NAME:  Thomas D. (Tom) Akers (Lieutenant Colonel, USAF)
       NASA Astronaut
 
BIRTHPLACE AND DATE:  Born May 20, 1951, in St. Louis, Missouri, but
raised and educated in his hometown of Eminence, Missouri.  His
mother, Mrs. Arlie Akers Randolph, resides in Eminence.  His father,
Mr. Walter Akers, is deceased.
 
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:  Brown hair; blue eyes; 6 feet; 170 pounds.
 
EDUCATION:  Graduated from Eminence High School, Eminence Missouri, in
1969; received bachelor and master of science degrees in Applied
Mathematics from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1973 and 1975
respectively.
 
MARITAL STATUS:  Married to the former Kaye Lynn Parker of Eminence,
Missouri.  Her parents, Mr. & Mrs. Don Parker, reside in Eminence.
 
CHILDREN:  David Allen, December 29, 1976; Jessica Marie, June 10,
1980.
 
RECREATIONAL INTERESTS:  He enjoys hunting, fishing, softball,
basketball, and spending time with his family.
 
SPECIAL HONORS:  Recipient of the Defense Superior Service Medal, Air
Force Meritorious Service Medal, Commendation Medal, and Achievement
Medal.  Named a distinguished graduate from the Air Force Officer
Training School, Squadron Officer School, and Test Pilot School.
 
EXPERIENCE:  Akers was a National Park Ranger at Alley Springs,
Missouri, during the summer seasons from 1972 through 1975.  After
graduating from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1975, he spent
four years as the high school principal in his hometown of Eminence.
Joining the Air Force in 1979, his first assignment after Officer
Training School, was to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, as an
air-to-air missile data analyst with the 4,484th Fighter Weapons
Squadron.  In 1982 he was selected to attend the Air Force Test Pilot
School at Edwards Air Force Base , California.  On completing one year
of training as a flight test engineer, in 1983 he was assigned to the
Armament Division at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, where he worked on
a variety of weapons development programs, flying F-4 and T-38
aircraft with the 3247th Test Squadron.  Tom was serving as the
executive officer to the Armament Division's deputy commander for
Research, Development and Acquisition when selected for the astronaut
program.  He has accumulated over 1,300 flight hours in 20 different
aircraft.
 
NASA EXPERIENCE:  Selected by NASA in June 1987, Akers became an
astronaut in August 1988.  Since then, Akers has served as the
Astronaut Office focal point for Space Shuttle software development,
as an astronaut representative during Shuttle software testing in the
Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL), and has supported
launch activities at the Kennedy Space Center.  A veteran of two space
flights, Akers flew on STS-41 in 1990, and STS-49 in 1992.
 
Akers flew on the crew of STS-41 from October 6-10, 1990.  Responsible
for the mission's primary payload, the ULYSSES spacecraft, he and the
STS-41 crew successfully deployed this interplanetary probe and
started it on its four year journey via Jupiter to investigate the
polar regions of the Sun.  During 66 orbits of the earth the crew also
conducted numerous middeck experiments involving science and
medicine.  Mission duration was 98 hours 10 minutes.
 
More recently, Akers was a member of the STS-49 crew, May 7-16, 1992,
on board the maiden flight of the new Space Shuttle Endeavour.  While
completing 141 orbits, the Endeavour crew successfully completed four
EVA's (space walks), three rendezvous, and a variety of secondary
objectives.  Akers was one of the EVA crew men of a three-member team
that successfully captured the stranded INTELSAT (International
Telecommunications Satellite.  Akers also performed a second EVA on
this mission to evaluate Space Station Freedom construction
techniques.  Akers has accumulated over 311 hours of space flight and
currently serves in a Shuttle mission support position.  He remains
qualified for assignment as a mission specialist on future Shuttle
flights.
 
MAY 1992