'''Thomas Dale Akers''' (born May 20, 1951 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA) is a former astronaut in the United States Space Shuttle program.

He graduated from the University of Missouri - Rolla with B.S. and M.S. degrees in Applied Mathematics in 1973 and 1975, respectively.

In 1979, he entered the Air Force, and was selected for the astronaut program in 1987....(continue reading)