NAME:  Kathryn C. Thornton (Ph.D.)
       NASA Astronaut
 
BIRTHPLACE AND DATE:  Born August 17, 1952, in Montgomery, Alabama.
Her parents, Mr. William C. Cordell and Mrs. Elsie Cordell, are
deceased.
 
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:  Brown hair; green eyes; 5 feet 4 inches; 115
pounds.
 
EDUCATION:  Graduated from Sidney Lanier High School, Montgomery,
Alabama, in 1970; received a bachelor of science degree in physics
from Auburn University in 1974, a master of science degree in physics
from the University of Virginia in 1977, and a doctorate of philosophy
in physics from the University of Virginia in 1979.
 
MARITAL STATUS:  Married to Stephen T. Thornton, Ph.D., of Oak Ridge,
Tennessee.  His mother, Mrs. Helen Lee Gardner, and his father, Mr.
Barton Brown Thornton, are deceased.
 
CHILDREN:  Stepsons: Kenneth, September 26, 1963; Michael, September
10, 1965; Daughters: Carol Elizabeth, March 16, 1982; Laura Lee,
December 2, 1985; Susan Annette, November 20, 1990.
 
RECREATIONAL INTERESTS:  She enjoys scuba diving and skiing.
 
ORGANIZATIONS:  Member of the American Physical Society, American
Association for the Advancement of Science, Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi,
and Sigma Pi Sigma.
 
EXPERIENCE:  Dr. Thornton graduated from Auburn University with a B.S.
in physics in 1974.  While in graduate school at the University of
Virginia, she participated in nuclear physics research programs at Oak
Ridge National Laboratory, and the Space Radiation Effects
Laboratory.  She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Virginia in
1979.  She was awarded a NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship to continue her
research at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in
Heidelberg, West Germany.  In 1980, she returned to Charlottesville,
Virginia, where she was employed as a physicist at the U.S. Army
Foreign Science and Technology Center.
 
NASA EXPERIENCE:  Selected by NASA in May 1984, Dr. Thornton became an
astronaut in July 1985.  Her technical assignments have included
support of future payloads in the Astronaut Office Mission Development
Branch, and flight software verification in the Shuttle Avionics
Integration Laboratory (SAIL).  She also served as a team member of
the Vehicle Integration Test Team (VITT) at JSC.  Dr. Thornton has
supported numerous Space Shuttle flights as a Capsule Communicator
(CAPCOM) at JSC.  A veteran of two space flights, Dr. Thornton flew on
STS-33 in 1989, and STS-49 in 1992.  She has logged over 333 hours in
space, including more than 7 hours of extravehicular activity (EVA).
 
Dr. Thornton was a mission specialist on the crew of STS-33, which
launched at night, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on November 22,
1989, aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.  The mission carried
Department of Defense payloads and other secondary payloads.  After 79
orbits of the earth, this five-day mission concluded on November 27,
1989, at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
 
More recently, Dr. Thornton served on the crew of STS-49, May 7-16,
1992, on board the maiden flight of the new Space Shuttle Endeavour.
During the mission the crew conducted the initial test flight of
Endeavour, performed a record four EVAs (space walks) to retrieve,
repair and deploy the International Telecommunications Satellite
(INTELSAT), and to demonstrate and evaluate numerous EVA tasks to be
used for the assembly of Space Station Freedom.  Dr. Thornton was one
of two EVA crew members who evaluated Space Station assembly
techniques on the fourth EVA.  STS-49 logged 213 hours in space and
141 Earth orbits prior to landing at Edwards Air Force Base,
California.
 
MAY 1992