As a child, Thomas was fascinated by space. His father has described how he started building model rockets from cardboard and plastics. After completing his studies, Thomas accepted an offer from Lockheed in Atlanta. By 1990 he was the organization's principal aerodynamic scientist. His career continued in the field, steering towards more senior research positions.
NASA career
Thomas was selected by NASA in March 1992 and reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1992. In August 1993, following one year of training, he was appointed a member of the NASA Astronaut Corps and was qualified for an assignment as a mission specialist on Space Shuttle flight crews. While awaiting space flight assignment, Thomas supported shuttle launch and landing operations as an Astronaut Support Person at the Kennedy Space Center. He also provided technical support to the Space Shuttle Main Engine project, the Solid Rocket Motor project and the External Tank project at the Marshall Space Flight Center. In June 1995, Thomas was named as payload commander for STS-77 and flew his first flight in space on Endeavour in May 1996. Although Paul D. Scully-Power had entered orbit as an oceanographer in 1985, Thomas was the first Australia-born professional astronaut to enter space. He next trained at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia in preparation for a long-duration flight. In 1998, he served as Board Engineer 2 aboard the Russian Space Station Mir for 130 days. From August 2001 to November 2003, Thomas served as Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office. Thomas completed his fourth space flight on STS-114 and has logged over 177 days in space. He was working with issues for the Exploration Branch of the Astronaut Office until his retirement from NASA in February, 2014. NASA officially announced Thomas' retirement on 20 June 2014, which took effect on 1 March 2014, after 22 years with the space agency.
Spaceflights
was a mission during which the crew deployed two satellites, tested a large inflatable space structure on orbit and conducted a variety of scientific experiments in a Spacehab laboratory module carried in Endeavour's payload bay. The flight was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on 19 May 1996 and completed 160 orbits above the Earth while traveling 4.1 million miles and logging 240 hours and 39 minutes in space. On 22 January 1998, Thomas launched aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour as part of the STS-89 crew to dock with the Mir Space Station. He served aboard Mir as Flight Engineer 2 and returned to earth with the crew of STS-91 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on 12 June 1998, completing 141 days in space and 2,250 orbits of the earth. STS-102 Discovery was the eighth Shuttle mission to visit the International Space Station and Thomas's third flight. Mission accomplishments included the delivery of the Expedition 2 crew and logistics resupply with the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, and the return to earth of the Expedition 1 crew. During the mission, Thomas performed an EVA of 6.5 hours to install components to the outside of the space station. Mission duration was 307 hours and 49 minutes. STS-114 Discovery was the Return to Flight mission following the Columbia accident during which the crew continued the assembly of the International Space Station. Thomas tested and evaluated new procedures for flight safety and inspection and repair techniques for the Shuttle's thermal protection system. After a 2-week, 5.8 million mile journey in space, the orbiter Discovery and its crew returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Mission duration was 333 hours, 32 minutes, 48 seconds.
