Astronauts from Missouri

Missourians have always had their eyes to the skies. Even the most famous telescope of all time, the Hubble Space Telescope, is named after a Missourian, Edwin Hubble of Marshfield. Some of our best and brightest Missouri Legends have made it all the way to the pinnacle of a space career. These are the Astronauts from Missouri.

Thomas Akers
Eminence

Thomas Akers graduated from Eminence High School in 1969 as the Valedictorian of his class. He later earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla (formerly University of Missouri-Rolla). Instead of pursuing a career in space, he first returned to his hometown to work as the principal of his former high school. He was selected to be a part of NASA Astronaut Group 12 in 1987. His first space shuttle mission was on board the Space Shuttle Discovery for STS-41 in 1990. He also took part in three other space missions, STS-49, STS-61, and STS-79, logging more than 33 days in space.

Linda Godwin
Jackson

Linda Godwin was born in Cape Girardeau and grew up in the town of Jackson where she graduated from high school in 1970. She attended college at Southeast Missouri State University, then at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where she earned a doctorate in Physics. Soon after graduation, Dr. Godwin joined NASA in the Payload Operations Division in 1980 before working her way up to be an astronaut. She took part in four Space Shuttle Missions, STS-37, STS-59, STS-76 and STS-108. Godwin spent a total of 38 days in space before retiring from the space agency in 2010. Godwin was married to fellow astronaut, and former engineering professor at Mizzou, Steven Nagel.

Janet Kavandi
Carthage

Janet Kavandi graduated from Carthage High School in 1977 as Valedictorian. She went on to earn her bachelor’s degree from Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, a master’s degree from Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla (formerly University of Missouri-Rolla), and a doctorate from the University of Washington. She was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1994 with NASA Astronaut Group 15 before taking part in her first space mission in 1998. She took part in three shuttle missions, STS-91, STS-99, and STS-104 logging more than 33 days in space.

Michael Hopkins
Richland

Michael Hopkins grew up on a farm near Richland but graduated from School of the Osage High School near Osage Beach in 1987. He went to college at the University of Illinois where he played football for the Illini and graduated in 1991. He also earned a master’s degree in aerospace engineering at Stanford University. Hopkins was selected to be a part of Astronaut Group 20 in 2009. In his first space mission, he trained with Russian cosmonauts for a 166-day mission aboard the International Space Station. He was also chosen to be a part of the first Space-X mission to the ISS.

Robert Behnken
St. Ann

Bob Behnken grew up in St. Ann and graduated from Pattonville High School in 1988. He attended college at Washington University in St. Louis where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering and physics in 1992. He later attained advanced degrees, including a PhD at California Institute of Technology. He was selected to be a part of NASA Astronaut Group 18 and began training in 2000. His first mission to space was STS-123 in 2008. He took part in a second shuttle mission in 2010 as a part of STS-130. In 2020, Behnken took part in the first SpaceX Crew Dragon that docked with the International Space Station.