#MizzouMade in Space
Presented on: Tuesday, April 20th at 12:00 PM CDT
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Linda Godwin, MS '76, PhD '80
Retired NASA astronaut and Professor Emeritus for Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
Retired NASA astronaut and Professor Emeritus for Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
Captain Dick Richards, BS ChE '69
Retired NASA astronaut and U.S. naval officer
Join us for a MIZ Talk that is out of this world! Mizzou alumni and retired NASA astronauts Linda Godwin, MS '76, PhD '80, and Captain Dick Richards, BS ChE '69, will share their stories and talk about how Mizzou propelled them from CoMo into space.
Retired NASA astronaut and U.S. naval officer
Join us for a MIZ Talk that is out of this world! Mizzou alumni and retired NASA astronauts Linda Godwin, MS '76, PhD '80, and Captain Dick Richards, BS ChE '69, will share their stories and talk about how Mizzou propelled them from CoMo into space.
Linda Godwin, MS '76, PhD '80
Linda Godwin received master’s and doctorate degrees in physics from Mizzou in 1976 and 1980. As a graduate student at MU, she taught undergraduate physics labs and received several research assistantships. She conducted research in low-temperature solid state physics and published her work in peer-reviewed journals.
Linda Godwin received master’s and doctorate degrees in physics from Mizzou in 1976 and 1980. As a graduate student at MU, she taught undergraduate physics labs and received several research assistantships. She conducted research in low-temperature solid state physics and published her work in peer-reviewed journals.
Dr. Godwin was among the earliest group of women accepted into the NASA Astronaut program, joining NASA in 1986 and logging more than 900 hours in space — twice aboard Atlantis in 1991 and 1996 and twice on Endeavour in 1994 and 2001. Also aboard that initial Atlantis mission was her future husband, the late Steven R. Nagel. Following her space flights, Dr. Godwin’s work at NASA was directed to the training of new astronauts and to preliminary planning work associated with a possible future NASA mission to Mars.
Dr. Godwin retired from NASA in 2010. Her career included an Outstanding Performance Rating, the Sustained Superior Performance Award, and the Distinguished Service Medal. After her retirement from NASA, Dr. Godwin joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Mizzou as a Professor, teaching courses, mentoring students, and engaging in teacher training programs.
Captain Dick Richards, BS ChE '69
Captain Dick Richards, earned his BS in chemical engineering from Mizzou in 1969 and immediately was commissioned into the U.S. Navy as an ensign. In 1976, Richards was selected for test pilot training, and was named a Distinguished Graduate of U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and the Naval Air Test Center Pilot of the Year in 1980. During his naval career, Richards flew more than 5,300 hours in 16 different aircraft and completed more than 400 landings aboard various aircraft carriers, including landing an F-18 on a carrier for the first time.
Captain Dick Richards, earned his BS in chemical engineering from Mizzou in 1969 and immediately was commissioned into the U.S. Navy as an ensign. In 1976, Richards was selected for test pilot training, and was named a Distinguished Graduate of U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and the Naval Air Test Center Pilot of the Year in 1980. During his naval career, Richards flew more than 5,300 hours in 16 different aircraft and completed more than 400 landings aboard various aircraft carriers, including landing an F-18 on a carrier for the first time.
In 1980, NASA selected Richards as an astronaut. He flew on four Space Shuttle missions (STS-28, STS-41, STS-50 and STS-64), and the last three missions he served as Mission Commander. Richards logged a total of 33 days, 21 hours, 32 minutes, 15 seconds in space.
In 1995, Richards transferred from the Astronaut Office to the Space Shuttle Program Office, where he oversaw the second Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission and managed day-to-day shuttle mission operations. Three years later, he left NASA to join the Boeing Company in California until his retirement in 2004.