After serving the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for 15 years, veteran space shuttle pilot Dominic "Tony" Antonelli retires. Antonelli rendered his last day of service to the US space agency on July 10, 2015. He is a veteran in the field of space exploration and had undergone numerous trainings and experiences as an astronaut with NASA.
Antonelli was born in Detroit, Michigan but grew up in Indiana and North Carolina. He is married with two kids and when he is not exploring the space, he loves to snowboard and indulge in National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR)-related stuff. He graduated from Douglas Byrd High School in Fayetteville in North Carolina and pursued his college education at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he took up Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics & Astronautics. He furthered his education by taking up Master of Science in Aeronautics & Astronautics at the University of Washington.
Antonelli first joined NASA in 2000, where he initially underwent trainings and evaluations. The assessment and recruitment process for the Astronaut Candidate post lasted for 18 months. His first assignments include providing various technical support for the Astronaut Office.
The first space mission of Antonelli took place in March 2009, where he was assigned to be the pilot of the STS-119 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. The said mission was able to successfully transport the S6 Integrated Truss Segment and the last pair of power-producing solar array wings to the International Space Station (ISS).
The second space mission of Antonelli was when he was tasked to be the pilot of the STS-132 Atlantis, which is the 32nd flight made to the ISS. The said mission took place from May 14-26, 2010 and was able to transport an Integrated Cargo Carrier and a Mini Research Module from Russia to the ISS.
The STS-132 mission was accomplished in 186 orbits, traveling at 4,879,978 miles in 11 days, 18 hours, 28 minutes and 2 seconds. All in all, Antonelli spent 24 days, 3 hours, 57 minutes and 35 seconds in space during the two missions he was involved in.
Antonelli received numerous awards while he was still with NASA; these include Navy Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, NASA Return-to-FlightAward, among many others.
"Tony was a major contributor to our office," says Chris Cassidy, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center. His talents and prowess contributed tremendously to the engineering team of the Space Launch System. The office is hoping for the best for Antonelli as he embarks on new pursuits in the future, he adds.
Aside from Antonelli, astronaut Stephen Frick also retired from NASA and served his last day at the space agency on July 13, 2015. Antonelli and Frick are just two of the numerous space crew members who left the agency after the Space Shuttle Program was closed.
