Portrait of Tom Akers Courtesy of NASA

Tom Akers is an American astronaut who was born on May 20, 1951 in Missouri. Before he was an astronaut, Akers was a park ranger, teacher, and Air Force pilot. He has flown 25 different types of aircraft.

Akers became an astronaut in 1987. He has flown four flights and has logged over 800 hours in space. In 1990, he flew aboard STS-41, where he helped put a probe into space. In 1992, he flew aboard the new shuttle, Endeavour and made four spacewalks.

In 1993, Akers flew on the STS-61 mission where he helped repair the Hubble Space Telescope. Akers broke a U.S. record by spending 29 hours and 40 minutes in spacewalks on a single flight. In 1996, Akers flew aboard the STS-79, where he visited the Mir space station.