Susan J . Helms Susan Jane Helms ( born February 26 , 1958 ) is a lieutenant general in the United States Air Force and a former NASA astronaut . She is currently the commander , 14th Air Force ( Air Forces Strategic ) ; and commander , Joint Functional Component Command for Space at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California . Helms was a crew member on five Space Shuttle missions and was a resident of the International Space Station ( ISS ) for over five months in 2001 . While participating in ISS Expedition 2 , she and Jim Voss conducted an 8 hour and 56 minute spacewalk , the longest to date . Personal life . Helms was born in Charlotte , North Carolina , but considers Portland , Oregon , to be her hometown . She enjoys piano and other musical activities , jogging , traveling , reading , computers , and cooking . Her parents , Lieutenant Colonel ( Retired , USAF ) Pat and Dori Helms , reside in Denver , Colorado . She has three sisters . Military career . Helms graduated from the U . S . Air Force Academy in 1980 . She received her commission and was assigned to Eglin Air Force Base , Florida , as an F - 16 weapons separation engineer with the Air Force Armament Laboratory . In 1982 , she became the lead engineer for F - 15 weapons separation . In 1984 , she was selected to attend graduate school . She received her degree from Stanford University in 1985 and was assigned as an assistant professor of aeronautics at the U . S . Air Force Academy . In 1987 , she attended the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base , California . After completing one year of training as a flight test engineer , Helms was assigned as a USAF Exchange Officer to the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment , at Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake in Alberta , Canada , where she worked as a flight test engineer and project officer on the CF - 18 aircraft . She was managing the development of a CF - 18 flight control system simulation for the Canadian Forces when selected for the astronaut program . After a 12 - year NASA career that included 211 days in space , Helms returned to the U . S . Air Force in July 2002 to take a position at HQ USAF Space Command . After a stint as the division chief of the Space Superiority Division of the Requirements Directorate of Air Force Space Command in Colorado Springs , Colorado , she served as vice commander of the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base near Cape Canaveral , Florida . She then served as deputy director of operations ( Technical Training ) for Air Education and Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base near San Antonio , Texas . She was promoted to brigadier general in June 2006 and became commander of the 45th Space Wing on the same day of her promotion . Helms was promoted to major general in August 2009 . She served as the Director of Plans and Policy , U . S . Strategic Command , Offutt Air Force Base , Nebraska . She was directly responsible to the U . S . Strategic Command commander for the development and implementation of national security policy and guidance ; military strategy and guidance ; space and weapons employment concepts and policy ; and joint doctrine as they apply to the command and the execution of its missions . She was also responsible for the development of the nation ' s strategic war plan , strategic support plans for theater combatant commanders and contingency planning for the global strike mission . In January 2011 , Helms was promoted to lieutenant general and assumed duties as commander , 14th Air Force ( Air Forces Strategic ) , Air Force Space Command and Commander , Joint Functional Component Command for Space , US Strategic Command As a flight test engineer , Helms has flown in 30 different types of U . S . and Canadian military aircraft . In 2013 , Helms was nominated by President Obama to become vice commander of the Air Force Space Command . However her promotion was held up by questions from Senator Claire McCaskill because Helms had dismissed charges in a sexual - assault case . The case involved Captain Matthew S . Herrera accused of committing a sexual assault at Vandenberg Air Force Base , CA . Capt Herrera was convicted by a panel of Officer members of a single charge and specification of aggravated sexual assault by court martial . In her role as the Court Martial Convening Authority , Helms dismissed the charge on grounds that the prosecution had not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt , and subsequently punished Capt Herrera for a lesser charge of committing an Indecent Act , leading to his dismissal from the US Air Force , as explained in the official document that outlined her decision . In addition , Gen Helms ' lawyer agreed with her decision and wrote to the Wall Street Journal in her defense . The controversy over the charge dismissal particularly echoed that over another clemency granted by a three - star U . S . Air Force general in a sexual assault case , the one granted by General Craig A . Franklin of the Third Air Force in 2013 after a court martial conviction . " The Washington Post " referenced the official memo and reported that Helms had found the accused to be more credible . However , upon further examination , other sources correctly reported that the rationale for dismissal of charges was because the prosecution had failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt . Spaceflight experience . Selected by NASA in January 1990 , Helms became an astronaut in July 1991 . She flew on STS - 54 ( 1993 ) , STS - 64 ( 1994 ) , STS - 78 ( 1996 ) , STS - 101 ( 2000 ) and served aboard the International Space Station as a member of the " ISS Expedition 2 " crew ( 2001 ) . A veteran of five space flights , Helms logged 5 , 064 hours in space , including an EVA of 8 hours and 56 minutes ( world record ) . STS - 54 " Endeavour " , January 13 – 19 , 1993 . The primary objective of this mission was the deployment of a $ 200 - million NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite ( TDRS - F ) . A diffuse X - ray spectrometer ( DXS ) carried in the payload bay , collected over 80 , 000 seconds of quality X - ray data that will enable investigators to answer questions about the origin of the Milky Way galaxy . The crew demonstrated the physics principles of everyday toys to an interactive audience of elementary school students across the United States . A highly successful extra - vehicular activity ( EVA ) resulted in many lessons learned that will benefit International Space Station assembly . Mission duration was 5 days , 23 hours , 38 minutes , 17 seconds . STS - 64 " Discovery " , September 9 – 20 , 1994 . On this flight , Helms served as the flight engineer for orbiter operations and the primary RMS operator aboard Space Shuttle . The major objective of this flight was to validate the design and operating characteristics of Lidar in Space Technology Experiment ( LITE ) by gathering data about the Earth ' s troposphere and stratosphere . Additional objectives included the deploy and retrieval of SPARTAN - 201 , a free - flying satellite that investigated the physics of the solar corona , and the testing of a new EVA maneuvering device . The Shuttle Plume Impingement Flight Experiment ( SPIFEX ) was used to collect extensive data on the effects of jet thruster impingement , in preparation for proximity tasks such as space station docking . Mission duration was 10 days , 22 hours , 51 minutes . STS - 78 " Columbia " , June 20 to July 7 , 1996 , Helms was the payload commander and flight engineer aboard " Columbia " , on the longest Space Shuttle mission to date ( later that year the STS - 80 mission broke its record by nineteen hours ) . The mission included studies sponsored by ten nations and five space agencies , and was the first mission to combine both a full microgravity studies agenda and a comprehensive life science investigation . The Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission served as a model for future studies on board the International Space Station . Mission duration was 16 days , 21 hours , 48 minutes . STS - 101 " Atlantis " , May 19 – 29 , 2000 , was a mission dedicated to the delivery and repair of critical hardware for the International Space Station . Helms prime responsibilities during this mission were to perform critical repairs to extend the life of the Functional Cargo Block ( FGB ) . In addition , she had prime responsibility of the onboard computer network and served as the mission specialist for rendezvous with the ISS . Mission duration was 9 days , 20 hours and 9 minutes . Expedition 2 March 8 to August 22 , 2001 was a mission to the International Space Station and Helms was as a member of the second crew to inhabit the International Space Station Alpha . The " Expedition 2 " crew ( two American astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut ) launched on March 8 , 2001 on board STS - 102 " Discovery " and successfully docked with the station on March 9 , 2001 . The " Expedition 2 " crew installed and conducted tests on the Canadian - made Space Station Robotic arm ( SSRMS ) , conducted internal and external maintenance tasks ( Russian and American ) , in addition to medical and science experiments . During her stay on board , Helms installed the airlock ( brought up on the STS - 104 mission ) using the SSRM . She and her crewmates also performed a ' fly around ' of the Russian " Soyuz " spacecraft and welcomed the visiting Soyuz crew that included the first space tourist , Dennis Tito . On March 11 she performed a world - record 8 hour and 56 minute space walk to install hardware to the external body of the laboratory module . Helms spent a total of 163 days aboard the space station . She returned to earth with the STS - 105 crew aboard " Discovery " on August 22 , 2001 .