Dee O'Hara ‎

Dolores B. "Dee" O'Hara (born August 9, 1935, in Nampa, Idaho) is a retired nurse who was the first aerospace nurse to NASA's first astronauts, laying the foundation to the field of Space nursing. O'Hara was the official nurse to the Mercury Seven astronauts and their families, continuing to support the Gemini Program, Apollo astronauts and Skylab. Astronaut John Glenn, pilot of the Mercury-Atlas 6 space mission, confers with Astronaut Nurse Dolores B. O'Hara, R.N., during MA-6 pre-launch preparations.

Early life O'Hara was born on August 9, 1935, in Nampa, Idaho. In 1956 graduated from the Providence Hospital School of Nursing in Portland, Oregon. After graduation, between 1956 - 1957 O'Hara completed coursework in Operating Room Technique in the University of Oregon. She worked as a surgical nurse at the University of Oregon Medical School.

O'Hara also helped set up the portable hospital at the Grand Bahama Island to support post flight examination and, if needed, treat injured astronauts after landing (especially in the sub orbital flights).

In 1964, she moved to Houston to set up the Flight Medicine Clinic at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. She was the Occupational Health Nurse until 1967, and the manager of the Preventive Medicine Office between 1967 and 1971.

During the Gemini Program she worked with the astronauts and the families, while she was the only nurse along the five flight surgeons.

O'Hara participated in every launch in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. After Skylab, she was also invited to participate in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Program (ASTP) and the first shuttle flight in 1981. During her time as the Astronaut's Nurse, she received a large amount of fan mail.

After her retirement O'Hara continued to volunteer at the Ames Human Research Center. She is also an outside member of the Human Research Institutional Review Board.

Portrayals In the 1998 miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, O'Hara was portrayed by Ann Magnuson.

In the 2020 television series The Right Stuff, she was portrayed by Kaley Ronayne.