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Author
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Topic: Astronaut couples and family relations
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East-Frisian
Member Posts: 705
From: Germany
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 05-23-2005 06:10 AM
  
I have heard, that Shannon Walker and Andrew Thomas are married. Does anyone know since when? |
KSCartist
Member Posts: 3118
From: Titusville, FL
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 05-23-2005 01:25 PM
Per NASA's Astronaut Biographies website, they are married. |
ASCAN1984
Member Posts: 1050
From: County Down, Nothern Ireland
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 05-24-2005 04:13 AM
Were they married before Shannon Walker joined the Astronaut Office? I think these are the only two astronauts currently married who still reside in the corps. That's nice though. I am a bit of a romantic. |
Henry Heatherbank
Member Posts: 335
From: Adelaide, South Australia
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 05-24-2005 07:17 AM
So let's list the once — or still — married astronaut couples: - Hoot Gibson and Rhea Seddon (still married)
- Sally Ride and Steven Hawley (divorced)
- Linda Godwin and Steve Nagel
- Mark Lee and Jan Davis (?)
- Andy Thomas and Shannon Walker
Have I missed anybody?On other familial relationships, there was David Low (son of George), and there are the infamous Kelly twins, Mark and Scott. Have there been any other such astronaut family relationships? It always surprised me that more of the children of those involved in the space program in the 50/60s didn't move into similar fields and try out for the astronaut program, like David Low. Perhaps its because they saw first hand the toll it took on their fathers and their families. Kris Stoever would be in a perfect position to comment, above and beyond what comes through in her and Scott Carpenter's (her father's) book. I recall that by about the 1980 astronaut selection group, NASA saw a number of candidates whose careers had deliberately been fashioned to maximize chances of selection. This may have been a quote attributable to John Young shortly after STS-1. Anyway, that is common place nowadays, but it seemed to come as a surprise to 1980s NASA that people would chart a course heading so deliberately toward NASA. Of course, some of the kids of program workers of the 1960s would have been about the right age to try out for selection in the early to late 1980s. Is anybody aware of children of astronauts who pursued a career at NASA, either as an astronaut, or in other positions? |
DavidH
Member Posts: 1293
From: Huntsville, AL, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted 05-24-2005 09:07 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Henry Heatherbank:
Mark Lee and Jan Davis (?)
Jan Davis and Mark Lee are divorced. |
thump
Member Posts: 579
From: washington dc usa
Registered: May 2004
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posted 05-24-2005 09:12 AM
Jeff Wisoff and Tammy Jernigan are also married. |
eurospace
Member Posts: 2693
From: Berlin, Germany
Registered: Dec 2000
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posted 05-24-2005 01:13 PM
Linda Godwin is married to Steve Nagel.Bonnie Dunbar was married to Ron Sega, but they are divorced now. To widen the view: - Valentina Tereshkova was married to Andriyan Nikolayev.
- Maurizio Cheli (Italy) is married to former ESA astronaut candidate Marianne Merchez.
- Claudie André-Deshays married Jean-Pierre Haigneré.
- Valeri Ryumin is married to Yelena Kondakova
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trajan
Member Posts: 111
From: Chester, Cheshire, UK
Registered: May 2004
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posted 05-24-2005 03:49 PM
And another, now, sadly, divorced, astronaut couple was Anna Fisher (1978) and Bill Fisher (1980) — married prior to either of their selections to NASA |
East-Frisian
Member Posts: 705
From: Germany
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 05-25-2005 06:10 AM
Hans Schlegel is married to former Heike Walpot (ne John) German Astronaut Candidate and Mary Ellen Weber is married to Jerome Elkind (NASA Candidate). |
issman1
Member Posts: 1239
From: UK
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 05-26-2005 04:31 AM
Since we are on the subject of astronauts and family connections, I wonder if most Americans are aware that pilot Alan Poindexter is the son of the former Reagan national security adviser, John Poindexter? He's the very one who in the 1980s masterminded Iran-Contra and was subsequently indicted for lying to your Congress. Incidentally, his close friend is none other than Edward "Pete" Aldridge — one time payload specialist candidate and chair of the 2002 Aldridge Commission. |
DavidH
Member Posts: 1293
From: Huntsville, AL, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted 05-26-2005 01:14 PM
Indeed, I didn't realize that about Poindexter. Thanks for pointing that out.On a related note, of course, Robert Satcher is the nephew of former Surgeon General David Satcher. |
pokey
Member Posts: 381
From: Houston, TX, USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 05-26-2005 08:44 PM
Walker and Thomas updated their NASA biographies the week after the JSC Open House. They have been a couple since at least last year. So if Thomas returns to Australia after the STS-114 flight, then that puts them in bi-hemisphere marriage. |
Henry Heatherbank
Member Posts: 335
From: Adelaide, South Australia
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 05-26-2005 09:34 PM
Thomas comes from my home town, so there is a lot of local press about his return to space on STS-114. Thomas has been quite public about "putting out feelers" for a job/career in Australia after STS-114, which he says will be his last flight. Apparently the response has been luke warm, as industry in Australia sees little use for a guy who is trained to operate a spacecraft. I expect that will all change, but it is an incredibly frustrating thing to hear that someone as experienced and as accomplished as Thomas would not be in high demand in a number of industry sectors, not all aerospace related. The point he makes is that an astronaut is more than flying in space; it involves a lot of high level managerial and project-related skills. He also talks about dividing his time between Adelaide and Houston, to support Walker in her NASA career. |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2194
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 07-21-2005 12:04 AM
Andy Thomas told me late last year that he and Shannon had known each other "for about six years." |
thump
Member Posts: 579
From: washington dc usa
Registered: May 2004
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posted 05-04-2009 03:58 PM
Megan McArthur and Robert Behnken are also married... |
Delta7
Member Posts: 1805
From: Bluffton IN USA
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 08-06-2009 01:17 PM
Doug Hurley and Karen Nyberg are now married. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 56830
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-15-2018 10:46 AM
From Air&Space magazine, in the rarest of jobs, it's even more rare for your spouse to be an astronaut, too. ...there have been more than a dozen astronaut couples who've both experienced spaceflight firsthand. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 56830
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-14-2026 05:56 PM
With today's (July 14) launch of Anil Menon to the International Space Station, it seemed like a good as time as any to compile and update the information so far...Flown astronaut married couples: - Valentina Tereshkova and Andriyan Nikolayev (1963, divorced 1982)
- Linda Godwin and Steve Nagel (1973)
- Anna Lee Fisher and Bill Fisher (1977, divorced 2000)
- Rhea Seddon and Hoot Gibson (1981)
- Sally Ride and Steven Hawley (1982, divorced 1987)
- Yelena Kondakova and Valeri Ryumin (1985)
- Bonnie Dunbar and Ron Sega (1988, divorced)
- Tammy Jernigan and Jeff Wisoff (1999)
- Jan Davis and Mark Lee (1991, divorced 1999)
- Claudie André-Deshays and Jean-Pierre Haigneré (2001)
- Shannon Walker and Andrew Thomas (2005)
- Megan McArthur and Robert Behnken (2008)
- Karen Nyberg and Doug Hurley (2008)
- Anna Menon and Anil Menon (2016)
- Marina Vasileuskaya and Oleg Novitsky (2025)
There are also Marc and Sharon Hagle who became the first married couple to fly aboard a commercial suborbital spaceflight (Blue Origin's NS-20). |
perineau
Member Posts: 439
From: FRANCE
Registered: Jul 2007
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posted 07-15-2026 02:46 AM
Thanks for this interesting tidbit of space trivia! Makes me wonder when we'll see the first wedding in space! |
cosmos-walter
Member Posts: 897
From: Salzburg, Austria
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted 07-15-2026 07:16 AM
Soyuz MS-25 commander Oleg Novitsky married his Belorussian Spaceflight Participant Marina Vasileuskaya. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 56830
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-15-2026 10:11 AM
Thank you Walter, I have updated the list above. quote:
Originally posted by perineau:
Makes me wonder when we'll see the first wedding in space!
Yuri Malenchenko was married Ekaterina "Kat" Dmitrieva in 2003 while he was aboard the International Space Station and she was in Houston. The ceremony was conducted via a satellite link and was legal under Texas law. |
Axman
Member Posts: 944
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023
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posted 07-15-2026 10:37 AM
Would it be possible to amend the above useful list by adding a code to when the marriages took place, such as:BB before both went into space.
OO once one had flown in space
AB after both went into space. Would be much appreciated. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 56830
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-15-2026 05:10 PM
Based on public records — Astronaut couples married before either flew: - Anna Lee Fisher and Bill Fisher (1977, divorced 2000)
- Rhea Seddon and Hoot Gibson (1981)
- Sally Ride and Steven Hawley (1982, divorced 1987)
- Jan Davis and Mark Lee (1991, divorced 1999)
- Linda Godwin and Steve Nagel (1995)
- Claudie André-Deshays and Jean-Pierre Haigneré (2001)
- Karen Nyberg and Doug Hurley (after 2008; year not publicized)
- Anna Menon and Anil Menon (2016)
Astronaut couples married after one flew: - Yelena Kondakova and Valeri Ryumin (1985)
- Bonnie Dunbar and Ron Sega (1988, divorced)
- Shannon Walker and Andrew Thomas (2005)
- Megan McArthur and Robert Behnken (2008)
Astronaut couples married after both flew: - Valentina Tereshkova and Andriyan Nikolayev (1963, divorced 1982)
- Tammy Jernigan and Jeff Wisoff (1999)
- Marina Vasileuskaya and Oleg Novitsky (2025)
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MartinAir
Member Posts: 523
From:
Registered: Oct 2020
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posted 07-15-2026 05:21 PM
After watching the Star City TV series, I hope that Valentina Tereshkova and Andriyan Nikolayev's wedding was a mutual decision and not arranged by the Party. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 56830
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-15-2026 06:20 PM
That story in "Star City" was based on Tereshkova and Nikolayev's experience. By some accounts, it was Khrushchev, himself, who took an interest in seeing them married and presided over the ceremony. If it was not an outright arranged marriage, both Tereshkova and Nikolayev knew what was expected of them. |
astro-nut
Member Posts: 1098
From: Washington, IL
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 07-17-2026 01:57 PM
I need to correct Robert's earlier post about Steve Nagel and Linda Godwin's marriage.Steve Nagel married Linda Penny in May 1973 and they divorced in 1994. Steve married Linda Godwin in December 1995.
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 56830
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-17-2026 02:02 PM
Thank you. The above list has been updated accordingly. |
Neil DC
Member Posts: 218
From: Middletown, NJ, USA
Registered: May 2010
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posted 07-17-2026 02:50 PM
Amongst the cosmonauts are also the following:Yelena Serova and Mark Serov
Valentina Ponomaryova and Yuri Ponomaryov
Tamara Zakharova and Yuri Sheffer
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 56830
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-17-2026 04:47 PM
Good additions to the thread, but I am going to leave them off the list, as it is only couples where both spouses have flown in space. |
hoorenz
Member Posts: 1059
From: The Netherlands
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 07-19-2026 02:04 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
Thank you. The above list has been updated accordingly.
Also they need to be listed in the "after both flew" section; Nagel first flew in 1985, Godwin in 1991. |
Axman
Member Posts: 944
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023
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posted 07-19-2026 09:59 AM
Thanks Robert. An interesting reference table.I await the day another category is added where two astronauts are married in space... |
OV-105
Member Posts: 952
From: Ridgecrest, CA
Registered: Sep 2000
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posted 07-20-2026 11:21 PM
Should be a correction for Mark Lee and Jan Davis. Mark Lee had flown STS-30 in 1989. So he had flown before they were married and let everyone know before they flew on STS-47 together as a married couple. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 56830
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-21-2026 09:37 AM
Based on public records — Astronaut couples married before either flew: - Anna Lee Fisher and Bill Fisher (1977, divorced 2000)
- Rhea Seddon and Hoot Gibson (1981)
- Sally Ride and Steven Hawley (1982, divorced 1987)
- Claudie André-Deshays and Jean-Pierre Haigneré (2001)
- Karen Nyberg and Doug Hurley (after 2008; year not publicized)
- Anna Menon and Anil Menon (2016)
Astronaut couples married after one flew: - Yelena Kondakova and Valeri Ryumin (1985)
- Bonnie Dunbar and Ron Sega (1988, divorced)
- Jan Davis and Mark Lee (1991, divorced 1999)
- Shannon Walker and Andrew Thomas (2005)
- Megan McArthur and Robert Behnken (2008)
Astronaut couples married after both flew: - Valentina Tereshkova and Andriyan Nikolayev (1963, divorced 1982)
- Linda Godwin and Steve Nagel (1995)
- Tammy Jernigan and Jeff Wisoff (1999)
- Marina Vasileuskaya and Oleg Novitsky (2025)
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