NICHOLAS J. M. PATRICK (PH.D., P.E.)

NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)

PERSONAL DATA: Dr. Patrick was born in 1964 in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North 

Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom. He also considers London, England, and Rye, New 

York, to be his hometowns. He became a U.S. citizen in 1994. His mother, Gillian Patrick, 

lives in Connecticut; his father, Stewart Patrick, in California. He is married with three 

children. His recreational interests include flying, fixing and building things and reading to 

his children.

EDUCATION: Harrow School, London, England, 1978 to 1982

Bachelor of Arts in Engineering, University of Cambridge, England, 1986

Master of Arts in Engineering, University of Cambridge, England, 1990

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1990

Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996

ORGANIZATIONS: Dr. Patrick is a registered Professional Engineer (Mechanical) and is 

a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

SPECIAL HONORS: Honorary Doctorate from Teesside University, Middlesbrough, UK, 2011; JSC Center Director’s 

Discretionary Award for contributions to the user interface of the shuttle cockpit avionics upgrade, 2002; General Electric (GE)

Aircraft Engines Development Program Project Award for contributions to inventory reduction, 1988; entrance scholarship 

(“Exhibition”) to the University of Cambridge, 1983. Dr. Patrick holds three patents in the areas of telerobotics, flight displays and 

integrated aircraft alerting systems.

EXPERIENCE: During his college years, Dr. Patrick spent his summers as a Civil Engineer, inspecting bridges in New York and 

Connecticut. After graduating from Cambridge, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where he worked as an Engineer for the 

Aircraft Engines Division of GE. He then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he was a Research 

Assistant in the Human-Machine Systems Lab in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. His research interests included 

telerobotics, aviation psychology, decision theory and optimization. Upon completion of his Doctorate, Dr. Patrick joined Boeing’s 

Commercial Airplane Group in Seattle, Washington, where he worked in Flight Deck Engineering as a Systems and Human-Factors 

engineer on many of Boeing’s commercial aircraft models.

Dr. Patrick learned to fly as a member of the Royal Air Force’s Volunteer Reserve while attending Cambridge University. After 

moving to the United States, Dr. Patrick continued flying, becoming an instrument and multi-engine Flight Instructor. He has 

logged more than 2,300 hours as a pilot, in more than 20 types of airplanes and helicopters, and more than 800 hours as a Flight 

Instructor.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Dr. Patrick reported to the Johnson Space Center for astronaut training in 1998. When not in training for a 

spaceflight, Dr. Patrick worked in the Astronaut Office on the space shuttle cockpit avionics upgrade program, served as Capsule 

Communicator (CAPCOM) in mission control for STS-123 and STS-124, led the team that defined the human systems integration 

requirements for the Orion capsule, worked on the design of the Orion cockpit, and served as the Flight Crew Representative to the 

Orion program.

Dr. Patrick has logged 638 hours in space as a Mission Specialist on two International Space Station construction flights: STS-116 

and STS-130. He logged more than 18 hours during three spacewalks on STS-130.

Dr. Patrick retired from NASA in June 2012

-moreNational Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Biographical Data

 Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

 Houston, Texas 77058
SPACEFLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-116 Discovery (December 9 to December 22, 2006). The seven-member crew on this 

12-day mission continued construction of the International Space Station outpost by adding the P5 truss segment and performing 

four spacewalks, one of which was added to allow the crew to coax and retract a stubborn solar panel to fold up like an accordion 

into its box. Discovery also delivered a new crew member and more than two tons of equipment and supplies to the station.

Mission duration was 12 days, 20 hours and 45 minutes.

STS-130 Endeavour (February 8 to February 21, 2010) launched at night, carrying the International Space Station’s final permanent 

modules: Tranquility and Cupola. Tranquility (or Node 3) is now the life-support hub of the station, containing exercise, water 

recycling and environmental control systems, while the Cupola provides the largest set of windows ever to grace a spacecraft. 

These seven windows, arranged in a hemisphere, provide a spectacular and panoramic view of our planet and a direct view of 

station robotic operations. During the 13-day, 18-hour mission, Endeavour and her six-member crew traveled more than 5.7 million 

miles and completed 217 orbits of the Earth, touching down at night at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

JUNE 2012

This is the only version available from NASA. Updates must be sought from the above named individual.