Ellen Ochoa

American astronaut and Engineer

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Ellen Ochoa was born in May of 1958, in Los Angeles, California.

Ochoa graduated from Stanford University with her master of science in 1981 and a doctorate in electrical engineering later in 1985. Ochoa joined NASA as a research engineer in 1988 and was later selected to be an astronaut in 1990. After her training, she was named the first Hispanic female astronaut in 1991. Ochoa is a specialist in the development of optical systems.

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She helped create several techniques and procedures that were awarded patents, including optical systems that detect the imperfections in a repeating pattern and for recognition of objects.

Ochoa served a nine-day mission, giving her the title of the first Hispanic woman to go to space. She has flown in space on four different occasions, adding up nearly 1,000 hours in orbit. She was named Johnson Space Centers 11th director during her time at NASA.