Henry "Hank" Hartsfield, born November 21, 1933 in Birmingham, Alabama, was a veteran of 3 Space Shuttle flights, including one of the first, STS-4 aboard Columbia. In June 1982, he and Ken Mattingly made the final test run of the Space Shuttle program, which was the last time only two astronauts were aboard a shuttle.
His second flight was on Discovery (STS-41-D) in August-September 1984 as commander. Its initial launch date was June 26 but at T-6 seconds before blast off, the launch was aborted. Its mission was delayed over two months.
His third and final flight was aboard Challenger (STS-61-A) in October-November 1985. It was the last successful flight of the Challenger. He was commander of the only space shuttle mission to carry 8 astronauts for the entire mission.
Hartsfield passed away in July 2014 from complications due to back surgery.
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