Posted: Thu, Aug 21, 2003, 9:03 PM ET (0103 GMT)
NASA announced this week that it has named as the agency's ISS program scientist an astronaut who once planned to visit the station. Donald Thomas, who has a PhD in material sciences from Cornell University, will oversee scientific work planned on the American segment of the station, making sure that scientific and engineering requirements for experiments are met. He will also serve as spokesman for the program to the scientific community and the general public. Thomas, selected as an astronaut in 1990, served on four shuttle flights between 1994 and 1997. Thomas was selected to serve on the Expedition Six crew to the ISS, but was removed several months before his flight because of an unspecified medical condition "affecting long duration space flight qualifications," according to a NASA statement. Thomas was replaced on the Expedition Six crew by his backup, Donald Pettit.

Related Links:

•  NASA press release
•  Thomas biography from NASA/JSC