NICOLE PASSONNO STOTT

NASA ASTRONAUT

Pronunciation: NIH-coal PASS-on-no ST-ot

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PERSONAL DATA: Nicole was born in Albany, New York, and at a young age moved 

to and grew up in Clearwater, Florida. She is married with one child. She enjoys flying, 

painting, woodworking, gardening, SCUBA diving, and snow skiing, Nicole is an 

instrument rated private pilot. She is a member of the Experimental Aircraft 

Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilot’s Association, Silver Wings Foundation, and the 

99’s. She is also a founding member of both the Manna Energy Foundation and Fragile 

Oasis.

EDUCATION: Nicole graduated from Clearwater High School, Clearwater, FL, 1980. 

She earned a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from Embry-Riddle 

Aeronautical University, 1987; and a Master of Science in Engineering Management, 

from the University of Central Florida, 1992.

SPECIAL HONORS: NASA Space Flight Medals; NASA Distinguished Service Medals; NASA Exceptional Achievement 

Medal; NASA Certificates of Commendation; NASA Performance Awards; NASA On-the-Spot Awards; 2012 Florida 

Aviation Hall of Fame Inductee; 2011 Russian Medal of Merit for Space; 2011 University of Central Florida Professional 

Achievement Award; 2009 Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Alumni Eagle of Excellence Award; Embry Riddle 

Aeronautical University Distinguished Speaker’s Award; NASA Aircraft Operations Newt Myers Team Spirit Award; KSC 

Public Affairs Certificate of Appreciation for Service.

EXPERIENCE: Nicole began her career in 1987 as a structural design engineer with Pratt and Whitney Government Engines 

in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she spent a year with the Advanced Engines Group performing structural analyses of 

advanced jet engine component designs. 

NASA EXPERIENCE: Nicole joined NASA at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, in 1988 as an Operations 

Engineer in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF). During her time at KSC, she held a variety of positions within NASA 

Shuttle Processing, including Shuttle Flow Director for Endeavour; Orbiter Project Engineer for Columbia, and NASA Convoy 

Commander for shuttle landings. During her last two years at KSC, she was a member of the Space Station Hardware 

Integration Office and relocated to Huntington Beach, California, where she served as the NASA Project Lead for the ISS truss 

elements under construction at the Boeing Space Station facility. In 1998, she joined the Johnson Space Center (JSC) team in 

Houston, Texas, as a member of the NASA Aircraft Operations Division, where she served as a Flight Simulation Engineer 

(FSE) on the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) helping train astronaut pilots to land the space shuttle.

In July 2000, Nicole was selected by NASA for the Astronaut Corps as a mission specialist and member of the 18th class of 

NASA astronauts. She reported for astronaut candidate training in August 2000. Following the completion of training, she 

was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office International Space Station (ISS) Operations branch, where she 

performed crew evaluations of station payloads. She also served as a support astronaut for the Expedition 10 crew and as a

Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM).

In April 2006 she was a crewmember on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO 9) mission, where she 

lived and worked with a six-person crew on the longest duration NEEMO mission to date – 18 days on the Aquarius undersea 

research habitat. The NEEMO 9 mission served as an analog for future lunar operations – the crew tested advanced space suit 

design concepts, robotic devices forsurface-based exploration, construction and communication techniques, and advanced telemedicine hardware and techniques. Nicole still holds the women’s world record for saturation diving with a total of 18 days 

spent living and working on the Aquarius lab during the NEEMO9 mission.

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

June 2015

Biographical Data

 Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

 Houston, Texas 77058

Click photo for downloadable high-res version
In preparation for a long-duration space flight, Nicole successfully completed International Space Station systems training at 

each of the international partner training sites in Star City, Russia; Tsukuba, Japan; Cologne, Germany; and Montreal, Canada; 

and a Russian language immersion class in Moscow, Russia.

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: Nicole completed her first long-duration space flight as a Flight Engineer on International 

Space Station Expeditions 20 and 21 (August 28 through November 29, 2009). She launched to the ISS on Space Shuttle 

Discovery with the crew of STS-128 on August 28, 2009. She performed one spacewalk with a total duration of 6 hours and 

39 minutes. During her tour of duty on the station, she participated in the first track and capture of the Japanese cargo vehicle 

HTV, conducted a wide variety of science and research activities, and performed maintenance of the space station systems. 

After logging 91 days in space, she returned on the Space Shuttle Atlantis with the crew of STS-129 on November 29, 2009. 

Stott was the last expedition crewmember to return to Earth on a space shuttle. 

Nicole completed her second space flight as a Mission Specialist on STS-133 (February 24 - March 9, 2011), which was the 

39th and final mission for Space Shuttle Discovery. During the 13-day flight, the Discovery crew delivered the Permanent 

Multipurpose Module (PMM) and the fourth Express Logistics Carrier (ELC), including a complement of critical spare parts 

and supplies to the International Space Station. Nicole flew the space station robotic arm along with Astronaut Michael Barratt

for the installation of the ELC and PMM, which completed the assembly of the U.S. portion of the station. She also served as 

the onboard EVA crewmember, directing the mission’s two space walks, which were performed by astronauts Alvin Drew and 

Stephen Bowen; and she served as the shuttle Flight Engineer for entry. The STS-133 mission was accomplished in 202 Earth 

orbits, traveling 5.3 million miles in 307 hours and 3 minutes.

After completion of the STS-133 mission, Nicole returned to KSC for a one-year assignment as the Astronaut Office 

representative to the Commercial Crew Program and the NASA selection of the companies chosen to build the next generation 

of US human-rated spacecraft. 

In 2012, she returned to JSC where she served as the Astronaut Office Space Station Integration Branch Chief, responsible for 

a team of engineers that represent the astronaut perspective associated with the hardware and technical aspects of the ISS. In

2014 she transitioned to serve as the Chief of the Vehicle Integration Test Office, responsible for a team of engineers that 

manage the astronaut interface to existing and future flight hardware; and she was also the lead Astronaut representative to the 

Orion Landing and Recovery team, responsible for determining how we will recover astronauts from the Orion spacecraft after 

splashdown. 

As a retired NASA Astronaut, Nicole is pursuing her next adventure as a full time Artist. Inspired by her spaceflights, she is 

using her artwork to share the awesome beauty she experienced through the windows of the Space Shuttle and Space Station

and the visor of her spacesuit, and to promote the amazing things we’re doing everyday in Space that benefit us all right here 

on Earth. She is also looking forward to spending more time with her family and to actively supporting STEAM/STEM 

educational organizations.