Mary Ellen Weber is one of the most popular and richest Astronaut who was born on August 24, 1962 in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. STS-101 Atlantis (May 19 to 29 2000) It was the third Shuttle mission dedicated for International Space Station construction–a critical mission that had no visit to the nascent Station for more than one year, and the batteries failing. Crew members repaired and reinstalled life-support and electrical components both on the outside and inside and also boosted the Station into a safer orbit. Weber was an on the flight deck crew for landing, launch and Station rendezvous. She was the driver of Atlantis the 60-foot robot arm to move spacewalk crew members along the Station surfaces, and was in charge of the logistics and transportation of more than three thousand tonnes of gear. She also devised new checklists for crews to avoid engine malfunctions during ascent, and new methods for operating robotic arms. The STS-101 mission, which was the topic of an A&E documentary called Mission Possible — was completed in 155 orbits around the Earth after traveling 4.1 million miles within just 236 hours and nine minutes.
Weber is married to Dr. Jerome Elkind—founder of Stellar Generation, LLC, an alternative energy technology company—who is originally from Bayonne, New Jersey.
Weber is currently (January 2014) with STELLAR Strategies, LLC, providing consulting services in strategies for operations in high-stakes business ventures, technology communications, and legislative strategy. She is also a speaker, with over twenty years of experience with a wide range of audiences and venues.
With more than five thousand skydives, Weber is an active skydiver. She has 13 bronze and silver medals so far during the U.S. National Skydiving Championships and also a world record in 2002 for the biggest freefall formation, with 300 skydivers. Additionally, she is an instructor-rated skydiver, skier and a diver.
Weber was chosen by NASA as a member of the 14th NASA astronaut group in the year 1992. Through her time at NASA she held a variety of post. She was involved in a variety of commercialization of technology. As an integral part of the team that reported the chief executive of NASA she collaborated directly with a venture capitalist firm to develop an enterprise that leveraged technology that was developed in space. Additionally, Weber was the Legislative Affairs liaison for NASA Headquarters at Washington D.C., interfacing with Congress and traveling with NASA’s chief executive. Prior to that she was the chairman of the procurement committee for the Biotechnology Program contractor, and was part of a group which redesigned the $2 billion budget for Space Station research facilities. Weber’s main technical duties in the Astronaut Office included Shuttle launch preparations at the Kennedy Space Center, payload and science development, as well as creation of standards and methodologies for training of crew scientists. An experienced Veteran of the two Space missions, STS-70 and STS-101, she was one of the youngest pilots to fly through space, and has logged more than the 450 hours. She was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal. She left NASA at the end of December in 2002.
STS-70 Discovery (July 13–22, 1995), a mission that successfully delivered to orbit a critical $200 million NASA communications satellite, TDRS-G to its 22-thousand-mile orbit above the equator. Weber deployed the satellite and also performed pioneering biotechnology experiments, growing colon cancer tissues never before possible to later become a leading NASA biotechnology spokesperson in this field. She was the prime spacewalk crewmember in the event a malfunction required a spacewalk, crew medical officer, and flight deck crew member for landing. STS-70 was known for its “All-Ohio crew” and for its last-minute launch delay due to woodpeckers, becoming the “Woodpecker flight.” The STS-70 mission was completed in 142 orbits of the Earth, after traveling 3.7 million miles in 214 hours and 20 minutes.
