Astronaut Dave Low born 1956

George David Low, born February 19, 1956 in Cleveland, Ohio, went into space three times during his career as an astronaut.

His first mission was aboard Columbia (STS-32) as mission specialist in January 1990.  He spent almost 11 days in space, which at the time was the longest shuttle mission yet.

His second mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-43) as mission specialist in August 1991.  He spent almost 9 hours in space.

His third and final mission was on Endeavour (STS-57) as mission specialist in June 1993. He spent almost 10 days in space. 

He passed away in March 2008 from colon cancer.

Happy birthday, astronaut Michael Baker!

Astronaut Michael Baker, born October 27, 1953 in Memphis, Tennessee, has been to space four times.  

His first trip was aboard Atlantis (STS-43) as pilot in August 1991.  He spent almost 9 days in space, making 142 orbits.

His second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-52) as pilot in October-November 1992.  He celebrated his 39th birthday during the mission.  He spent almost 10 days in space and made 159 orbits.

His third mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-68) as commander in September-October 1994. He spent over 11 days in space and made 182 orbits.

His fourth and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-81) as commander to the Mir space station in January 1997.  It was the second flight to Mir to involve an exchange of US astronauts. He spent over 10 days in space and made 160 orbits.

Atlantis (STS-43) launched 1991

STS-43 crew (L-R): Shannon Lucid, James Adamson, John Blaha, David Low, Michael Baker

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-43), the ninth mission for this shuttle, was launched August 2, 1991 to deploy the fourth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-5).  Its crew consisted of Commander John Blaha, Pilot Michael Baker, Shannon Lucid, David Low and James Adamson.

Other than the deployment of the TDRS-5, the crew remained busy with a variety of experiments throughout the nine-day mission.

They returned to Earth on August 11.

Happy birthday, space shuttle astronaut James Adamson!

James Adamson, born March 3, 1946 in Warsaw, New York, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights.  He was a military pilot in the Vietnam War and became an employee of NASA at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center from 1981 to 1992.

His first shuttle flight was on Columbia (STS-28) in August 1989 as mission specialist.  It was a mission dedicated to the Department of Defense purposes.

His second mission was on Atlantis (STS-43) in August 1991, also as mission specialist.  Adamson retired from NASA in June 1992.

Happy birthday, 6-time astronaut John Blaha!

John Elmer Blaha, born August 26, 1942 in San Antonio, made 6 trips to space aboard space shuttles and one four-month stay on Mir.

His first flight was on board Discovery (STS-29) in March 1989.  His second mission was also on Discovery (STS-33) in November 1989. His third mission (STS-43) was on Atlantis in August 1991.  The fourth was on Columbia (STS-58) in October 1993, during which they performed numerous medical experiments expanding our knowledge of human physiology in space.

His fifth flight took him to Mir on Atlantis (STS-79) in September 1996 where he would spend the next four months.  Atlantis brought Shannon Lucid home from Mir.

Blaha returned to Earth on Atlantis (STS-81) in January 1997.