ASTRONAUT MARY ELLEN WEBER

Weber was selected by NASA in the fourteenth group of astronauts in 1992. During her ten-year career with NASA, she held several positions. She worked extensively in technology commercialization, and as part of a team reporting to NASA's chief executive, she worked directly with a venture capital firm to successfully identify and develop a business venture leveraging a space technology. In addition, Weber was the Legislative Affairs liaison at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, interfacing with Congress and traveling with NASA's chief executive. Prior to this appointment, she was chairman of the procurement board for the Biotechnology Program contractor, and she also served on a team that revamped the $2 billion plan for Space Station research facilities. Weber's principal technical assignments within the Astronaut Office included Shuttle launch preparations at the Kennedy Space Center payload and science development, and development of standards and methods for crew science training. 

A veteran of two space flights. Her first was STS-70 which launched successfully on July 13, 1995, at 9:41 a.m. EDT from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39B. The mission, flown by Space Shuttle Discovery, deployed the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-G). The launch was notable for a delay caused by woodpeckers damaging the external fuel tank foam. CREW: Terence T. Hendricks Commander, Kevin R. Kregel, Pilot, Nancy Jane Currie, Mission Specialist,  Donald A. Thomas, Mission Specialist and Mary Ellen Weber, Mission Specialist. Weber also flew on STS-101. The mission was a 10-day mission conducted between 19 May 2000 and 29 May 2000. The mission was designated 2A.2a and was a resupply mission to the International Space Station. 

Weber was among the youngest to fly in space  logging over 450 hours.  

She is the recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal. 

She resigned from NASA in December 2002