You can find Clayton Anderson online at the following locations:

Clay’s Training Journals
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts131/ca_tr.html

Clay’s Blog
http://www.1011now.com/spaceblog

Clay’s Tweets
http://twitter.com/astro_clay

Hastings College Trustee Clayton Anderson ‘81 returns to space aboard the space shuttle Discovery scheduled to launch Monday, April 5. As a mission specialist among the STS-131 crew, Anderson will perform three spacewalks as construction wraps up on the International Space Station.

This is Anderson’s second mission to space. He became Nebraska’s first NASA astronaut when he launched aboard the shuttle Atlantis in 2007.

A native of Ashland, Neb., Anderson graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics from Hastings College in 1981. He later earned his Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University.

Anderson joined NASA’s Johnson Space Center in 1983 and served in various capacities at NASA before finally receiving a spaceflight assignment in June 2007. He credits two of his former professors at Hastings College, Dr. Clyde Sachtleben, professor emeritus of physics, and Dr. Carl Throckmorton, professor emeritus of physics and mathematics, with helping him achieve his career goal of spaceflight.

Anderson is a Hastings College Bronco Award and Outstanding Alumni Award recipient. He received an honorary doctor of science degree from Hastings College in 2004 and was inducted into the College’s prestigious Pro Rege Society in 2008. Anderson became a member of the Hastings College Board of Trustees in 2009.

Hastings College, founded in 1882, is a private, four-year liberal arts institution affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). A total of 64 majors in 32 areas of study and 12 pre-professional programs are offered to more than 1,150 students. Hastings College was named 75th Best Value College in the nation and #1 in Nebraska by Forbes.com and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. It was named a 2010 “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review and rated a “Best Buy in College Education” by Barron’s. Visit www.hastings.edu for more information.