ISS crews

Richard ARNOLD

ARNOLD RICHARD R. II

NASA Astronaut, USA

PERSONAL DATA:

Born in Cheverly and raised in Bowie, Maryland. Married to Eloise Miller Arnold of Bowie, Maryland. They have two daughters. Enjoys running, fishing, reading, kayaking, bicycling and guitar.

EDUCATION:

Bachelor of Science from Frostburg State University, Maryland, 1985;
Teacher certification from Frostburg State University, Maryland, 1988;
Master of Science in Marine, Estuarine & Environmental Science, University of Maryland, 1992.

EXPERIENCE:

Arnold began working at the United States Naval Academy in 1987 as an Oceanographic Technician.
Upon completing his teacher certification program, he accepted a position as a science teacher at John Hanson Middle School in Waldorf, Maryland.
During his tenure, he completed a Masters program while conducting research in biostratigraphy utilizing radiometric dating at the Horn Point Environmental Laboratory in Cambridge, Maryland.
Upon matriculation, Arnold spent another year working in the Marine Sciences including time at the Cape Cod National Seashore and aboard a sail training/oceanographic vessel headquartered in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
In 1993, Arnold joined the faculty at the Casablanca American School in Casablanca, Morocco, teaching college preparatory Biology and Marine Environmental Science.
In 1996, he and his family moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he was employed as a middle and high school science teacher and Department Chair at the American International School.
In 2001, Arnold was hired by International School Services to teach middle school mathematics and science at the International School of Kuala Kencana in West Papua, Indonesia.
In 2003, he accepted a similar teaching position at the American International School of Bucharest in Bucharest, Romania.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

Selected as a Mission Specialist by NASA in May 2004.
In February 2006 he completed Astronaut Candidate Training that included scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in shuttle and space station systems, physiological training, T-38 flight training, and water and wilderness survival training.
In August 2007, he completed aquanaut training and served as a mission specialist on a joint NASA-NOAA mission, NEEMO 13 (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Objectives), where he lived and worked in and around Aquarius - the world’s only undersea laboratory. During the 10 day mission, the crew of NEEMO 13 conducted experiments and operations in a simulated lunar outpost.
In 2009, he completed training as a Deep Worker submersible pilot and has supported underwater operations for the Pavillion Lake Research Project and NASA NEEMO.
In 2016, Arnold led a multinational crew in a European Space Agency 6 day mission mapping and exploring a large cave network in Sardinia. Arnold has served as a Capsule Communicator (Capcom) in Mission Control.
Arnold currently serves as the Assistant to the Chief for EVA and Robotics in the Astronaut Office. Arnold has accumulated over 1000 hours in multiple aircraft.

SPACEFLIGHT EXPERIENCE:

STS-119 Discovery (March 15-28, 2009) was the 125th shuttle flight, the 36th flight of Discovery and the 28th shuttle flight to the space station. The primary objective of this flight was to deliver the final pair of power-generating solar array wings and a truss element to the station. The mission also delivered and returned with an expedition crew member. During this mission, Arnold accumulated 12 hours and 34 minutes during 2 spacewalks. Discovery landed at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, having traveled 202 orbits and 5.3 million miles in 12 days 19 hours and 29 minutes.