Dr. Tamara Jernigan To Serve As Carnival Pride Godmother

Dr. Tamara Jernigan, a pioneer in U.S. space travel who has logged more flight hours on the space shuttle than any other female astronaut in history, has been selected to serve as godmother of the 88,500-ton Carnival Pride, Carnival Cruise Lines' new cruise ship which will launch year-round seven-day service from Port Canaveral, Fla., Jan. 12.

Dr. Jernigan will officially name Carnival Pride in a dockside ceremony at Port Canaveral Jan. 7. Subsequent to this, the vessel will operate a three-day Bahamas voyage Jan. 9-12, then launch seven-day eastern and western Caribbean service from Port Canaveral Jan. 12.

Dr. Jernigan's role as Carnival Pride godmother represents yet another milestone in a remarkable career that includes five flights on the Space Shuttle comprising 1,512 hours in space -- the most of any female astronaut. She is also the youngest female astronaut selected to participate in a manned space mission.

Her many space flight achievements include a record-setting 423-hour, 53-minute mission aboard the space shuttle Columbia, as well as a 253-hour, 13-minute mission aboard the Discovery during which the crew performed the first docking to the International Space Station.