Ellen Ochoa: Astronaut and Inventor

Children's Literature - Barbara L. Talcroft

Included as one of the subjects in the "Latino Biography Library," Ellen Ochoa has had a distinguished career as an astronaut and scientist, regardless of ethnicity or gender. Always an outstanding student, Ochoa was inspired by the example of her mother, Rosanne Deardorff, who nurtured and encouraged her five children and was able, after many years, to earn a college degree herself. Ellen excelled in high school, played the flute, and went on to graduate from Stanford with a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and optics. As restrictions eased on women in the space program, Ochoa qualified as an astronaut and began her rigorous training in 1990. This long biography focuses mostly on Ochoa's scientific work and her successes as an astronaut, especially in maneuvering the robotic arm to deploy and recover satellites and, once, delivering supplies to the International Space Station. She also worked in the public relations arena for the space program, becoming a popular and inspirational speaker for students and teachers. Ochoa finessed four space missions before being made a director of flight crew operations and later deputy director at the Johnson Space Center. Somehow, in the midst of all this, she found time to marry and have two sons. Illustrations of space equipment are color photos and are interesting but when focusing on humans, the photos are often grey and dull. With its emphasis on the science of the space program, this book will find its audience in readers able to handle a more sophisticated writing style than this oversimplified, rather plodding text. Reviewer: Barbara L. Talcroft