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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“I would suggest to you that when you look up here, you’re not looking at us,” said Canadian Space Agency astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist astronaut Jeremy Hansen, back in Houston Saturday.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 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