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{{Short description|American astronaut (born 1951)}}
{{Redirect|Kathryn Sullivan}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox astronaut
|name        = Kathryn Sullivan
|image       = Kathryn Sullivan, PCAST Member (cropped).jpg
|birth_name  = Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan
|birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1951|10|3}}
|birth_place = [[Paterson, New Jersey]], U.S.
|death_date  =
|death_place =
|education   = {{ubl|[[University of California, Santa&nbsp;Cruz]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])|[[Dalhousie University]] ([[Master of Science|MS]], [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])}}
|awards      = {{ubl|[[NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal]]|[[NASA Exceptional Service Medal]] (2)|[[NASA Space Flight Medal]] (3)}}
|type        = [[NASA astronaut]]
|rank        = [[Captain (United States O-6)|Captain]], [[United States Navy|USN]]
|time        = 22d 4h 49m
|selection   = [[NASA Astronaut Group 8|NASA Group 8 (1978)]]
|eva1        = 1
|eva2        = 3h 29m
|mission     = [[STS-41-G]]<br>[[STS-31]]<br>[[STS-45]]
|insignia    = [[File:STS-41-G patch.png|40px]] [[File:Sts31 flight insignia.png|45px]] [[File:Sts-45-patch.png|40px]]

|module      = {{Infobox officeholder
|embed       = yes
|office      = {{ubl|[[Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere]]|Administrator of the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]}}
|president   = [[Barack Obama]]
|term_start  = March 1, 2013
|term_end    = January 20, 2017<br>Acting: March 1, 2013 – March 6, 2014
|predecessor = [[Jane Lubchenco]]
|successor   = Benjamin Friedman (acting)
}}
{{Infobox scientist
|embed            = yes
|fields           = {{ubl|Geology|[[Oceanography]]}}
|workplaces       = {{ubl|[[NASA]]|[[Rice University]]|[[COSI Columbus]]|[[Ohio State University]]|[[NOAA]]}}
|thesis_title     = The Structure and Evolution of the Newfoundland Basin, Offshore Eastern Canada
|thesis_url       = https://www.proquest.com/docview/302930700
|thesis_year      = 1978
|doctoral_advisor = [[Michael John Keen]]
}}
}}
'''Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan''' (born October 3, 1951) is an American [[geologist]], [[oceanographer]], and former [[NASA astronaut]] and [[US Navy]] officer. She was a crew member on three [[Space Shuttle]] missions.

A graduate of [[University of California, Santa Cruz]], in the United States, and [[Dalhousie University]] in [[Nova Scotia]], Canada—where she earned a [[Doctor of Philosophy]] degree in geology in 1978—Sullivan was selected as one of the six women among the 35 [[astronaut candidate]] in [[NASA Astronaut Group 8]], the first group to include women. During her training, she became the first woman to be certified to wear a [[United States Air Force]] [[pressure suit]], and on July 1, 1979, she set an unofficial sustained American aviation altitude record for women. During her first mission, [[STS-41-G]], Sullivan performed the first [[extra-vehicular activity]] (EVA) by an American woman. On her second, [[STS-31]], she helped deploy the [[Hubble Space Telescope]]. On the third, [[STS-45]], she served as [[Payload Commander]] on the first [[Spacelab]] mission dedicated to NASA's [[Mission to Planet Earth]].

Sullivan was [[Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere]] and Administrator of the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) after being confirmed by the [[US Senate]] on March 6, 2014. Her tenure ended on January 20, 2017, after which she was designated as the 2017 Charles A. Lindbergh Chair of Aerospace History at the [[Smithsonian Institution]]'s [[National Air and Space Museum]], and also served as a Senior Fellow at the [[Potomac Institute for Policy Studies]]. On June 7, 2020, Sullivan became the first woman to dive into the [[Challenger Deep]] in the [[Mariana Trench]], the deepest part of Earth's oceans. In September 2021, President [[Joe Biden]] appointed her to the [[President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology]].

==Early life and education==
Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan was born in [[Paterson, New Jersey]], on October 3, 1951, the daughter of Donald Paul Sullivan and his wife Barbara, {{nee}} Kelly.<ref name="NASAbiography" /><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |title=Barbara Kelly Married; Bride of Donald Paul Sullivan, Graduate Assistant at N. N. U. |date=August 21, 1949 |page=63 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/08/21/archives/barbara-kelly-married-bride-of-donald-paul-sullivan-graduate.html |access-date=February 13, 2022}}</ref> She had a brother, Grant.{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|p=16}} In 1958 the family moved to the [[San Fernando Valley]] in California, where her father worked in the aerospace industry for [[Marquardt Corporation]].<ref name="oral">{{cite interview |first=Kathryn D. |last=Sullivan |title=Oral History |interviewer=Ross-Nazzal, Jennifer |location=Columbus, Ohio |date=May 10, 2007 |publisher=NASA |url=https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/SullivanKD/SullivanKD_5-10-07.htm |access-date=February 13, 2022}}</ref> She was in the first grade at Havenhurst Elementary School, where [[Sally Ride]] was a classmate, but the school closed in 1958 to make way for [[Van Nuys Airport]], and neither woman could recall meeting the other.<ref>{{cite web |title=Astronauts Sally Ride and Kathy Sullivan, who have spent ... |date=October 12, 1984 |publisher=UPI Archives |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/10/12/Astronauts-Sally-Ride-and-Kathy-Sullivan-who-have-spent/3701466401600/ |access-date=February 13, 2022}}</ref> During her school years she was a [[girl scout]].<ref name="oral" />{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|p=12}}

Sullivan graduated from [[William Howard Taft Charter High School (Los Angeles)|William Howard Taft High School]] in the [[Woodland Hills, Los Angeles|Woodland Hills]] district of [[Los Angeles]], California, in 1969.<ref name="NASAbiography" /> She took both French and German in high school, and resolved to have a career in the foreign service. She chose to enter the [[University of California, Santa Cruz]] (UCSC), on account of its renowned Russian studies program. The university required that humanities students take three science classes and vice versa.{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|pp=12–13}} She chose to take courses in [[marine biology]], [[topology]] and [[oceanography]]. She enjoyed these, and altered her course to take in more science subjects. She was an exchange student at the [[University of Bergen]] in Norway for the 1971–1972 school year and the two summers around it, and decided to change her major to oceanography.<ref name="oral"/> She was awarded a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in [[Earth Sciences]] from UCSC in 1973, and a [[Doctor of Philosophy]] in [[geology]] from [[Dalhousie University]] and the [[Bedford Institute of Oceanography]] in [[Nova Scotia]], Canada, in 1978,<ref name="NASAbiography">{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/sullivan_kathryn.pdf |title=Kathryn D. Sullivan (Ph.D.), NASA Astronaut (Former) |publisher=NASA |date=April 2014 |access-date=June 18, 2021}}</ref>{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|pp=12–13}} writing her doctoral thesis on ''The structure and evolution of the Newfoundland Basin'' under the supervision of [[Michael John Keen]].<ref>{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |date=1978 |last=Sullivan |first=Kathryn D. |title=The structure and evolution of the Newfoundland Basin |publisher=Dalhousie University |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/302930700 |id={{ProQuest|302930700}} |access-date=February 13, 2022}}</ref> While at Dalhousie, she participated in several oceanographic expeditions that studied the floors of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.{{sfn|Shayler|Burgess|2020|p=120}}

[[File:Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan in 1981.ogv|thumb|thumbtime=1|Kathryn D. Sullivan in 1981.]]

==NASA career==
===Selection and training===
When Sullivan visited her family for Christmas in 1976, her brother Grant, an aerospace engineer and corporate jet pilot, told her that the [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] (NASA) had issued a call for applications for a new group of astronauts. NASA had made it known that it was interested in recruiting women, and Grant encouraged her to apply. He had applied for both pilot and [[mission specialist]] positions. After she returned to Nova Scotia she saw a NASA ad in a science journal, and decided to apply. She reasoned that the [[Space Shuttle]] was a kind of research vessel, but her dream was still to descend to the ocean floor in a [[submersible]]. That prospect came closer when she received an offer from William B. F. Ryan from the [[Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory]] at [[Columbia University]] to join his team exploring the ocean in the submersible {{ship|DSV|Alvin||6}}. Ryan had been an unsuccessful finalist for [[NASA Astronaut Group&nbsp;6]] in 1967, and he counseled her to wait for NASA to call. They both felt that the odds on being accepted were long, but Sullivan did not join Ryan's team while she waited to hear about her selection.{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|pp=14–18}}

Grant's application was unsuccessful, but Kathryn was invited to come to the [[Johnson Space Center]] (JSC) for a week of interviews and physical examinations commencing on November 14, 1977. She was the only woman in this group of twenty-five finalists.<ref>{{cite press release |first=Milton |last=Reim |title=Tenth Group of 20 Astronaut Applicants Report to JSC on November 14 |id=77-75 |date=November 11, 1977 |publisher=NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83129main_1977.pdf |access-date=January 15, 2022 |archive-date=January 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115053709/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83129main_1977.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Over the course of a week she was given physical and psychological examinations, and was interviewed by a selection panel chaired by [[George Abbey (NASA)|George Abbey]]. She was successful, and her selection as one of the six women among the 35 members of [[NASA Astronaut Group&nbsp;8]] was publicly announced on January 16, 1978.<ref name="selection">{{cite press release |first=Milton |last=Reim |title=NASA Selects 35 Astronaut Candidates |id=78-03 |date=January 16, 1978 |publisher=NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83130main_1978.pdf |access-date=September 17, 2020 |archive-date=March 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314123803/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83130main_1978.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was the first astronaut group to include women. Sullivan was one of the three members of the group (the others being Sally Ride and [[Steven Hawley|Steve Hawley]]) for whom NASA astronaut would be their first full-time paid job since leaving university.{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|p=23}}
[[File:Sullivan Views the Earth - GPN-2000-001082.jpg|thumb|left|Using binoculars to view Earth during STS-41-G]]

On August 31, 1979, NASA announced that the 35 [[astronaut candidate]]s had completed their training and evaluation, and were now officially astronauts, qualified for selection on space flight crews.<ref>{{cite press release |title=35 Astronaut Candidates Complete Training and Evaluation Period |id=79-53 |date=August 31, 1979 |first=Milton |last=Reim |publisher=NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83131main_1979.pdf |access-date=October 3, 2020 |archive-date=November 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111201814/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83131main_1979.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> To mark the occasion the [[Chief of the Astronaut Office]], [[John Young (astronaut)|John Young]], presented each of them with a silver NASA [[astronaut pin]]; they would become eligible for a gold one after they had flown in space.{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|pp=30–34}} Like other astronaut groups before them, each was given a particular assignment.{{sfn|Shayler|Burgess|2020|pp=196–198}} Sullivan helped develop systems management checklists for the first Space Shuttle flights. To give the newcomers more experience, they were periodically rotated to different jobs, so after nine months she became a mission manager at NASA's High Altitude Research Project, based at nearby [[Ellington Air Force Base]]. She became the first woman to be certified to wear a [[United States Air Force]] [[pressure suit]],{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|pp=30–34}} and on July 1, 1979, she set an unofficial sustained American aviation altitude record for women of {{convert|63,000|ft|m|order=flip}} during a four-hour flight in a NASA [[Martin/General Dynamics RB-57F Canberra#NASA|WB-57F]] reconnaissance aircraft.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kathryn Sullivan Sets Altitude Record |publisher=NASA |date=July 1, 1979 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons/16140843370 |access-date=February 15, 2022}}</ref>

For the first Space Shuttle mission, [[STS-1]], Sullivan was assigned to media support, working with [[Vic Ratner]] and Bob Walker on [[ABC News Radio]]. For the [[STS-2]] mission she flew in the back seat of a NASA [[Northrop T-38 Talon]] chase plane piloted by fellow astronaut [[Robert L. Gibson|Hoot Gibson]], photographing the [[Space Shuttle tiles]] to verify that none had been damaged. She was then assigned to the support crew at the [[Kennedy Space Center]] (KSC), along with fellow astronauts Steve Hawley, [[Loren Shriver]] and [[Donald E. Williams|Don Williams]], for the next four Space Shuttle missions.{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|pp=39–48}}

===STS-41-G===
[[File:STS-41-G Sullivan checks SIR-B antenna latch.jpg|thumb|right|Checking the SIR-B antenna during STS-41-G]]

In July 1983 Sullivan joined the Mission Development group, which organised and supervised the development of payloads for future missions that did not yet have a crew assigned to them. She was assigned the Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications' OSTA-3 satellite and the Orbital Refueling System (ORS). The objective of the latter was to demonstrate that the Space Shuttle could be used to refuel a satellite in [[orbit]], thereby extending its useful life. For this the aging [[Landsat&nbsp;4]] satellite was chosen. In September 1983 she was officially assigned to this mission, which was designated [[STS-41-G]].{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|pp=53–56}}

Sally Ride was also assigned to this mission, so it became the first time that two women were in space together. The mission lifted off from the KSC in the {{OV|Challenger|full=nolink}} on October 5, 1984.<ref name="STS-41G" /> Sullivan performed the first [[extra-vehicular activity]] (EVA) by an American woman on October 11, 1984. With fellow mission specialist [[David Leestma]], she performed a 3.5-hour spacewalk in which they operated the ORS to show that a [[satellite]] could be refueled in orbit.<ref name="STS-41G" /> They installed a valve into a satellite propulsion system that mimicked that of Landsat{{spaces}}4 and transferred {{convert|130|lb|order=flip}} of [[hydrazine]] to it using the ORS. This demonstrated that the procedure could be performed with a real satellite.{{sfn|Jenkins|2016|p=52}}

During the eight-day mission, the crew also deployed the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, conducted scientific observations of Earth with the OSTA-3 pallet (including the SIR-B radar, FILE, and MAPS experiments) and large format camera (LFC), and conducted several in-cabin experiments as well as activating eight "[[Getaway Special]]" canisters. [[STS-41G]] completed 132 orbits of Earth in 197.5 hours, before landing back at the KSC on October 13, 1984.<ref name="STS-41G">{{cite web |publisher=NASA |title=STS-41G |url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-41G.html |access-date=February 14, 2022}}</ref>

===STS-45===
[[File:Sullivan and Ride Show Sleep Restraints - GPN-2000-001032.jpg|thumb|left|With Sally Ride on STS-41-G]]

In September 1985 Sullivan was assigned to the [[STS-61-J]] mission, which was scheduled to deploy the [[Hubble Space Telescope]] (HST) in August 1986.<ref>{{cite press release |first=Steve |last=Nesbitt |id=85-035 |date=September 19, 1985 |title=NASA Names Crews for Upcoming Space Shuttle Flights |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83137main_1985.pdf |access-date=February 16, 2022 |archive-date=November 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101030918/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83137main_1985.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The original intention was that the HST would be periodically retrieved by the Space Shuttle and returned to Earth for maintenance, although some components were designed for servicing in-orbit. In 1984 NASA management decided this would be too dangerous and too costly, and that the HST would instead be maintained in-orbit by periodic servicing missions for up to fifteen years.{{sfn|Gainor|2020|pp=32–34}} Convinced that NASA would attempt to fix any component that jeopardized the HST's mission whether it had been designated as serviceable or not, Sullivan pressed for as many components as possible to be replaceable or amenable to in-orbit servicing. Working with fellow astronaut [[Bruce McCandless&nbsp;II]] and NASA and [[Lockheed Corporation]] engineers, she ensured that there would be a complete set of tools and procedures for as many HST maintenance missions as possible.{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|pp=117–121}}

The STS-61-J mission was cancelled after the January 1986 [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster]], but the crew continued to work on the mission objectives. At this point, just fourteen systems were designated as "on-orbit maintainable". There were up to twelve units in each one, so forty-three were designated as Block I "on-orbit replaceable units" (ORUs). Lockheed produced two lists of additional units that could be modified to be serviceable; there were twenty-six systems and fifty-one units in Block{{spaces}}II and eight systems and sixteen units in Block{{spaces}}III. With more time available, an attempt was now made to work through these.{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|p=139}} Meanwhile, Sullivan served as [[capsule communicator]] (CAPCOM) for [[STS-26]], the Space Shuttle's October 1988 return-to-flight mission.{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|pp=153–155}} She chose the wakeup music, including a contribution from [[Robin Williams]], who provided a pastiche of his ''[[Good Morning, Vietnam]]'' radio greeting. She continued working as CAPCOM on the [[STS-27]] and [[STS-29]] missions.{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|pp=170–173}}

===STS-31===
[[File:STS-31 Mission Specialist (MS) Sullivan dons EMU in Discovery's airlock.jpg|thumb|right|Sullivan dons her space suit in case an EVA was required to support the Hubble Space Telescope deployment on STS-31.]]

At the end of March 1989, Sullivan returned to working on the HST mission, which was now designated [[STS-31]]. The crew was the same, except that Loren Shriver replaced Young as mission commander.{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|pp=168–169}} STS-31 was launched from KSC, on April 24, 1990. During this five-day mission, crew members aboard the {{OV|Discovery|full=nolink}} deployed the HST, and conducted middeck experiments involving the study of [[protein]] crystal growth, polymer membrane processing, and the effects of weightlessness and magnetic fields on an ion arc. They also operated several cameras, including the IMAX cargo bay camera, for Earth observations. Their [[apogee]] of {{convert|333|nmi|km|order=flip|sp=us}} above Earth was the highest yet achieved by a Space Shuttle orbiter. (It was later exceeded by the [[STS-82]] HST servicing mission.)<ref name="STS-31" /><ref>{{cite web |id=NASA/TM–2011–216142 |title=Space Shuttle Missions Summary |first1=Robert D. |last1=Legler |first2=Floyd V. |last2=Bennett |publisher=NASA |date=September 2011 |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20110001406/downloads/20110001406.pdf |access-date=August 24, 2022}}</ref>

The HST was deployed on the second day using ''Discovery''{{'}}s [[Canadarm]] with the Shuttle doors opened towards the ground. In case McCandless and Sullivan had to perform an EVA, the Shuttle's cabin pressure was lowered from {{convert|14.7|psi|order=flip}} to {{convert|4.1|psi|order=flip}}.{{sfn|Chaisson|1994|pp=41–42}} At one point McCandless and Sullivan donned their space suits and entered the airlock to perform an emergency EVA to help deploy the Hubble's solar arrays, but this was not required, as the engineers were able to deploy them with a series of commands from Earth.{{sfn|Chaisson|1994|pp=48–49}} ''Discovery'' followed the HST for the next two days in case intervention was required.{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|p=218}} After making 76 orbits of Earth in 121 hours, ''Discovery'' landed at [[Edwards Air Force Base]] in [[California]], on April 29, 1990.<ref name="STS-31">{{cite web |title=STS-31 |publisher=NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-31.html |access-date=February 15, 2022}}</ref>

===STS-45===
Sullivan served as [[Payload Commander]] on [[STS-45]], the first [[Spacelab]] mission dedicated to NASA's [[Mission to Planet Earth]]. It lifted off in the ''Atlantis'' on March 24, 1992. During this nine-day mission, the crew operated the twelve experiments that constituted the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science cargo.<ref name="STS-45">{{cite web |title=STS-45 |publisher=NASA |url=https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-45/mission-sts-45.html |access-date=February 23, 2022 |archive-date=February 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223210904/https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-45/mission-sts-45.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> This was the first of several flights designed to study the composition of the mid-atmosphere and its variations over an eleven-year [[solar cycle]], the regular period of energetic activity by the Sun. The mission also included the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Instrument (SSBUV) to measure the [[ozone layer]] in concert with other measurements taken by satellites.<ref>{{cite web |title=LSDA Mission – STS-45 |publisher=NASA |url=https://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov/Mission/miss/112 |access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref> The mission also carried the [[Oscar statuette]] for the [[Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award]] that film maker [[George Lucas]] received on March 30, the presentation being made by the STS-45 crew from Earth orbit.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=NASA magazine |title=An Oscar ... |date=Summer 1992 |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oSj0pdIBd1QC&pg=RA1-PA3 |access-date=February 24, 2022}}</ref> Sullivan had special responsibility for a dose-response experiment that involved firing an [[electron]] pulse into the upper atmosphere and recording the luminosity induced with a special camera.{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|pp=232–233}} ''Atlantis'' landed at the Kennedy Space Center on April 2, 1992.<ref name="STS-45" />

Sullivan left NASA in 1993 having flown on three Space Shuttle missions and logged 532 hours in space.<ref name="NASAbiography" /><ref>{{cite web |title=STS-43 |publisher=NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-45.html |access-date=February 15, 2022}}</ref>

==Military career==
[[File:STS-31 crew.jpg|thumb|right|Sullivan in her Navy uniform for the [[STS-31]] crew photo]]
Sullivan became an adjunct professor of geology at [[Rice University]] in Houston in 1985.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kathryn D. Sullivan |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |url=https://voices.nmfs.noaa.gov/index.php/kathryn-d-sullivan |access-date=February 15, 2022}}</ref> In this role she joined an oceanographic research cruise in 1988, where she met [[Andreas Rechnitzer]], a [[US Navy]] oceanographer, and she started thinking about joining the [[US Naval Reserve]] (USNR) as an oceanography officer. She spoke to McCandless about it; he said he was having lunch with the [[Secretary of the Navy]] and would raise the matter. Later that year, Sullivan became a [[direct commission officer]] in the USNR with the rank of [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|lieutenant commander]].{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|pp=153–155}}

In October 1990 she assumed command of a small specialized unit of oceanographers and meteorologists. Based at [[Naval Air Station Dallas]], it provided support to the [[Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command]] center on [[Guam]]. The unit was sent to Guam on January 13, 1991, four days before the start of [[Operation Desert Storm]], and stayed for thirty days to augment the regular component responsible for the Western Pacific to free it to concentrate on the [[Persian Gulf]].{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|pp=226–227}} She retired from the USNR with the rank of [[Captain (naval)|captain]] in 2006.<ref name="sova">{{cite web |title=Kathryn D. Sullivan Papers |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |url=https://sova.si.edu/record/NASM.2019.0007 |access-date=February 15, 2022}}</ref>

==Civilian career==
===NOAA Chief Scientist===
While she was still working on preparations for STS-45, Sullivan received a call from [[Sylvia Earle]], the [[NOAA Chief Scientist|chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)]].{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|pp=229–230}} In 1981 Earle and Sullivan had been part of the first group of women admitted to [[the Explorers Club]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The First Women of the Explorers Club |publisher=Discovery |url=https://www.discovery.com/exploration/the-first-women-of-the-explorers-club--pictures |access-date=February 23, 2022}}</ref> Earle was stepping down from the role at the NOAA, and asked Sullivan if she was interested in taking over. With the permission of her STS-45 mission commander, [[Charles Bolden]], Sullivan flew to [[Washington, DC]], where she was interviewed by the Administrator of the NOAA, [[John A. Knauss]].{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|pp=229–230}} Her nomination was forwarded to the [[US Senate]] for confirmation, and she arranged to be seconded from NASA to NOAA as acting chief scientist from August 17, 1992.<ref>{{cite press release |first=Barbara |last=Schwartz |date=August 14, 1992 |id=92-046 |title=Astronaut Sullivan to Become Chief Scientist at NOAA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83144main_1992.pdf |access-date=February 16, 2022 |archive-date=December 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202082154/http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83144main_1992.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Before she could be confirmed, President [[George H. W. Bush]] lost the [[1992 United States presidential election]] and was succeeded by [[Bill Clinton]], and the nomination was withdrawn. Sullivan still wanted the job, so she lobbied for it, enlisting the help of the outgoing [[Secretary of Commerce]], [[Barbara Franklin]], and senators [[Barbara Mikulski]] and [[Bill Nelson]]. The incoming Secretary of Commerce, [[Ron Brown|Ronald H. Brown]], forwarded her nomination to the Senate again in April, and she was confirmed on May 28, 1993.{{sfn|Sullivan|2019|pp=234–236}} As chief scientist at NOAA, she oversaw a diverse portfolio which included ranging research into [[climate change]], the use of satellites for oceanography, and [[marine biodiversity]].<ref name="NASAbiography"/>

===Career 1996 to 2011===
Sullivan was president and CEO of the [[COSI Columbus]], an interactive science center in [[Columbus, Ohio]], from 1996 to 2006.<ref name="NASAbiography" /> From 2006 to 2011 she was Director for [[Ohio State University]]'s [[Battelle Memorial Institute|Battelle]] Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy while remaining a volunteer science advisor to COSI.<ref name="NASAbiography"/> She was appointed as vice chair of the [[National Science Board]] by President [[George W. Bush]] in 2004.<ref>{{cite press release |id=06-081 |title=National Science Board Elects Physician and Former Astronaut to be New Officers |date=May 11, 2006 |url=https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=106968 |access-date=February 16, 2022}}</ref> In 2009 Sullivan was elected to a three-year term as the chair of the Section on General Interest in Science and Engineering for the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]].<ref name="Brown">{{cite web |title=Brown confers six honorary degrees |publisher=Brown University |url=https://news.brown.edu/articles/2015/04/honoraries |access-date=March 1, 2022 |date=April 28, 2015}}</ref>

===Assistant Secretary of Commerce===
[[File:NPP Satellite Launch (201110280011HQ) DVIDS723487.jpg|thumb|Interviewed on television after the launch of the [[Suomi NPP|National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project]] (NPP) in 2011]]
In January 2011 President [[Barack Obama]] sent the Senate his nomination of Sullivan to be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce. Sullivan was first nominated in December 2010, but because the Senate did not approve her nomination before the session ended, the White House renewed the nomination. On May 4, 2011, Sullivan was confirmed by unanimous consent of the Senate and appointed by President Obama to serve as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction and Deputy Administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kathryn D. Sullivan appointed as assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction for NOAA |date=May 4, 2011 |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |url=http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2011/20110504_sullivan.html |access-date=May 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215083749/http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2011/20110504_sullivan.html |archive-date=February 15, 2018}}</ref> Sullivan became Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Acting NOAA Administrator on February 28, 2013, following the resignation of [[Jane Lubchenco]].<ref name="Picked">{{cite magazine |title=Former Astronaut Picked to Lead NOAA |first=Lauren |last=Morello |date=August 5, 2013 |magazine=[[Scientific American]] |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/former-astronaut-picked-to-lead-noaa/ |access-date=June 11, 2018}}</ref> President Obama nominated Sullivan to serve as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator on August 1, 2013, and she was confirmed by the Senate on March 6, 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kathryn Sullivan confirmed as NOAA administrator |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |last=Clayton |first=Ciaran |date=March 6, 2014 |url=https://www.noaa.gov/kathryn-sullivan-confirmed-noaa-administrator |access-date=February 24, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Picked"/> Her term ended on January 20, 2017.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 17, 2017 |title=AccuWeather's CEO Barry Myers Nominated to Lead NOAA |publisher=Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association |url=https://secoora.org/accuweathers-ceo-barry-myers-nominated-lead-noaa/ |access-date=August 20, 2022}}</ref>
[[File:Photo of the Week- White House Leadership Summit on Women, Climate and Energy (8969861187).jpg|thumb|right|At the White House Leadership Summit on Women, Climate and Energy in May 2013]]

===Positions since 2017===
Sullivan was named the 2017 Charles A. Lindbergh Chair of Aerospace History, a competitive twelve-month fellowship at the [[National Air and Space Museum]]. During her residence in the museum, Sullivan's research focused on the Hubble Space Telescope.<ref name="airandspace.si.edu">{{cite web |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/newsroom/press-releases/former-astronaut-and-noaa-administrator-kathy-d-sullivan-named-national-air |title=Former Astronaut and NOAA Administrator Kathy D. Sullivan Named National Air and Space Museum's Lindbergh Fellow |date=January 26, 2017 |publisher=National Air and Space Museum |access-date=February 12, 2022}}</ref> She has also served as a Senior Fellow at the [[Potomac Institute for Policy Studies]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://potomacinstitute.org/about-us/fellows/274-dr-kathryn-sullivan-senior-fellow |title=Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, Senior Fellow |publisher=Potomac Institute for Policy Studies |access-date=February 12, 2022 |archive-date=February 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211231137/https://potomacinstitute.org/about-us/fellows/274-dr-kathryn-sullivan-senior-fellow |url-status=dead }}</ref> Her book ''Handprints on Hubble: An Astronaut's Story of Invention'' was released from MIT Press in November 2019. It recounted her experience as part of the team that launched, rescued, repaired, and maintained the Hubble Space Telescope.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Hubble astronaut Kathryn Sullivan; Romy Gill cooks spicy chickpeas; Reducing domestic violence |series=[[Woman's Hour]] |credits=Presenter: [[Jane Garvey (broadcaster)|Jane Garvey]]; Producer: Anna Lacey; Guest: Kathryn Sullivan |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC Radio 4]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000fvtt |airdate=March 3, 2020 |minutes=0:40 |access-date=March 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rigb.org/whats-on/events-2020/march/public-handprints-on-hubble |title=Handprints on Hubble |publisher=[[Royal Institution]] |access-date=March 7, 2020 |archive-date=August 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813142849/https://www.rigb.org/whats-on/events-2020/march/public-handprints-on-hubble |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In June 2020 Sullivan traveled on an expedition aboard the [[Triton Submarines]] {{ship|DSV|Limiting Factor||6}} to the bottom of the [[Challenger Deep]] in the [[Mariana Trench]], becoming the first woman and eighth [[List of people who descended to Challenger Deep|person to reach the deepest known point]] in Earth's oceans,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Heather |title=First American Woman to Walk in Space Reaches Deepest Spot in the Ocean |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/science/challenger-deep-kathy-sullivan-astronaut.html |newspaper=New York Times |access-date=June 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609124938/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/science/challenger-deep-kathy-sullivan-astronaut.html |archive-date=June 9, 2020 |date=June 8, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=McGreevy |first=Nora |title=Astronaut Kathy Sullivan Becomes First Woman to Reach Deepest Part of the Ocean |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/kathy-sullivan-becomes-first-woman-reach-challenger-deep-180975061/ |date=June 10, 2020 |access-date=February 24, 2022 |magazine=Smithsonian Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Former NASA astronaut Kathy Sullivan becomes first person to travel to space and ocean's deepest point |newspaper=ABC News |date=June 9, 2020 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-09/ex-nasa-astronaut-first-person-to-space-and-challenger-deep/12337374 |access-date=August 20, 2022}}</ref> and the first person to travel both to Challenger Deep and into space.<ref name=bbc>{{cite web |last=Cooper |first=Kelly-Leigh |title=The woman making history in sea and space |publisher=BBC News |date=June 14, 2020 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53008948 |access-date=June 15, 2020}}</ref> In November 2020 Sullivan was named a volunteer member of [[Joe Biden]]'s [[Presidential transition of Joe Biden|presidential transition]] Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the [[Department of Commerce]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Agency Review Teams |url=https://buildbackbetter.com/the-transition/agency-review-teams/ |publisher=President-Elect Joe Biden |access-date=November 10, 2020 |archive-date=November 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110200537/https://buildbackbetter.com/the-transition/agency-review-teams/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and he appointed her to the [[President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology]] in September 2021.<ref>{{cite news |first=Earl |last=Hopkins |date=September 23, 2021 |title=Former COSI CEO Kathryn Sullivan handpicked for President's Council of Advisers on Science & Technology |newspaper=Columbus Dispatch |url=https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2021/09/23/former-cosi-ceo-selected-national-science-and-technology-council/5831637001/ |access-date=February 13, 2022}}</ref>

==Awards and recognition==
Sullivan's awards from NASA included the [[NASA Space Flight Medal]] in 1984, 1990 and 1992; the [[NASA Exceptional Service Medal]] in 1988 and 1991, the [[NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal]] in 1992, and a Certificate of Appreciation in 1996.<ref>{{cite web |title=Historical Recipient List |publisher=NASA |url=https://searchpub.nssc.nasa.gov/servlet/sm.web.Fetch/Agency_Awards_Historical_Recipient_List.pdf?rhid=1000&did=2120817&type=released |access-date=April 24, 2021}}</ref> She received the Haley Space Flight Award in 1991,<ref>{{cite news |title=American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics |url=https://www.aiaa.org/HonorsAndAwardsRecipientsList.aspx?awardId=1114bf4b-9ad4-488a-87e3-870d05d961f8 |access-date=January 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221000509/https://www.aiaa.org/HonorsAndAwardsRecipientsList.aspx?awardId=1114bf4b-9ad4-488a-87e3-870d05d961f8 |archive-date=February 21, 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> the Gold Medal of the [[Society of Woman Geographers]] in 1993,<ref name="Medal">{{cite web |title=SWG Gold Medalists |url=http://iswg.org/awards/past-gold-medal-recipients |publisher=Society of Woman Geographers |access-date=February 3, 2020}}</ref><ref name="STS">{{cite web |title=Pennant, Society of Woman Geographers, STS 41-G, Sullivan |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/pennant-society-women-geographers-sts-41-g-sullivan |publisher=Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum |access-date=February 3, 2020 |archive-date=February 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203205311/https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/pennant-society-women-geographers-sts-41-g-sullivan |url-status=dead }}</ref> the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]] in 1994,<ref>{{cite web |title=Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]] |url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/all-honorees/ |access-date=February 12, 2022}}</ref> and the [[Adler Planetarium]] Women in Space Science Award in 2004.<ref>{{cite web |title=Women in Space Science Award |publisher=Adler Planetarium |date=May 11, 2017 |url=https://www.adlerplanetarium.org/wp-content/uploads/Women-in-Space-Science-2017-Sponsorship-Opportunities.pdf |access-date=February 11, 2022}}</ref>
[[File:Kathryn D. Sullivan at BookExpo (05260).jpg|thumb|left|At the 2019 [[BookExpo America]] signing autographs for ''Handprints on Hubble'']]

In 2014 Sullivan was named in the [[Time 100|''Time'' 100]] list, an annual list of the world's most influential people. [[John Glenn]] wrote in her blurb: <blockquote>Kathy is not just an ivory-tower scientist. She was part of NASA's first class of female astronauts, selected in 1978, and went on to fly three shuttle missions. She is the first American woman to walk in space and served aboard the mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope. That role in helping humanity look outward has not prevented her from looking homeward. The planet is suffering increasingly severe upheavals, at least partly a result of climate change—[[droughts]], [[floods]], [[typhoons]], [[tornadoes]]. I believe my good friend Kathy is the right person for the right job at the right time.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |title=The 100 Most Influential People |url=http://time.com/70882/kathryn-sullivan-2014-time-100/ |access-date=March 1, 2022 |date=April 23, 2014}}</ref></blockquote>

Sullivan received honorary [[Doctor of Science]] degrees from [[Willamette University]] in 2013 in conjunction with her presentation of a commencement address,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://willamette.edu/events/commencement/cla/honorary-degrees/past-recipients/2013/index.html |title=2013 Honorary Degrees |publisher=Willamette University |access-date=September 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200504135005/https://willamette.edu/events/commencement/cla/honorary-degrees/past-recipients/2013/index.html |archive-date=May 4, 2020}}</ref> and from [[Brown University]] in May 2015, for her "abundant contributions to science, education and the public good, and her ongoing commitment to improving the state of our planet for future generations".<ref name="Brown" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.brown.edu/articles/2015/05/citations#Sullivan |title=Brown awards six honorary doctorates {{!}} News from Brown |publisher=Brown University |access-date=February 12, 2022}}</ref> In September 2015 she presented the John H. Glenn Lecture in Space History Series at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Titled "Looking at Earth: An Astronaut's Journey", Sullivan discussed her life of exploration and discovery, what it is like to fulfill her childhood dreams, and how NOAA's study of our planet helps us understand today's environmental challenges.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/events/detail.cfm?id=17802 |title=Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: John H. Glenn Lecture in Space History Series |access-date=January 24, 2016 |date=July 30, 2015}}</ref>

Sullivan was inducted into the [[Astronaut Hall of Fame]] in 2004,<ref>{{cite press release |title=Hall Of Fame Honors NASA Deputy Administrator |id=04-146 |first1=Melissa |last1=Mathews |first2=Andrea |last2=Farmer |date=April 30, 2004 |publisher=NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2004/apr/HQ_04146_astronaut_HOF.html |access-date=February 11, 2022 |archive-date=April 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405054615/https://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2004/apr/HQ_04146_astronaut_HOF.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> elected to the [[National Academy of Engineering]] in 2016,<ref>{{cite web |title=Members |publisher=National Academy of Engineering |url=https://swe.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/National-Academy-of-Engineering-Members.pdf |access-date=February 11, 2022}}</ref> and the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kathryn D. Sullivan |publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences |url=https://www.amacad.org/person/kathryn-d-sullivan |access-date=February 11, 2022}}</ref> In 2020 the American Association of Geographers named her Honorary Geographer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Honorary Geographer |url=http://www.aag.org/cs/honorary-geographer |access-date=April 9, 2021 |publisher=American Association of Geographers}}</ref> She was on the list of the [[BBC]]'s [[100 Women (BBC)|100 Women]] announced on November 23, 2020.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 23, 2020 |title=BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year? |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-55042935 |access-date=November 23, 2020}}</ref> In September 2023, Sullivan was inducted into the [[National Aviation Hall of Fame]] in Dayton, Ohio.<ref>{{cite web |title=Enshrinee Kathryn Sullivan |url=https://nationalaviation.org/the-national-aviation-hall-of-fame-announces-the-class-of-2023/ |website=nationalaviation.org |date=February 24, 2023 |publisher=National Aviation Hall of Fame |access-date=15 March 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Commons category|Kathryn D. Sullivan}}
* [[List of female astronauts]]
* [[List of people who descended to Challenger Deep]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book |last=Chaisson |first=Eric J. |author-link=Eric Chaisson |title=The Hubble Wars: Astrophysics Meets Astropolitics in the Two Billion Dollar Struggle over the Hubble Space Telescope |publisher=HarperCollins |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-06-017114-8 |oclc=879045001}}
* {{cite book |last=Gainor |first=Christopher |title=Not Yet Imagined: A Study of Hubble Space Telescope Operations |publisher=NASA |location=Washington, DC |date=2020 |isbn=978-1-62683-062-2 |oclc=1157675452 |url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/not_yet_imagined_tagged.pdf |id=SP-2020-4237 |author-link=Chris Gainor |access-date=February 16, 2022}}
* {{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Dennis R. |title=Space Shuttle: Developing an Icon |volume=III |location=Forest Lake, Minnesota |publisher=Specialty Press |date=2016 |isbn=978-1-58007-249-6 |oclc=961098387}}
* {{cite book |last1=Shayler |first1=David J. |last2=Burgess |first2=Colin |author-link2=Colin Burgess (author) |year=2020 |title=NASA's First Space Shuttle Astronaut Selection: Redefining the Right Stuff |publisher=Praxis Publishing |location=Chicester, UK |isbn=978-3-030-45741-9 |oclc=1145568343}}
* {{cite book |last=Sullivan |first=Kathryn D. |title=Handprints on the Hubble: An Astronaut's Story of Invention |series=Lemelson Center studies in invention and innovation |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=MIT press |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-262-04318-2 |oclc=1126282537}}
{{Include-NASA|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/sullivan_kathryn.pdf}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{C-SPAN|35694}}
* [https://www.kathysullivanexplores.com/ Kathy Sullivan's podcasts]

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{{s-ttl|title=Administrator of the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]|years=2014–2017}}
{{s-aft|after=Benjamin Friedman<br>Acting}}
{{s-end}}

{{NASA Astronaut Group 8}}
{{U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame}}
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{{Ohio Women's Hall of Fame}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Kathryn D.}}
[[Category:1951 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American geologists]]
[[Category:20th-century American women scientists]]
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[[Category:21st-century American women scientists]]
[[Category:American astronaut-politicians]]
[[Category:American women geologists]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Dalhousie University alumni]]
[[Category:Female United States Navy officers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration personnel]]
[[Category:Obama administration personnel]]
[[Category:Ohio State University faculty]]
[[Category:People from Columbus, Ohio]]
[[Category:Scientists from Paterson, New Jersey]]
[[Category:People from Woodland Hills, Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Members of the Society of Woman Geographers]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Paterson, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Scientists from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Smithsonian Institution people]]
[[Category:Space Shuttle program astronauts]]
[[Category:Spacewalkers]]
[[Category:United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:United States Navy captains]]
[[Category:United States Navy reservists]]
[[Category:United States under secretaries of commerce]]
[[Category:University of California, Santa Cruz alumni]]
[[Category:William Howard Taft Charter High School alumni]]
[[Category:American women astronauts]]
[[Category:Women Divers Hall of Fame]]
[[Category:American women oceanographers]]
[[Category:American oceanographers]]
[[Category:National Aviation Hall of Fame inductees]]