Stephen Scot Oswald, born June 30, 1951 in Seattle, Washington, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights.
His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-42) as pilot in January 1992. The shuttle carried the International Microgravity Laboratory and Spacelab module.
His second mission was again aboard Discovery (STS-56) as pilot in April 1993.
His third and final mission was as commander on Endeavour (STS-67) in March 1995.
George Zamka, born June 29, 1962 in Jersey City, New Jersey, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights. He graduated with a Bachelor's in mathematics from the US Naval Academy in 1984. Then he became a Second Lieutenant in the US Marines. In 1994, he graduated from the US Air Force Test Pilot School.
His first trip into space was aboard Discovery (STS-120) as pilot October-November 2007 to the International Space Station.
His second and final mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-130) as commander in February 2010 to the ISS.
Frank Zane, born June 28, 1942 in Kingston, Pennsylvania, is a three-time Mr. Olympia. He was one of my inspirations during my dream days. He began bodybuilding as a teenager and received a Bachelor of Science. He taught mathematics and chemistry while continuing his bodybuilding.
He won his IFBB Mr. Olympia titles 1977-1979. Frank is one of only three men to have beaten Arnold Schwarzenegger in a bodybuilding contest.
Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-4), launched June 27, 1982, was the final test flight for the shuttle program. After a successful week-long mission, the shuttle was deemed to be operational. Its crew consisted of Commander Ken Mattingly and Pilot Henry Hartsfield.
After launch, the solid rocket boosters were lost when their main parachutes failed.
Sidney Gutierrez, born June 27, 1951 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a veteran of two space shuttle missions. NASA selected him in May 1984 and he became an astronaut in June 1985.
His first flight was aboard Columbia (STS-40) as pilot in June 1991. He spent a little over 9 hours in space.
His second and final mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-59) as commander in April 1994. He spent over 5 days in space. He retired from NASA shortly after.
Soyuz MS-11/Expedition 58 (L-R): Anne McClain, Oleg Kononenko, David Saint-Jacques
Mission patch
The crew of Soyuz MS-11, launched December 2018, returned from the International Space Station yesterday June 24, 2019 in Kazakhstan. The crew consisted of Commander Oleg Kononenko (Roscosmos), David Saint-Jacques (CSA) and Anne McClain (NASA).
The crew participated in Expedition 58 upon arrival at the ISS with Kononenko as commander. When Soyuz MS-12 arrived in March 2019, they transferred Expedition 59 to the new crew.
It was the first flight for both McClain and Saint-Jacques, and the fourth for Kononenko.
John Davey, born June 25, 1939(?), is an actor best known for his portrayal of Captain Marvel in Filmation's Saturday morning TV show Shazam! I wasn't able to find any information on his birthday on-line, but I think my source on FB is pretty reliable. He graduated from high school in Nevada in 1957 so I'm guessing his birth year to be 1939.
Shazam! was only on for a few seasons but I really enjoyed watching him and Isis.
Ellison Onizuka, born June 24, 1946 in Kealakekua, Hawai'i, made a trip into space, but was killed aboard the space shuttle Challenger when it was destroyed upon launch in January 1986. He was the first Asian-American astronaut and the first of Japanese ancestry to go into space.
His first mission was as mission specialist aboard Discovery (STS-51-C) in January 1985. He spent 3 days in space.
He was aboard Challenger (STS-51-L) a year later and passed away during its destruction.
Soyuz T-6 (L-R): Aleksandr Ivanchenkov, Jean-Loup Chretien, Vladimir Dzhanibekov
Mission patch
Soyuz T-6, launched June 24, 1982, carried the first French astronaut into space. Its crew consisted of Commander Vladimir Dzhanibekov, Flight Engineer Aleksandr Ivanchenkov and Jean-Loup Chretien.
They docked manually with Salyut 7 after problems with the Soyuz space capsule's automatic docking system arose. They completed experiments with the crew of Soyuz T-5, the resident crew of Salyut 7.
Tim Burton's Batman was released June 23, 1989. Although Michael Keaton starred in the lead role, Jack Nicholson, playing the Joker, got top billing. The movie also starred Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale and Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent. Jack Nicholson's take from the movie is rumored to be about $60 million, to date the highest single-movie take for an actor.
Batman won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction - Set Decoration. It grossed over $400 million world-wide and broke numerous box office records.
Donn Fulton Eisele, born June 23, 1930, went into space only once aboard Apollo 7. He traveled with fellow astronauts Wally Schirra and Walt Cunningham. The mission was to test the spacecraft's ability to travel to the moon, since modifications had been made to the capsule after the Apollo 1 tragedy the year before.
The mission was a success but during the flight, Wally Schirra developed a head cold. In space, without the pull of gravity, one's sinuses cannot drain as they do on Earth, thus Schirra became irritable. Eisele contracted the same head cold and Cunningham might have to (or not, depending upon which story you listen to). Upon re-entry, NASA demanded the crew wear their helmets but Schirra said they would not be able to clear their congestion and their ear drums might burst.
Schirra made the final decision not to wear helmets and the crew landed safely, but none of them went into space after that.
Eisele died of a heart attack in December 1987 during a business trip to Tokyo.
Yuri Artyukhin, born June 22, 1930, was a Russian cosmonaut who went into space once aboard Soyuz 14. He had been chosen to fly on Voskhod 3 but it was cancelled. He flew as Flight Engineer on Soyuz 14 to Salyut 3 in July 1974 and spent 15 days in space.
Gennady Padalka, born June 21, 1958, holds the current record for the longest time spent in space, 879 days. That's time spent on both Mir and the International Space Station. He attained the rank of colonel in the Russian Air Force.
His first flight into space was aboard Soyuz TM-28 in August 1998 as commander as part of Mir expedition EO-26. He returned to Earth in February 1999.
His second flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-4 in April 2004 as commander to the ISS as part of Expedition 9.
His third flight was on Soyuz TMA-14 in March 2009 as commander of Expeditions 19 and 20 on the ISS. During the mission, he logged almost 16 hours of EVA time.
His fourth flight was on Soyuz TMA-04M in May 2012 as flight engineer for Expedition 31 and then commander of Expedition 32.
His fifth and final flight was about Soyuz TMA-16M in March 2015 as commander for Expeditions 43 and 44.
Back row (L-R): Jean-Jacques Favier, Richard Linnehan, Susan Helms, Charles Brady, Robert Thirsk
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-78), launched June 20, 1996, studied the effects long-duration spaceflight on the human body, in preparation for International Space Station expeditions.
Its crew consisted of Commander Terence Henricks, Pilot Kevin Kregel, Richard Linnehan, Susan Helms, Charles Brady, Jean-Jacques Favier (CNES) and Robert Thirsk (CSA).
When the Solid Rocket Boosters were recovered, analysis showed damage to field joints, probably caused by hot gases. There was no action with safety, but it was similar damage that caused Challenger to break apart in 1986.
Batman Returns, the sequel to Tim Burton's blockbuster Batman, was released June 19, 1992 to positive reviews. It starred Michael Keaton as Batman, Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman and Danny Devito as the Penguin. It was the highest-grossing opening for a film at that time. Jurassic Park beat its record the next year.
It received nominations for two Academy Awards: Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup. The movie received criticism for its dark nature, violence and sexual references.
Front Row (L-R): Daniel Bradenstein, John Creighton
Back Row (L-R): Shannon Lucid, Steven Nagel, John Fabian, Saiman Al Saud, Patrick Baudry
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-51-G), launched June 17, 1985, carried Sultan Saiman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia into orbit. He is the first Arab, first Muslim and the first member of a royal family to travel into space.
The entire crew consisted of Commander Daniel Brandenstein, Pilot John Creighton, John Fabian, Steven Nagel, Shannon Lucid, Patrick Baudry, and Saud (Royal Saudi Air Force). During the mission, the Arabsat-1B (Arab Satellite Communications Organization) was deployed.
Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds in the title role, opened June 17, 2011. I enjoyed the movie despite so many people, including Reynolds, hating it. I think in Reynold's case, it had more to do with him not getting along at all with the director Martin Campbell. Campbell reportedly blamed the movie's non-success on interference from Warner Brothers.
Oh, well.
I enjoyed the movie because Green Lantern is one of my favorite DC superheroes. It did manage to take the #1 spot the weekend it opened, but everything went south right after.
