Anne McClain

Born and raised in Spokane, Washington,{{Cite web |date=2025-03-06 |title=Spokane astronaut Anne McClain set for Wednesday launch to International Space Station |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2025/mar/06/spokane-astronaut-anne-mcclain-set-for-wednesday-l/ |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=Spokesman.com |language=en}} McClain wanted to become an astronaut at a young age.{{cite web|url=http://soldiers.dodlive.mil/2013/08/living-the-dream-soldiers-selected-as-nasa-astronaut-candidates/|title=Living the dream: Soldiers selected as NASA astronaut candidates - Soldiers Magazine|publisher=DODLive|access-date=December 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823115335/http://soldiers.dodlive.mil/2013/08/living-the-dream-soldiers-selected-as-nasa-astronaut-candidates/|archive-date=August 23, 2018|url-status=dead}} In 1997, McClain graduated from Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane.{{Cite web |last=Martinez |first=Allison |date=2025-03-12 |title=Spokane students celebrate astronaut Anne McClain's space mission |url=https://www.kxly.com/news/spokane-students-celebrate-astronaut-anne-mcclain-s-space-mission/article_878f1fee-ff5d-11ef-82d9-a39f73044b28.html |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=KXLY kxly.com |language=en}} She did a brief stint at Spokane Community College where she played softball and enrolled in R.O.T.C. at Gonzaga University, waiting on an appointment to the United States Military Academy, West Point, where she earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and was commissioned as an army officer in 2002. She then attended the University of Bath, where she earned a master's degree in aerospace engineering in 2004, and the University of Bristol, where she earned a master's degree in international relations in 2005.{{cite web|url=http://www.autostraddle.com/badass-lady-astronaut-candidates-meet-nasas-class-of-2013-193649/|title=Badass Lady Astronaut Candidates: Meet NASA's Class of 2013|date=September 3, 2013|publisher=AutoStraddle.com|access-date=December 2, 2016}} Both master's degrees were completed through a Marshall Scholarship. Her work on unsteady aerodynamics and flow visualization of free-to-roll non-slender delta wings was later published through the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

McClain traveled to Africa for eight weeks with Operation Crossroads Africa, working on a construction project in Uganda.{{Cite web|url=https://patriotleague.org/news/2010/10/5/Patriot_League_20th_Anniversary_Profiles_Anne_McClain|title=Patriot League 20th Anniversary Profiles: Anne McClain|website=patriotleague.org|date=October 5, 2010 |access-date=December 22, 2020}}

McClain is an avid rugby player who has played in the Women's Premiership, the top level of the sport in England, and for the United States women's national rugby union team, known as the Women's Eagles. While her U.S. Army commitments thwarted her international career in rugby and prevented her participation in the 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup, she participated at that level for a decade interrupted only by her deployment to Iraq, and credits the sport for her success in becoming an astronaut.{{cite web|url=https://www.usarugby.org/2018/06/from-eagle-to-astronaut/|title=From Eagle to Astronaut|date=June 15, 2018|last=Brooks|first=Ashley|website=usarugby.org|publisher=USA Rugby|access-date=August 16, 2018}}

According to an interview published in the NASA Johnson YouTube channel, McClain said that the rugby training was helpful when training with a space suit in a neutral buoyancy pool.{{Citation|last=NASA Johnson|title=Astronaut Moments: Anne McClain|date=November 30, 2018|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LFM3VFSpsQ|access-date=December 1, 2018}}

File:Expedition 56 backup crew member Anne McClain of NASA.jpg in 2018]]

Following her studies, McClain qualified as a Bell OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter pilot. She was deployed to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Cavalry Regiment at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii. McClain rose through the ranks, starting as an Air Traffic Control Platoon Leader, Aviation Intermediate Maintenance Platoon Leader, to Detachment Commander.

McClain was deployed to the Persian Gulf and flew 800 hours and 216 combat missions during the 15 months deployment as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In 2009, McClain participated in Aviation Captain's Career Course and was then assigned to 1st Battalion, 14th Aviation Regiment at Fort Rucker as the battalion operations officer and OH-58D instructor. In May 2010, she was appointed Commander of C Troop, 1st Battalion, 14th Aviation Regiment, responsible for the Army's initial entry training, instructor pilot training, and maintenance test pilot training in the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. She completed Command and General Staff College and the C-12 fixed wing multiengine qualification courses in 2011 and 2012.

She also served as a command squadron intelligence officer. McClain graduated from the Naval Test Pilot School in June 2013. In total, McClain has logged over 2,000 hours on various aircraft type including the Kiowa Warrior, the Beechcraft C-12 Huron, the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, and the Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota.

File:ISS-58 Anne McClain between the Harmony and the Destiny module.jpg and Destiny modules, wearing a sensor on her forehead collecting data on how the circadian rhythm is affected by long spaceflight]]

In June 2013, the same month as her graduation as a test pilot, McClain was selected by NASA as part of Astronaut Group 21, becoming the youngest astronaut on the NASA roster, at 34 years old.{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/mcclain-ac.pdf|title=Anne C. McClain|website=nasa.gov|publisher=NASA|access-date=July 6, 2021|date=June 2019|archive-date=October 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008061356/https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/mcclain-ac.pdf|url-status=dead}} She completed training in July 2015, making her available for future missions.{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-newest-astronauts-complete-training|title=NASA's Newest Astronauts Complete Training|website=nasa.gov|date=July 9, 2015|publisher=NASA|access-date=August 16, 2018|archive-date=June 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627134619/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-newest-astronauts-complete-training/|url-status=dead}} She flew to the International Space Station in December 2018 and returned to Earth in June 2019. On December 9, 2020, McClain was announced as one of NASA's Artemis astronauts.

For her first spaceflight assignment, McClain was assigned to as flight engineer to ISS Expedition 60/61, scheduled for launch aboard Soyuz MS-13 in June–July 2019, although, in January 2018, NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps was removed from the prime crew of Expedition 56/Expedition 57, resulting in her backup, Serena Aunon-Chancellor taking her place on the flight. Due to this, McClain was moved up to take Aunon-Chancellor's spot on the Expedition 56/57 backup crew, and, in turn, was assigned to the prime crew of Expedition 58/Expedition 59,{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/astronauts-reassigned-in-surprise-space-station-crew-shuffle/|title=Astronauts reassigned in surprise crew shuffle|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=January 19, 2018 |access-date=December 22, 2020}} alongside Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques.{{Cite web|url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/soyuz-ms-11.html|title=Soyuz resumes crew flights after launch failure|website=www.russianspaceweb.com|access-date=December 22, 2020}}

The Expedition 58/59 trio launched aboard Soyuz MS-11 to the International Space Station at 06.32 ET (11.32 GMT) on December 3, 2018, from the Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The launch was originally scheduled for December 20, 2018, but was rescheduled to the earlier date after the failure of Soyuz MS-10 with Expedition 57/58 on October 11, 2018. The crew successfully rendezvoused with the ISS six hours later, spending just over two weeks with the Expedition 57 crew, whose landing had been delayed due to the aborted launch of MS-10.

On March 22, 2019, McClain and Nick Hague performed their first spacewalk to install the adapter plates while Dextre swaps the batteries between spacewalks. The extravehicular activity (EVA) lasted 6 hours and 39 minutes. They also removed debris from the Unity module in preparation for the arrival of Cygnus NG-11 in April, stowing tools for the repair of the flex hose rotary coupler, and securing tiebacks on the solar array blanket boxes.{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2019/03/22/spacewalkers-complete-battery-swaps-for-station-power-upgrades/|title=Spacewalkers Complete Battery Swaps for Station Power Upgrades – Space Station|website=blogs.nasa.gov|access-date=December 22, 2020|archive-date=June 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602183810/https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2019/03/22/spacewalkers-complete-battery-swaps-for-station-power-upgrades/|url-status=dead}}

File:ISS-59 EVA-1 (p) Anne McClain takes a space-selfie.jpg

McClain was scheduled to perform a second EVA on March 29, with Christina Koch, which would have been the first all-female spacewalk,{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/06/us/nasa-first-all-female-spacewalk-trnd/index.html|title=2 astronauts are scheduled for the first all-female spacewalk in history|author=Gianluca Mezzofiore|website=CNN|date=March 6, 2019|access-date=March 18, 2019}} but spacesuit sizing issues resulted in this EVA's being reassigned to Hague and Koch.{{cite news |last1=Berger |first1=Eric |title=It's unfortunate NASA canceled the all-female EVA, but it's the right decision |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/03/yes-nasa-has-canceled-an-all-female-spacewalk-no-its-not-a-conspiracy/ |work=Ars Technica |date=March 26, 2019 |language=en-us}}{{cite web |title=Spacewalkers Swapping Places; Crew Studies Brain and Muscles – Space Station |url=https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2019/03/26/spacewalkers-swapping-places-crew-studies-brain-and-muscles/ |website=blogs.nasa.gov |publisher=NASA |access-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327114223/https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2019/03/26/spacewalkers-swapping-places-crew-studies-brain-and-muscles/ |url-status=dead }} McClain conducted a second spacewalk with Saint-Jacques on April 8.{{cite news |last1=Harding |first1=Pete |last2=Bergin |first2=Chris |title=Following ISS battery upgrade, EVA-54 works on power systems |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/04/astronauts-begin-spacewalk-replace-stations-batteries/ |work=NASASpaceFlight.com}}

McClain, Saint-Jacques and Kononenko returned to Earth on board Soyuz MS-11 on June 24, 2019.{{cite news |last1=Harwood |first1=William |title=3 station fliers complete "once-in-a-lifetime ride" home after 204-day stay in orbit |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/soyuz-3-station-fliers-wrap-up-204-day-stay-in-orbit-landing-complete-kazakhstan-today-2019-06-24/ |work=CBS News |date=June 25, 2019}}

McClain was selected as commander for the SpaceX Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station alongside pilot Nichole Ayers and mission specialists Takuya Onishi and Kirill Peskov. The flight was launched on 14 March 2025.{{Cite web |last=Niles-Carnes |first=Elyna |date=December 17, 2024 |title=NASA Adjusts Crew-10 Launch Date |url=https://blogs.nasa.gov/crew-10/2024/12/17/nasa-adjusts-crew-10-launch-date/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=NASA |language=en-US}}

McClain is a recipient of the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, the Air Medal with Valor device, two additional Air Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, the Iraq Campaign Medal with two service stars, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and three Overseas Service Ribbons. She has also received a honorary Doctorate in Engineering from the University of Bath.{{cite web |title=Astronaut Anne McClain to receive honorary doctorate at the University of Bath |publisher=University of Bath |url=https://www.bath.ac.uk/announcements/astronaut-anne-mcclain-to-receive-honorary-doctorate-at-the-university-of-bath/ |access-date=26 June 2024}}

McClain married Summer Worden in 2014{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/23/us/nasa-astronaut-anne-mcclain.html|title=How a Bitter Divorce Battle on Earth Led to Claims of a Crime in Space|last=Baker|first=Mike|date=August 23, 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 24, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/23/politics/nasa-astronaut-bank-account-first-criminal-allegation-space/index.html|title=New York Times: Astronaut accessed estranged spouse's bank account in possible first criminal allegation from space|author=Caroline Kelly|website=CNN|date=August 24, 2019|access-date=August 24, 2019}} and became stepmother to Worden's son. McClain and Worden divorced in 2019.

On August 23, 2019, The New York Times reported that Worden filed a complaint against McClain through the Federal Trade Commission accusing her of illegally accessing financial information while residing in the International Space Station.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nasa-astronaut-accused-hacking-her-estranged-spouse-s-bank-account-n1046061|title=A top NASA astronaut accused of hacking her estranged spouse's bank account from space|last=Acevedo|first=Nicole|date=August 24, 2019|website=NBC News|language=en|access-date=August 24, 2019 }} This accusation outed McClain as a member of the LGBTQ community, making her the third known LGBT astronaut after Sally Ride{{cite news|url=https://www.space.com/nasa-astronaut-anne-mcclain-space-crime-claim.html|title=A NASA Astronaut's Divorce Has Sparked Claims of a Crime in Space: Report|last=Bartels|first=Meghan|date=August 23, 2019|work=Space.com|access-date=August 23, 2019}} and Wendy B. Lawrence.{{cite web |title=Captain Wendy B. Lawrence '81, USN (Ret.) |url=https://www.usna.com/events-and-programs---dga19-bio-lawrence |publisher=United States Naval Academy |access-date=March 16, 2021}}

The claims were later found to be false, and McClain was cleared.{{cite web|last=Gohd|first=Chelsea |date=August 25, 2019 |url=https://www.space.com/astronaut-anne-mcclain-refutes-space-crime-claim.html |title=Astronaut Anne McClain Refutes Space Crime Claim |work=space.com}}

On April 7, 2020, Worden was indicted on two charges of making false statements.{{Cite web|url=https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/04/07/army-astronaut-accused-of-committing-crime-in-space-is-cleared-ex-wife-charged-with-making-false-statements/|title=Army astronaut accused of committing crime in space is cleared; ex-wife charged with making false statements|first=Kyle|last=Rempfer|date=April 9, 2020|work=Army Times|access-date=December 22, 2020}}

McClain resides in suburban Houston, Texas.{{Cite news|last=Baker|first=Mike|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/23/us/nasa-astronaut-anne-mcclain.html|title=NASA Astronaut Anne McClain Accused by Spouse of Crime in Space|date=August 23, 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 14, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.houstoniamag.com/news-and-city-life/2016/05/nasa-women-astronauts-mars-june-2016|title=The New Women of NASA|website=Houstonia Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=April 14, 2020}}

File:Expedition 57 crew gathers inside the Zvezda Service Module.jpg|The newly-expanded six-member Expedition 57 crew poses for a portrait inside the International Space Station's Zvezda service module on December 10, 2018

File:Expedition 57 crew gathers inside the Destiny laboratory.jpg|Expedition 57 crew gathers inside the Destiny laboratory on December 18, 2018

File:Expedition 59 crew members in their crew quarters.jpg|Four Expedition 59 astronauts pose for a playful portrait inside the Harmony module on May 4, 2019

File:Expedition 59 Soyuz MS-11 Landing (NHQ201906250002).jpg|Anne McClain after her first landing near the town of Zhezkazgan on June 25, 2019

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{{Portal|LGBTQ|Spaceflight|United States}}

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• [https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/anne-c-mcclain/biography NASA Astronaut Biography]
• [https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/fly-em-all Houston We Have a Podcast: 'Fly 'em All' an interview with Anne McClain]
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• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXNoVoKgtG0 Five things you didn't know about Astronaut Anne McClain] NASA Johnson Space Center, November 30, 2018

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Category:1979 births

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