Leland Melvin
Leland Devon Melvin (February 15, 1964, Lynchburg, Virginia) is an American engineer and a NASA astronaut. He served on board the Space Shuttle Atlantis as a mission specialist on STS-122, and as mission specialist 1 on STS-129. Melvin was named the NASA Associate Administrator for Education in October 2010. Melvin attended Heritage High School and then went on to the University of Richmond on a football scholarship, where he received a bachelor\'s degree in Chemistry. In 1991 he received a Master of Science degree in Materials Science Engineering, from the University of Virginia. Melvin began working in Nondestructive Evaluation Sciences Branch at NASA Langley Research Center in 1989. His responsibilities included using optical fiber sensors to measure strain, temperature, and chemical damage in both composite and metallic structures. In 1994, he was selected to lead the Vehicle Health Monitoring team for the cooperative NASA/ Lockheed Martin X-33 Reusable Launch Vehicle program. In 1996, he co-designed and monitored construction of an optical nondestructive evaluation facility capable of producing in-line fiber optic sensors. Melvin flew two missions on the Space Shuttle Atlantis: as a mission specialist on STS-122 (February 7–20, 2008), and as mission specialist 1 on STS-129 (November 16–27, 2009).
Spaceflights:
No. Mission Position Time Duration
1 STS-122 MSP 07.02. - 20.02.2008 12d 18h 22m
2 STS-129 MSP 16.11. - 27.11.2009 10d 19h 16m
Total 23d 13h 38m
