Tamara E. “Tammy” Jernigan, Ph.D., born May 7, 1959, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is a former NASA astronaut who flew on five Space Shuttle missions, logging over 1,512 hours in space and completing one EVA of nearly eight hours. A Stanford varsity volleyball player and accomplished scholar, she earned degrees in physics, engineering, astronomy, and space physics from Stanford, UC Berkeley, and Rice University. Selected as an astronaut in 1985, she served in roles including CAPCOM, lead astronaut for flight software, Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office, and Lead Astronaut for Space Station external maintenance. Her missions included life sciences research (STS-40), deploying LAGEOS and operating USMP-1 (STS-52), leading the Astro-2 ultraviolet astronomy mission (STS-67), deploying ORFEUS and WSF (STS-80), and performing the first International Space Station docking and EVA on STS-96. Jernigan’s career earned her multiple NASA medals and international recognition. She retired from NASA in 2001 and joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as Assistant Associate Director for Physics and Advanced Technologies. Courtesy of NASA.