 Her position as leader of the Atlantis Expedition is later taken over by Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter and following Carter's return to Earth by Richard Woolsey.Samantha "Sam" Carter played by British-born Canadian actress Amanda Tapping is an astrophysicist and USAF Colonel.Samantha Carter is a member of the SGC's flagship team, SG-1, having served there for ten years with Carter herself having been under the rank of Captain, Major and then Lieutenant Colonel and later, at an unknown point after the end of the Ori conflict in Stargate SG-1, Carter is promoted to a "full bird" Colonel and is transferred to the Midway space station to oversee the final stages of completion.