Megan McArthur: SpaceX Pilot & NASA Retires After 20 Years
Megan McArthur: Astronaut, Oceanographer, and Leader in Space Exploration
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Megan McArthur is a NASA astronaut and oceanographer whose career has significantly contributed to human space exploration. She is a veteran of two spaceflights and has held various leadership roles within NASA.
Contributions to Space Exploration
As a mission specialist on STS-125 in 2009, McArthur played a crucial role in the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space telescope. The crew executed five spacewalks to install new instruments and repair existing systems, extending Hubble’s operational life and enhancing its capabilities. The STS-125 mission was launched on May 11, 2009, aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis and lasted nearly 13 days.
McArthur also served as pilot of the SpaceX Crew-2 mission, which launched on April 23, 2021, and returned on November 9, 2021. This mission transported a crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for a six-month science expedition.
Leadership and Technical Roles at NASA
Beyond her spaceflight missions, McArthur has held several important positions at NASA.Before her second spaceflight, she served as the chief science officer at Space Center Houston, NASA Johnson’s official visitor center, starting in 2022. Prior to that, in 2019, she became the deputy division chief of the Astronaut Office, where she supported astronaut training, development, and ongoing spaceflight operations. From 2017, she also served as the assistant director of flight operations for the International space Station Program.
Educational Background
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and raised as a “Navy kid,” mcarthur demonstrated an early interest in science and exploration. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Driven by a passion for oceanography, she later obtained a doctorate in oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
Personal Life
McArthur is married to former NASA astronaut Robert Behnken. Behnken retired from NASA in 2022 after a distinguished career that included over 708 hours in space.He flew aboard SpaceX Dragon 2 in 2020 as part of the spacecraft’s first crewed mission, marking a important milestone in commercial spaceflight.
Megan and Robert have one son.