Kjell N. Lindgren
NASA Astronaut
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Summary
Dr. Kjell N. Lindgren was selected by NASA in 2009. Growing up in an Air Force family, he spent most of his childhood abroad and returned to the U.S. to complete his education with an undergraduate degree from the U.S. Airforce Academy and a Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Colorado. He is residency trained in both emergency and aerospace medicine. He joined NASA as a flight surgeon in 2007 and served as the Deputy Crew Surgeon for STS-130 and Expedition 24. He was selected as an astronaut in June 2009 as one of 14 members of the 20th NASA astronaut class. In 2015, Dr. Lindgren flew on Expedition 44/45 and logged 141 days in space. He participated in two spacewalks and in more than a hundred different scientific experiments. Dr. Lindgren served as commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission. Crew-4 launched on Apr. 27, 2022 to the International Space Station joining Expedition 67 for an additional 170 days on orbit, returning home on Oct. 14, 2022. Dr. Lindgren has spent a cumulative total of 311 days in space. He currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Flight Operations Directorate (FOD).
Personal
Born in Taipei, Taiwan. Lived in the midwestern United States, but spent most of his childhood overseas living in the United Kingdom. Married to the former Kristiana Jones. They have three children. His parents, Randahl and Anita Lindgren, reside in Burke, Virginia. Interests include spending time with his family, scouting, reading, movies and church activities.
Education
Completed his freshman year at Lakenheath High School in the United Kingdom. Participated in Virginia’s Governor’s School at William and Mary College during the summer of 1990. Graduated from James W. Robinson Secondary School Fairfax, Virginia in 1991. Received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology (minor in Mandarin Chinese) from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1995; a Master of Science degree in cardiovascular physiology from Colorado State University (CSU) in 1996; and a Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Colorado in 2002. Completed a three-year residency in emergency medicine, including a chief resident year at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2005. Completed a National Library of Medicine Post-Doctoral Fellowship and Master of Health Informatics at the University of Minnesota in 2006. Completed a two-year residency in aerospace medicine (2008) and a Master of Public Health (2007) at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas. Dr. Lindgren is board certified in emergency medicine.
Experience
At the U.S. Air Force Academy, Dr. Lindgren was a member of the “Wings of Blue” parachute team, where he served as an instructor, a jumpmaster and a member of the academy’s intercollegiate national championship team. As a part of his masters studies at CSU, Dr. Lindgren conducted cardiovascular countermeasure research in the Space Physiology Lab at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Sunnyvale, CA. He conducted high-altitude physiology research during medical school. Dr. Lindgren began working at Johnson Space Center in 2007. As a flight surgeon, he supported International Space Station training and operations in Star City, Russia and water survival training in Ukraine. At the time of his selection to the astronaut corps, he was serving as the Deputy Crew Surgeon for STS-130 and Expedition 24.
NASA Experience
Dr. Lindgren was selected in June 2009 as one of 14 members of the 20th NASA astronaut class. Following the completion of two years of training and evaluation, he was assigned technical duties in the Spacecraft Communicator (CAPCOM) branch and Extravehicular Activity (EVA) branch. Dr. Lindgren served as lead CAPCOM for Expedition 30. In 2013, he started training for Expedition 44/45. After his first spaceflight, Dr. Lindgren served as the Assigned Crew Branch Chief, responsible for crewmembers in training and in flight. He went on to serve as the Deputy Chief of the Flight Integration Division, the organization within the Flight Operations Directorate responsible for integrating training, operational safety, risk management, test and development across divisions and programs at Johnson Space Center. Dr. Lindgren was subsequently assigned to serve as the sole back up crewmember for Demo-2, the test flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon. He was then assigned to command NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission to join Expedition 67 on the ISS. Dr. Lindgren currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Flight Operations Directorate.
Spaceflight Experience
Expedition 44/45 (July 2015 to December 2015) – Along with crewmates Russian Space Agency cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, Dr. Lindgren launched on the Soyuz TMA-17M (callsign Antares) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 23, 2015 and docked to the station after four orbits. They joined Expedition 44 crew members Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and “One Year Mission” crew members NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko. During their 141 days aboard the station, the Antares crew participated in more than a hundred different scientific experiments including research in human physiology, fluid and combustion physics, Earth and space science and technology development. Their research included work with the “Veggie” lettuce experiment which represented the first time a U.S. crew has eaten a crop grown on orbit. The crew conducted dozens of repairs and enhancements to the station’s systems, including the installation of the NORS high pressure gas replenishment system and internal cabling in preparation for the commercial crew vehicle docking and the Node 1 galley. Dr. Lindgren and Expedition 45 Commander Scott Kelly conducted two spacewalks in late 2015. During their first spacewalk, Lindgren installed a thermal blanket on the Alpha-Magnetic Spectrometer and routed external cables, while Kelly performed maintenance on the station robotic arm. Their second spacewalk focused on maintenance of the station external thermal control system. Lindgren, Yui and Kononenko landed their Soyuz spacecraft in Kazakhstan on December 11, 2015. He logged 141 days in space and 15 hours and four minutes of spacewalk time.
Expedition 67 (April 2022 to October 2022) – Dr. Lindgren served as commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station. Joined by first time fliers, pilot Bob “Farmer” Hines, and mission specialist Jessica “Watty” Watkins, and veteran ESA astronaut and mission specialist Samantha Cristoferetti, Dr. Lindgren launched on the Crew Dragon Freedom to join Expedition 67 crewmates Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov on the ISS. The Expedition 67 crew conducted over 100 experiments in multiple disciplines, including research on fiber optic cable production, fluid dynamics, human immune cell function and wound healing. In a “sequel” to the Veggie research conducted during his first mission, Dr. Lindgren grew a number of different plants using hydro- and aeroponics. In addition to working the SpaceX 25 cargo mission, the Expedition 67 crew welcomed the Orbital Flight Test 2 capsules to the ISS – the first successful docking and on-orbit assessment of the Boeing Starliner vehicle. On October 14, 2022 Dr. Lindgren and his Crew-4 crewmates departed the space station and landed off the coast of Florida, in the Atlantic Ocean – the first NASA crew to do so since Apollo 9. As part of Expedition 67, Dr. Lindgren logged an additional 170 days on the ISS for a cumulative total of 311 days in space.
Awards/Honors
NASA Distinguished Service Medal (2022, 2016); Space Exploration Medal (2022); NASA Space Flight Medal (2016); General Counsel’s Commendation (2015); NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal (2013); UTMB Outstanding Resident Award (2008); Distinguished Graduate, U.S. Air Force Primary Flight Surgeon Course (2007); William K. Douglas Aerospace Medicine Scholarship (2007); Hippocrates Award, University of Colorado School of Medicine (2002); Richard C. Hardin Award, University of Colorado School of Medicine (2001); Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society (2001); Edgar and Marion Adler Scholar, University of Colorado School of Medicine (2001, 2002); U.S. Air Force Achievement Medal (1998).
Organizations
Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association; Fellow of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine; Member of the Association of Space Explorers; Texas Master Naturalist; Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society; Space Medicine Association; Christian Medical and Dental Associations and National Eagle Scout Association.
Pronunciation
CHELL LIND‐grin