Scott D. Tingle

Scott Tingle is a Commander in the U.S. Navy. He was born Scott D. Tingle in Attleboro, Massachusetts. Tingle became interested in space while working as a machine draftsman in Blue Hills Regional Technical School, class of 1983.[4] He continued to study mechanical engineering, earning a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering while attending Southeastern Massachusetts University in 1987, and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University in 1988.[3][5] In 2009 his fourth application to the Astronaut Corps was accepted.

In 1991 Scott Tingle employed as a Naval Officer, earning his aviator gold wings by 1993. In 1994 he flew with the Blue Diamonds of VFA-146 in Lemoore, California. Aboard the USS Nimitz and with Carrier Air Wing Nine he was placed along the Persian Gulf and Western Pacific ocean. After graduating in 1998 from Navy Test Pilot School, he became an operational test pilot at China Lake, California for the FA-18E/F Super Hornet program with the Vampires of VX-9. After China Lake, Tingle completed a CAG Paddles tour flying with FA-18A/C Hornets and alongside Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11) sailing on the USS Carl Vinson. USS Carl Vinson and the Carrier Air Wing Eleven were the first air response on the scene of the 911 attack and later executed Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Tingle completed a career as an assistant operations officer with the Strike Fighter Wing Pacific, and briefly became an instructor pilot with VFA-122. He later returned to Lemoore as a safety, maintenance, and operation officer as a department head while flying a FA-18A Hornet alongside the Warhawks of VFA-97. He was deployed to the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf again with CVW-11 before moving on to Iwakuni, Japan, with the Marine Air Group Twelve (MAH-12). By 2005 Tingle came back to become the Ship Suitability Department Head at Patuxent River, Maryland, and a test pilot with the Salty Dogs of VX-23. At Maryland, he tested the FA-18C Hornet, FA-18E/F Super Hornet, and EA-18G Growler aircraft carrier precision landing systems. When he was selected as an astronaut Tingle was working on the Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) and harpoon weapons systems in PMA-201 as a system engineer and assistant program manager.[3]

In July 2009 Scott D. Tingle became a member of the 20th astronaut class. His training included training in T-38's, spacewalks, technical training regarding the systems of The International space station and Soyuz designs, and standard wilderness survival training.

Expedition 54/55

Tingle during his first EVA

In May 2016 he was assigned to the crew of ISS Expedition 53/54, as flight engineer for both expeditions, alongside Russian cosmonauts Aleksandr Skvortsov and Ivan Vagner.[6] The trio was scheduled to launch in September 2017 aboard Soyuz MS-06. Although due to a Russian decision to reduce the number of crew members aboard the Russian Orbital Segment until the launch of their long delayed Nauka laboratory module, Vagner was removed from Skvortosv and Tingle's crew. This resulted in Tingle being moved from the "Flight Engineer-2" position on the Soyuz to the much more systems intensive "Flight Engineer-1" position, this resulted in Tingle needing more time to train for his flight so he and Skvortsov were pushed back to ISS Expedition 54/55, they were joined by JAXA astronaut Norishige Kanai. The ISS-54/55 crew changed one more time when Skvortsov was pushed back to a later flight due to a temporary medical condition and replaced with cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov.[7]

Shkaplerov, Tingle and Kanai launched on board Soyuz MS-07 on 17 December 2017 07:21 UTC. Originally they were planned to rendezvous with the ISS in just six hours, although due to NASA wanting the launch to be advanced by ten days from 27 December the spacecraft was reverted to the older two-day rendezvous scheme. The three safely arrived aboard the ISS on 19 December and joined the Expedition 54 crew.[2]

On January 23, 2018, Tingle performed his first EVA with Mark Vande Hei. The objective was to replace one of two redundant latching end effectors (LEE) on Canadarm2, the station's robotic arm, which had experienced some degradation of its snaring cables. The duration of the EVA was 7 hours and 24 minutes.[8]

Tingle and his two crew mates returned to Earth on 3 June 2018 following 168 days in space.[9]

Scott Tingle is married to Raynette Mahelona Tingle and has three children. Although he was born in Attleboro, he considers his hometown to be Randolph, Massachusetts.[10] At age 15 he took guitar lessons from a neighbor, at age 16 he joined a band that he continued to play with through college, writing original music and playing at clubs in Kenmore Square, and Providence. Tingle cites his experience in a rock band as contributing to team skills he needed as an astronaut.[11]

Through his educational, military, and NASA career, Tingle has received many awards and honors. He graduated magna cum laude from Southeastern Massachusetts University, earned Outstanding Graduate of U.S. Navy Test Pilot School Class 113, and was awarded Meritorious Service Medal, three Air Medals, six Navy Commendation Medals, four Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and a Combat V medal.[3]

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

• Astronaut Bio: Scott D. Tingle (09/2009)
• Spacefacts biography of Scott D. Tingle
• Scott D. Tingle on Twitter