By Alabama NewsCenter Staff
August 26, 1959
Kathryn P. “Kay” Hire, a NASA astronaut and captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve, was born in Mobile. After earning her Naval Flight Officer wings in October 1982, Hire conducted worldwide airborne oceanographic research missions with Oceanographic Development Squadron Eight (VXN-8) based at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. Hire flew as Mission Specialist-2 on STS-90 Neurolab (1998) and logged more than 381 hours in space. She served as the Astronaut Office Lead for Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL), Shuttle Payloads and Flight Crew Equipment. Hire is considered a “NASA Management Astronaut,” which means that she is employed at NASA but no longer eligible for spaceflight assignments.
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