being the first person in my family to go to college, when I first got to UCLA it took me a while to find my way and get comfortable. I wasn’t very confident when I first started. The confidence you get from mastering difficult things and then looking back thinking ‘I was really scared I didn’t know I could do that and I did it.’”
In 1978, just two years after receiving her MD, she beat the odds and was selected to be an astronaut (fewer than 1% of applicants are chosen). “That whole day was crazy, we had people calling all day long wanting interviews. It was such a strange situation because one day you’re not an astronaut and the next day they’re interviewing you, but nothing had changed in terms of my knowledge or anything I’d done.” Anna went on to add, “That night we went to dinner to celebrate and afterwards we were on [friend and fellow astronaut selectee] Judy Resnik’s balcony looking at the ocean, going ‘wow is this real? Are we really astronauts?’ It was a very surreal moment.”
NASA’s first female astronaut candidates, 1978 (From Left: Sally Ride, Judith Resnik, Anna Fisher, Kathryn Sullivan, and Rhea Seddon) (National Air and Space Museum)
After Anna completed her rigorous training, she was assigned to STS-51A as a Mission Specialist. Her assignment came just two weeks before she welcomed her eldest daughter, Kristin, to the world. “When he [the director of flight crew operations] called me into his office I was eight and a half months pregnant. The furthest thing from my mind was that he was going to assign me to a flight, but there was no way I was going to say no.” This made her the first mom to go to space, further inspiring women all over the world. Though she was the first, she certainly wasn’t the last, as over the years multiple mothers would take on a journey to the stars, including Serena Auñón-Chancellor, Anne McClain, and more (Space.com).
The STS-51A mission, which only took eight days from launch back to landing in November of 1984, served as the proving grounds for the Space Shuttle Discovery’s ability to both deploy satellites into space and retrieve them for return to Earth (NASA). Dr. Fisher’s role in the satellite retrieval was to operate the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm with fellow astronauts Dale A. Gardner and Joseph P. Allen IV supporting via spacewalk to manually pluck the satellite from orbit (NASA). The mission was a rousing success and resulted in 192 hours in space and 127 orbits around the Earth (NASA). When asked how it felt to be a part of what could be considered the first debris removal mission, she responded with a chuckle, “We didn’t quite think of it as removing debris at the time. Our goal was to bring the satellites back to be refurbished and launched again. It was just the most fun mission to be a part of.” After the STS-51 crew landed, they were honored with the Lloyd’s of London Silver Medal, which was given to them at the White House by President Reagan.
Post-flight, Dr. Fisher continued to support NASA in a variety of roles, including as Deputy of the Mission Development branch of the Astronaut Office. She also served as the Crew Representative on the Crew Procedures Change Board and played a vital role on the selection board for the 1987 astronaut class. Her firsthand experience with crew procedures as a crew and board member led to her supporting development of the International Space Station (ISS) for training and ops concepts, naturally leading to her service as the Chief of the Space Station branch during the crucial early-build stages of the ISS. From 2011 to 2013, she worked as a CAPCOM in Mission Control for Expedition 33. For our readers less familiar with the NASA alphabet soup, CAPCOM is short for Capsule Communication and the role involves feeding verbal information and instruction from the Flight Director to astronauts aboard the ISS. Today, she contributes to NASA’s mission through display development for the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), a vital aspect for ensuring efficiency and understanding during vehicle operation. (NASA)
Dr. Fisher first met KMI at Kennedy Space Center when she and co-founder Adam Kall struck up a conversation about orbital debris. In our recent interview, she reiterated her awareness of the issue along with the need to expand awareness across the industry. “I’ve been aware for several years how important the issue of space debris is. There still isn’t that much awareness of how big the problem is and how rapidly it’s growing.” The relationship quickly progressed to Dr. Fisher accepting an invitation to join KMI’s formal advisory board, a role in which she has contributed much in a short period of time. She has played host to the KMI team in Texas during testing at NASA JSC and contributed to crew procedures for the REACCH ISS Astrobee mission. It is with great excitement that we look forward to what we will accomplish together.
With the addition of Dr. Fisher’s role on the advisory board, KMI continues their mission toward Keeping Space Clear For All. Talking with some of the KMI team, Anna said, “I hope to facilitate your dealings with NASA and I’ve been very impressed with the good shape your crew procedures are in. I hope to help in getting the word out about the importance of debris removal. I’m glad there’s a company as dedicated as you all are; that wants to tackle this really difficult issue.”
Recommended column to read next: Pricing it Right: The Fresnel Project