Megan McArthur, first woman to pilot SpaceX Dragon, retires
What's the story
Megan McArthur, a trailblazing NASA astronaut who made history as the first woman to pilot a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, has announced her retirement from the space agency. She has had an illustrious career spanning over two decades and two spaceflights, during which she spent a total of 213 days in space.
Space missions
Two spaceflights in over 2 decades
McArthur's first spaceflight was in 2009, on the fifth and final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope aboard the space shuttle Atlantis. As a mission specialist for STS-125, she operated the shuttle's robotic arm to assist her team through five spacewalks to upgrade and repair Hubble after its first 19 years in orbit. In April 2021, McArthur flew as pilot of NASA's SpaceX Crew-2 mission, marking her second journey into space.
ISS mission
McArthur's historic mission to ISS
During her 200-day stay on the International Space Station (ISS) for the Crew-2 mission, McArthur served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 65/66, NASA said in a press release. She conducted various scientific experiments in human health, materials sciences, and robotics to support Moon exploration under Artemis and prepare for sending American astronauts to Mars.
Leadership positions
McArthur's leadership roles at NASA
Beyond her spaceflights, McArthur has held several technical and leadership roles at NASA. Since 2022, she has been serving as the chief science officer at Space Center Houston, NASA Johnson's official visitor center. In 2019, she was appointed deputy division chief of the Astronaut Office to support astronaut training and development as well as ongoing spaceflight operations.
Education and family
Personal life and education
A "Navy kid" from Honolulu, McArthur has a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. She also holds a doctorate in oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. Personally, she is married to former NASA astronaut Robert Behnken, with whom she has a son.