LORAL O’HARA
PHOTO DATE: 08-22-17
LOCATION: Bldg, 8, Studio
SUBJECT: Official portraits of new ASCAN class
PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL STAFFORD
FALMOUTH – The International Space Station is welcoming a former Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientist aboard for the next six months.
According to NASA, Loral O’Hara safely launched and docked to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz rocket on Friday, Sept. 15.
Born in Houston, Texas, O’Hara was selected to join the program in 2017.
According to her biography, she spent eight years working on the engineering and operations of underwater vehicles at WHOI, including on the human-occupied research submersible Alvin and the remotely operated vehicle Jason.
Her experience includes mechanical design and analysis, systems engineering, manned submersible testing and certification, and vehicle operations.
She participated in eleven scientific research cruises aboard research vessels as a mechanical technician and data processor with WHOI.
O’Hara’s NASA-specific experience began in 2003, when she worked as an intern at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
She is also the recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, having been given the award in 2008.
About Grady Culhane
