Commander Susan Kilrain is a renowned astronaut, a distinguished navy test pilot and aerospace engineer, and a world traveler. She is the youngest person, and one of only three women, to pilot the space shuttle. She served twenty years in the navy paving the way for women. She has flown more than 3,000 flight hours in more than thirty different aircraft, and she was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal. Commander Kilrain flew as pilot of STS-83 and STS-94, spending a total of more than twenty days in space. Her first mission was cut short due to a potentially life-threatening shuttle system failure.