She is a veteran astronaut who flew on three Space Shuttle missions and played a leading role in building the International Space Station. Her determination eventually led her to join NASA and take a leading role in building the International Space Station through international collaboration. “As a commander I needed to know about everybody because the most important system I operated on the space station was the crew,” she said. That legacy continues in the International Space Station (ISS) which brings together five space agencies and twenty-three nations in a single effort to work in orbit. The multinational experience of building the International Space Station helped shape a new spirit of cooperation in space exploration.