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mission specialist

American

noun

U.S. Aerospace.

the crew member of a space shuttle who is assigned primary responsibility for carrying out operations related to the payload of the shuttle.

Etymology

Origin of mission specialist

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

mission specialist

Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch described the scattering of tiny craters across the daytime side proudly reflecting sunlight, like pinpricks in a lampshade.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026

After the burn was completed, the crew were "glued to the windows" taking pictures, mission specialist Jeremy Hansen told mission control in Houston.

From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026

Crew-12 marks the first spaceflight for mission specialist Sophie Adenot and pilot Jack Hathaway, both of whom have test pilot backgrounds.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 2, 2026

After rigorous training, he’s launched into space in 2009 as a mission specialist aboard the shuttle Discovery.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 14, 2023

This time, she flew on NASA's Atlantis as a mission specialist.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023