Ellen Ochoa Research Paper

Ellen Ochoa was the first female Hispanic astronaut. She was born on May 10, 1958, in Los Angeles, California. Her parents were Joseph and Roseanne Ochoa. Ellen’s father left when she was young and her mother had to raise five children between the ages of six and sixteen by herself. Out of the five children, Ochoa was the third and had one sister and three brothers. Because of her mom pushing them to be involved with music by playing instruments, Ellen played flute and was very passionate about it. In school, Ellen had straight A’s and graduated high school as valedictorian of Grossmont High School, in La Mesa, California. She felt education was really important and that’s what made you stand out. Ochoa got her Bachelor of Science degree in Physics at San Diego State University in 1980. Then she went to Stanford University
The second mission of Discovery was in 1999 which was the first shuttle to dock at the ISS. Ellen Ochoa was on board and again was in charge of robot arm. She moved 4 tons of supplies from the shuttle to the station. Ochoa’s last flight was in 2002, and logged 978 hours in space. Ellen received Space Flight Medals from each of her 4 trips to space in 1993, 1994, 1999, and 2002. She also received NASA's Exceptional Service Medal in 1997, Outstanding Leadership Medal in 1995, along with the Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award, and the Hispanic Engineer Albert Baez Award for Outstanding Technical Contribution to Humanity. Even after retiring from flying, Ellen stayed with NASA and was part of the “Mission Control,” as deputy director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston. She was the director from September of 2007 to December of 2012. Then in 2013 Ellen became the director of the entire Space Center, and she still is today. Ochoa was the first Hispanic and second female director of the Johnson Space Center. Even today she is the