Yep – seriously!! I get goosebumps just thinking about that!! Right here in our own backyard!
Introducing Mrs. Yvonne Cagle, Astronaut. She is also a medical doctor. Talk about #STEM and #Black History!!
During May 1989, while a flight surgeon assigned to the 48th Tactical Hospital, United Kingdom, Cagle volunteered to serve as the Air Force Medical Liaison Officer for the STS-30 Atlantis shuttle mission to test the Magellan spacecraft. She was assigned to the Trans Atlantic Landing (TAL) site at Banjul, West Africa, to provide emergency rescue and evacuation of the shuttle crew should it have been required. Cagle has contributed ongoing data to the Longitudinal Study on Astronaut Health, and served as a consultant for space telemedicine. She was a member of the NASA Working Group and traveled to Russia to establish international medical standards and procedures for astronauts. She also conducted health screenings of Mir-18 consultants from the Russian Federation.
Selected by NASA in April 1996, Cagle reported to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, located in Houston, Texas in August 1996. She completed two years of training and evaluation, and is qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. Initially assigned to the Astronaut Office Operations Planning branch, supporting the Space Shuttle Program and International Space Station, followed by a special assignment to NASA’s Ames Research Center. Cagle is currently on detail to Fordham University as a visiting professor, and awarded an honorary Ph.D. by Fordham University for her substantial and significant contributions to the fields of science, technology and human health. Prior assignments include the lead ARC Astronaut Science Liaison and Strategic Relationships Manager for Google and other Silicon Valley Programmatic Partnerships. Cagle’s groundbreaking work is preserving historic NASA space legacy data while, simultaneously, galvanizing NASA’s lead in global mapping, sustainable energies, green initiatives and disaster preparedness.
Did you watch the Academy Awards? In 2017, she brought Katherine Johnson onto the stage at the Academy Awards.
Born in West Point, New York, but considers Novato, California, to be her hometown. Novato High School, Novato, California, in 1977; received a Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry from San Francisco State University in 1981, and a Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Washington in 1985. Transitional internship at Highland General Hospital, Oakland, California, in 1985. Received certification in Aerospace Medicine from the School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas, in 1988. Completed residency in at Ghent Family Practice at Eastern Virginia Medical School in 1992. Received certification as a senior aviation medical examiner from the Federal Aviation Administration in 1995. Received an honorary Ph.D. in Humanities from Fordham University in 2014.
Read more about Mrs. Cagle
And of course you can Google her for even more info.
Be brave, take risks. Nothing can substitute experience. —————Paulo Coelho
See ya,
Tamara
