Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Alvin Drew!

Alvin Drew, born November 5, 1962 in Washington, DC, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights and during his last shuttle mission became the 200th person to walk in space.

His first mission into space was aboard Endeavour (STS-118) as mission specialist in August 2007 to the International Space Station.  It was the first flight of the Endeavour after the Columbia disaster.  Drew and fellow astronaut Barbara Morgan participated in an education event on August 16 (Day 9) with students in Alexandria, Virginia.

His wake-up songs are two songs I really like: Outa-space by Billy Preston and Learn to Fly by the Foo Fighters.

Drew's second mission into space was aboard Discovery (STS-133) in February-March 2011 to the International Space Station.  It was the 39th and final mission of Discovery.  It completed a cumulative total of 365 days in space.  Drew performed the mission's first EVA on Day 5 with fellow astronaut Steve Bowen.  That is when Drew became the 200th person to walk in space.

Endeavour (STS-118) launched 2007

STS-118 crew (L-R): Richard Mastracchio, Barbara Morgan, Charles Hobaugh, Scott Kelly,  Tracy Caldwell, Dafydd Williams, Alvin Drew.

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-118), launched August 8, 2007 to the International Space Station, was the first flight of Endeavour since the Columbia disaster in 2003.  Its crew consisted of Commander Scott Kelly, Pilot Charles Hobaugh, Tracy Caldwell, Richard Mastracchio, Dafydd Williams, Barbara Morgan and Alvin Drew.

Barbara Morgan had trained as a backup to Christa McAuliffe as NASA's Teacher in Space, but that ended with the Challenger disaster.  However, when Morgan flew on STS-118, she was not considered a Mission Specialist Educator, but rather a Mission Specialist who had once been a teacher.  During the mission, she spoke to school children on Earth.

Four EVAs were conducted by Rick Mastracchio, Dafydd Williams and Clayton Anderson, who had arrived on the ISS with STS-117. 

They returned to Earth August 21.

Celebrating Black History Month - Alvin Drew, black astronaut

Colonel Alvin Drew, born November 5, 1962 in Washington, DC, is a black astronaut who is a veteran of two space shuttle flights.

His first flight into space was aboard Endeavour (STS-118) in August 2007 to the International Space Station as mission specialist.

His second flight was on Discovery (STS-133) February-March 2011, during which he became the 200th person to walk in space.

Discovery's final launch 2011

From left to right: Alvin Drew, Nicole Stott, Eric Boe, Steven Lindsey, Michael Barratt and Steve Bowen

Mission Patch

Space Shuttle Discovery took off February 24, 2011, NASA's 133rd shuttle mission to the International Space Station and the last flight of Discovery.  Its crew consisted of Commander Steven Lindsey, Pilot Eric Boe, Nicole Stott, Alvin Drew, Michael Barratt, Stephen Bowen

It was originally slated to launch in September 2010, but moved back to October 2010 and then February 2011.  It also took several attempts to land, scrubbing the first five tries.

They returned to Earth March 9.