Happy birthday. astronaut Donald Thomas!

Donald Alan Thomas, born May 6, 1955 in Cleveland, Ohio, has made four trips into space.  He got his BS in Physics from Case Western Reserve University in 1977, a MS and PhD in Materials Science, both from Cornell University.

NASA selected him as an astronaut in January 1990.  His first mission was aboard Columbia (STS-65) as mission specialist in July 1994, with birthday twin Chiaki Mukai. It was the mission that deployed the International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) into space.  He spent almost 15 days in space.

His second flight was aboard Discovery (SGS-70) as mission specialist in July 1995.  It was the last of seven missions to carry a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) into orbit.  He spent 9 days in space.

On his third mission, he flew on Columbia (STS-83) as mission specialist in April 1997.  The flight was cut short due to a technical problem in a fuel cell, and the crew landed after just 4 days.

His fourth and final spaceflight was aboard Columbia (STS-94) as mission specialist in July 1997.  It was the re-flight of STS-83 just three months before.  The mission was a success and he landed after almost 16 days in space.

Happy birthday, Japanese astronaut Chiaki Mukai, first Asian woman in space

Chiaki Mukai, born May 6, 1952 in Japan, is the first Japanese woman in space, the first Asian woman, and the first Japanese citizen go to into space twice.

Her first mission was aboard Columbia (STS-65) as payload specialist in July 1994.  She carried out experiments sponsored by NASDA, the precursor to the Japanese Space Exploration Agency.

Her second and final mission was aboard Discovery (STS-95) as payload specialist in October-November 1998. It was the final flight for astronaut John Glenn as well.

Columbia (STS-65) launched 1994

STS-65 crew 

Seated (L-R): Richard Hieb, Robert Cabana, Donald Thomas

Standing (L-R): Leroy Chiao, James Halsell, Chiaki Mukai, Carl Walz

Mission patch

Space shuttle Columbia (STS-65), launched July 8, 1994, was the second flight of the Spacelab to conduct research in a microgravity environment. Its crew consisted of Commander Robert Cabana, Pilot James Halsell, Richard Hieb, Carl Walz, Leroy Chiao, Donald Thomas, and Chiaki Mukai.

They returned to Earth July 23.

Happy birthday, JAXA astronaut Naoko Yamazaki!

Naoko Yamazaki, born December 27, 1970 in Matsudo City, Japan, is an astronaut from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency and flew on the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-131) in April 2010.  She is the second Japanese woman in space after Chiaki Mukai.  STS-131 was the first time two Japanese astronauts were in space at the same time: Yamazaki on Discovery and Soichi Noguchi on the International Space Station.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut & UFO spotter, Leroy Chiao!

Leroy Chiao, born August 28, 1960 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a veteran of 3three Space Shuttle flights and one Soyuz mission to the International Space Station.  He received a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1987.

His first mission was on board Columbia (STS-65) in July 1994, which carried the first Japanese woman in to space, Chiaki Mukai.

Chiao's second trip was on board Endeavour (STS-72) in January 1996 and his third was aboard Discovery in October 2000 (STS-92).  Since he was fluent in Mandarin Chinese, he studied Russian and flew to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-5, Expedition 10, in October 2004.  He remained on the ISS until April 2005.

Here is some interesting footage of him experiencing strange lights during an EVA:

John Glenn returns to space 1998

Space Shuttle Discovery Crew - Back row: Mission Specialist 2 Scott E. Parazynski, Payload Specialist 1 Chiaki Mukai, Mission Specialist 1 Pedro Duque, Payload Specialist 2 John H. Glenn, Jr.

Front row: Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Commander Curtis L. Brown, Jr.

Astronaut and senator John Glenn returned to space on board the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-95), October 29, 1998.  He became the oldest man to date to go into space.  Also aboard was Pedro Duque of Spain, the country's first astronaut.  The rest of the crew consisted of Commander Curtis Brown, Pilot Steven Lindsey, Scott Parazynski, Stephen Robinson and Chiaki Mukai.

Glenn made history as part of NASA's Mercury project to become the first American to orbit Earth. in the Friendship 7 in 1962.  His second return to space was at the age of 77 as a payload specialist.  NASA conducted experiments on Glenn while in space to give them an understanding of the effects of space on aging.