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Daniel M. Tani

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Daniel M. Tani(born February 1, 1961) is an Americanengineerand retiredNASAastronaut.He was born inRidley Park, Pennsylvania,but considersLombard, Illinois,to be his hometown.[1]

Daniel Tani
Tani in 2001
Born(1961-02-01)February 1, 1961(age 63)
Ridley Park, Pennsylvania,U.S.
EducationMassachusetts Institute of Technology(BS,MS)
Space career
NASA astronaut
Time in space
131d 18h 29m
SelectionNASA Group 16 (1996)
MissionsSTS-108
STS-120/122(Expedition 16)
Mission insignia

WithPeggy Whitson,Tani conducted the 100th spacewalk on theInternational Space Station.[1]

Education

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Tani graduated fromGlenbard East High School,Lombard, Illinois, in 1979, and received aBachelor of ScienceandMaster of Sciencedegrees in mechanical engineering fromMassachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) in 1984, and 1988, respectively.[1]While at MIT, Tani became a brother of the Lambda Phi chapter of theAlpha Delta Phifraternity.[2]

Tani'sSpace suitis featured prominently in the main hallway ofGlenbard East High School,where he graduated from in 1979.

Career

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After Tani received his bachelor's degree from MIT, he worked atHughes Aircraft CorporationinEl Segundo, Californiaas a design engineer in the Space and Communications group.[1]In 1986, he returned to MIT and received his master's degree in mechanical engineering in 1988, specializing in human factors and group decision making. After graduation, Tani worked forBolt, Beranek and NewmaninCambridge, Massachusetts,in the experimental psychology department. In 1988, Tani joinedOrbital Sciences Corporation(OSC) inDulles, Virginia,initially as a senior structures engineer, and then as the mission operations manager for the Transfer Orbit Stage (TOS). In that role, he served as the TOS flight operations lead, working with NASA/JSCmission control in support of the deployment of the ACTS/TOS payload during theSTS-51mission in September 1993. Tani then moved to thePegasusprogram at OSC as the launch operations manager. In that capacity, he served as lead for the development of procedures and constraints for the launching of the air-launched Pegasus uncrewed rocket. Tani also was responsible for defining, training, and leading the team of engineers who worked in the launch and control room.[1][3]

NASA career

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Tani during his STS-108 spacewalk

Selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in April 1996, Tani reported to theJohnson Space Centerin August 1996.[1]After completing two years of training and evaluation, he qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist in 1998.[1]He performed technical duties in the Astronaut Office Computer Support Branch andExtra-Vehicular Activity(EVA) Branch, and served as a crew support astronaut forExpedition 2.[1]

STS-108

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Tani flew onSTS-108in 2001, and logged over 11 days in space, including over 4 EVA hours in one spacewalk. STS-108Endeavour(December 5–17, 2001) was the 12th shuttle flight to visit theInternational Space Station.During the mission, Tani served as mission specialist 2. Endeavour's crew delivered theExpedition 4crew to the station, and returned theExpedition 3crew. The crew transferred over three tons of supplies, logistics and science experiments from theRaffaelloMulti-Purpose Logistics Moduleto the station. Tani performed a spacewalk to wrap thermal blankets around the ISS Solar Array Gimbals. STS-108 was accomplished in 185 Earth orbits, traveling 4.8 million miles in 283 hours and 36 minutes, including an EVA of 4 hours and 12 minutes.

NEEMO 2

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In May 2002, Tani served as anaquanauton theNEEMO 2(NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) crew aboard theAquariusunderwater laboratory.Tani and his fellow crew members lived and worked for one week beneath theAtlantic Ocean.[4]

Expedition 16

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Following his return from STS-108, Tani was assigned as theExpedition 9backup flight engineer. Tani was eventually assigned toExpedition 16as flight engineer, and launched to the station aboardSTS-120on October 23, 2007. Tani completed one EVA with the crew of STS-120, and four additional spacewalks during his increment aboard the space station. Originally scheduled to return to Earth with the crew ofSTS-122in December, the mission was delayed due to engine cutoff sensor issues during countdown. Instead, it launched on February 7. Tani returned onSTS-122on February 20, 2008.

Extra Vehicular Activities

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Dan Tani has performed five spacewalks or EVAs to date.

Number Date Duration Description
EVA 1 Dec. 10, 2001 04:12 Install thermal blankets over the Beta Gimbal Assemblies (BGAs)
EVA 2 Nov. 20, 2007 06:40 External outfitting of the Harmony node[5]
EVA 3 Nov. 24, 2007 07:04 External outfitting of the Harmony node[5]
EVA 4 Dec. 18, 2007 06:56 International Space Station solar array issues[6]
EVA 5 Jan. 30, 2008 07:10 Replaced a motor at the base of one of the International Space Station's solar wings[7]

Retirement from NASA

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Tani left NASA in August 2012 to become the Vice President of Mission and Cargo Operations in the Advanced Programs Group of Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Virginia.[8]

In August 2016, Tani left Orbital Sciences Corporation (now Orbital ATK) to join the high school faculty at theAmerican School in Japan,where he taught science, engineering and design.[9]

Organizations

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Member,Japanese American Citizens League,Alpha Delta Phifraternity, andAircraft Owners and Pilots Association.Patron of Blackrock Castle Observatory,Cork,Ireland.

Awards

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Personal life

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Tani is married to Jane Egan from Cork, Ireland, and enjoys golf, flying, running, tennis, music, and cooking.[1]Tani threw out theceremonial first pitchand sang the "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"atWrigley Fieldon August 20, 2008.[10]

His parents, Rose and Henry N. Tani, are both deceased. DuringWorld War II,they and their children were relocated from their California farm to theTanforan Assembly CenterinSan Bruno,where they lived for several months in converted horsestablesat theTanforan Racetrack,and thenTopaz War Relocation CenterinUtahas part of theJapanese American internmentprogram of the U.S. government.[11]On December 19, 2007, during Tani's stay on the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 16, he was informed by the ground team that his mother had been killed when a freight train collided with her car.[12][13][14][15]

See also

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References

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This article incorporatespublic domain materialfrom websites or documents of theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration.

  1. ^abcdefghi"DANIEL M. TANI, NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)"(PDF).NASA. August 2012.RetrievedJune 18,2021.
  2. ^Notable Alumni of The Alpha Delta Phi
  3. ^"A journey to the space with acclaimed astronaut Daniel Tani".EgyptToday.2019-07-07.Retrieved2020-10-31.
  4. ^NASA (2006-03-21)."NASA – NEEMO History".NASA. Archived fromthe originalon 2006-10-08.Retrieved2011-09-22.
  5. ^ab"NASA – Spacewalkers to Hook Up Harmony at its New Location".Archived fromthe originalon 2007-11-18.Retrieved2008-02-05.
  6. ^"NASA – Spacewalkers Find No Solar Wing Smoking Gun".Archived fromthe originalon 2007-12-17.Retrieved2008-02-05.
  7. ^"NASA – Spacewalkers Replace Solar Wing Motor".Archived fromthe originalon 2021-01-26.Retrieved2008-02-05.
  8. ^"Orbital Sciences Corporation: ORBITAL NAMES DANIEL TANI VICE PRESIDENT OF MISSION AND CARGO OPERATIONS".Reuters.August 13, 2012. Archived fromthe originalon July 21, 2015.RetrievedMarch 17,2015.
  9. ^"ASIJ Astronaut Dan Tani Reflects on Space Week".ASIJ News.2017-03-17.Retrieved2022-05-06.
  10. ^WBBM article
  11. ^Todd Halvorson (November 27, 2001)."Wartime Struggles of Interned Japanese-Americans Paved Way for NASA Astronaut".Space.Retrieved2007-12-19.
  12. ^Ned Potter (2007)."Astronaut's Mother Dies While Son in Space".ABC News.RetrievedDecember 20,2007.
  13. ^Smith, Gerry."Crash kills astronaut's mom".The Chicago Tribune Web Edition.Retrieved2016-10-16.
  14. ^Warren E. Leary (December 20, 2007)."Astronaut's Mother Is Killed by Freight Train".The New York Times.RetrievedDecember 20,2007.
  15. ^TRIBUNE, Greg Canfield, SPECIAL TO THE (21 August 2008)."Tani thanks Lombard back".chicagotribune.Retrieved2020-10-31.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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