Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger was born and raised along the Front Range of Colorado. A scholar athlete, she ran cross-country and track for Whitman College, in Walla Walla, WA, and graduated with honors and a degree in Geology. After attending Whitman College, she received her teaching certification from Central Washington University, and she went on to teach for five years at Hudson’s Bay High School in Vancouver, WA. In addition to teaching, she coached cross country and Science Olympiad.

In June of 2004, she joined NASA and the Astronaut Corps. After several years of training, she was assigned to the STS-131 crew, an International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission, and flew as Mission Specialist 2 (also known as the flight engineer). She also served as a robotic arm operator, the Intra-vehicular crew member (the inside coordinator of the spacewalks), and a transfer crew member (helping move six tons of hardware and equipment). The mission lasted fifteen days.

During June of 2012, Dottie commanded the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operation (NEEMO) in the Aquarius Reef Habitat off the Florida coast. The underwater mission sought to develop techniques for working at a near-earth asteroid while working under a 100-second time delay.

In June of 2014, Dottie retired from the Astronaut Corps and returned to the Pacific Northwest with her family. She is finishing her MS in geology at the University of Washington, and she continues to speak and promote Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education.

Space, Technology, Science, Female Leadership, Mentoring, Astronauts, NASA, STEM Education, Inspirational, Empowerment, Influential Women, Leadership, Pilots & Aviators,