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Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper
Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper in white space suit.jpg
NASA Astronaut
Nationality American
Status Retired
Born (1963-02-07) February 7, 1963 (age 53)
St. Paul, Minnesota
Other occupation
Diver
Rank Captain, USN
Time in space
27d 15h 36m 12s
Selection 1996 NASA Group
Total EVAs
5
Total EVA time
33 hours and 42 minutes
Missions STS-115, STS-126
Mission insignia
STS-115 patch.png STS-126 patch.png

Heidemarie Martha Stefanyshyn-Piper (born on February 7, 1963) is an American Naval officer and a former NASA astronaut. She has achieved the rank of Captain in the United States Navy. She is also a qualified and experienced salvage officer. Her major salvage projects include de-stranding the tanker Exxon Houston off the coast of Barbers Point, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, and developing the plan for the Peruvian Navy salvage of the Peruvian submarine Pacocha.

Stefanyshyn-Piper has received numerous honors and awards, such as the Meritorious Service Medal, two Navy Commendation Medals, and two Navy Achievement Medals. She has flown on two Space Shuttle missions, STS-115 and STS-126, during which she completed five spacewalks totaling 33 hours and 42 minutes. As of January 2017, she ranks 39th on the all-time list of space walkers by duration.

Stefanyshyn-Piper was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States, of Ukrainian-American heritage. Her father, Michael (Mykhailo) Stefanyshyn, now deceased, was born in the Halychyna region of Ukraine, and sent to work in Germany during World War II. After the end of the war, he married a German woman and they both immigrated to the U.S. Stefanyshyn-Piper's mother, Adelheid Stefanyshyn, still lives in St. Paul. Stefanyshyn-Piper was raised in the Ukrainian cultural community of Minneapolis–Saint Paul, is a member of Plast – a Ukrainian scouting organization, and speaks Ukrainian.


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