Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut John "Danny" Olivas!

John "Danny" Olivas, born May 25, 1965 in North Hollywood, California, is a veteran of two space shuttle missions.

His first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-117) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in June 2007.  He conducted two EVAs during the mission with fellow astronaut James Reilly.

His second and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-128) as mission specialist to the ISS in August-September 2009.  He conducted three EVAs with fellow astronauts Nicole Stott and Christer Fuglesang.

Happy birthday, Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang!

Christer Fuglesang, an astronaut for the European Space Agency born March 18, 1957 in Stockholm, Sweden, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights and is the first Swedish astronaut.

His first spaceflight was on Discovery (STS-116) as mission specialist in December 2006 to the International Space Station.  He conducted 3 EVAs during the flight with fellow astronaut Robert Curbeam.  Ground Control played Waterloo by ABBA as one of Fuglesang's wake-up calls.

HIs second and final flight was on Discovery (STS-128) as mission specialist in August-September 2009 to the ISS.  During the mission he conducted two EVAs with fellow astronaut John Olivas.

Discovery (STS-116) launched 2006

Back row (L-R): Robert Curbeam, Nicholas Patrick, Sunita Williams, Christer Fuglesang

Front (L-R): William Oefelein, Joan Higginbotham, Mark Polansky

Mission patch

Discovery (STS-116), launched December 9, 2006 to the International Space Station, had 5 rookie astronauts, the only flight for Joan Higginbotham and the first flight for Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang.  The crew consisted of Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot William Oefelein, Mission Specialist 1 Nicholas Patrick, Mission Specialist 2 Robert Curbeam, Mission Specialist 3 Fuglesang, Mission Specialist 4 Higginbotham and Mission Specialist 5 Sunita Williams.

Discovery's crew performed 4 EVAs over the 14-day mission.  They returned to Earth December 22.  Their wake-up call that morning was Perry Como's Home for the Holidays.

Discovery (STS-128) launched 2009

Seated (L-R):  Kevin Ford, Frederick Sturckow

Standing (L-R): Jose Hernandez, John Olivas, Nicole Stott, Christer Fuglesang, Patrick Forrester

Discovery took off August 28, 2009, the 25th anniversary of its first flight just seconds before midnight, so NASA can say it is the first (probably the only) time a launch took place over two calendar days.

Her crew consisted of Commander Frederick Sturckow, Pilot Kevin Ford, Mission specialist 1 Patrick Forrester, Mission Specialist 2 Jose Hernandez, Mission Specialist 3 John Olivas, Mission Specialist 4 Christer Fuglesang (ESA - Sweden) and Mission Specialist Nicole Stott.

It is the first time two astronauts of Mexican heritage were in space at the same time.  Olivas performed 3 EVAs, once with Stott and twice with Fuglesang.

Discovery returned to Earth September 8.