Ellen Ochoa
Ellen Ochoa is an American engineer and astronaut, born on May 10, 1958, in Los Angeles, California.
Ochoa attended Grossmont High School before going on to study at San Diego State University and then Stanford University. Her academic path led her into engineering and, eventually, into a career with NASA as an astronaut. Over the course of her career, she earned a substantial number of honors from the agency, including the NASA Space Flight Medal, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal. Beyond NASA recognition, she also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the highest civilian honors in the United States.
Ochoa has been inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, a distinction that reflects her standing within the American space program. She is also a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, recognitions that speak to her contributions across the broader scientific and aerospace communities. Her work spans the dual roles of engineer and astronaut, and her professional identity is rooted in those two fields, which together have defined her public career and the accolades she continues to hold.
Quotes by Ellen Ochoa
The ISS operates as the 'anchor customer' in low earth orbit to support new commercial space services, including delivery of cargo and, before long, crew transportation services.
These robotic arms, provided by Canada, have been invaluable in allowing us to build, maintain, and repair space structures, and I've been very fortunate to have gotten to operate them.
We continue to not only operate the International Space Station but to increase its capabilities as well as commercial contributions.
I'm honored to be recognized among generations of astronauts who were at the forefront of exploring our universe for the benefit of humankind.
We run the programs, and we support them through all of our folks, but usually the hardware is somewhere else.
Throughout Johnson Space Center's history, contributions to STEM innovation and discoveries has been both through new technologies developed to advance human spaceflight and through educating, inspiring, and hiring students in STEM fields.
I hope to continue to inspire our nation's youth to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math so they, too, may reach for the stars.
I realized how important it was to know something about aviation, and it was something I was interested in, so I followed my brother’s footsteps and obtained my pilot’s license.
