Thomas D. Akers was born in 1951 in St. Louis, Missouri. He was his high school's valedictorian With a brilliant mind that he put to good use; Akers received his bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Missouri at Rolla in 1973 and 1975. He graduated from the university Summa Cum Laude and was first in his class.

Akers worked on weapons development programs while he was in active duty at Elgin Air Force Base. During that time, he gained over 2500-logged hours of flying time and gained experience on twenty-five various aircraft.

Thomas was elected to the astronaut program in 1987 with NASA. He would go on to serve in various capacities including taking a position that would ultimately leave him as the contact point for space shuttle software development.

A veteran on four space tours (flights), Thomas D. Akers was on missions in 1990, 1992, 1993, and 1996. He would earn flight medals and other awards. His list of accomplishments and his awards include the USAF Achievement Medal, the Legion of Merit Award, and four NASA Space Flight Medals.

Thomas D. Akers is married and the couple has two adult children. In his free time, he also enjoys restoring cars or using his time off for hunting or fishing.