- Timothy L. Kopra
- Astronaut
U.S. Army
Timothy Kopra, a Lieutenant Colonel in the U. S. Army, graduated from the United States Miliary Academy at West Point in 1985 with a BS in Computer Science. He later earned a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology in 1995, completed the Naval Test Pilot School in 1996, and graduated with a Master of Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College in 2006. LTC Kopra worked as an Army test pilot before joining the Vehicle Integration Test Office at NASA in 1998. In 2000, he was selected as a mission specialist in the 2000 Astronaut Class.
Currently, LTC Kopra is training for a 3-6 month mission aboard the International Space Station. His training includes courses in Houston and in the countries of our international partners in the construction of the ISS plus instruction in the Russian language. With training primarily in the US and Russia, LTC Kopra spends a lot of time traveling and learning how the ISS works, how its escape vehicle, the Russian Soyuz rocket, operates and how to spacewalk.
While the most interesting part of LTC Kopra’s job is learning about how to operate in space, the least interesting is probably the many hours spent on airplanes traveling between training locations. Nonetheless, training for spaceflight is a dream come true for LTC Kopra. At age 6, LTC Kopra, with his older brothers, watched the Apollo astronauts walk on the moon and dreamed that one day he too would be an astronaut. After studying hard in elementary and high school, and then college, LTC Kopra joined the Army and after 15 years of service was selected as an astronaut.
A recreational scuba diver, LTC Kopra is looking forward to his NEEMO experience where he will conduct simulated spacewalks and coral science experiments. When LTC is not working, he enjoys spending time with his family, running, biking, camping, and refurbishing his 1967 Mustang Fastback.
When asked to give advice to students, LTC Kopra responds that students should find something that they have a passion for, figure out what they need to do to reach that goal and work their hardest to get there.
