Back row (L-R): Robert Curbeam, Stephen Robinson, Jan Davis, Bjami Tryggvason
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Discovery, launched August 7, 1997, carried a number of experiments into space. Its crew consisted of Commander Curtis Brown, Pilot Kent Rominger (whose birthday is today), Jan Davis, Robert Curbeam, Stephen Robinson, and Bjami Tryggvason (CSA).
Back row (L-R): Daniel Bursch, Mario Runco, Marc Garneau, Andrew Thomas
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-77), launched May 19, 1996, carried a Coca-Cola fountain dispenser into space as part of opening the commercial space frontier. Its crew consisted of Commander John Casper, Pilot Curtis Brown, Andrew Thomas, Daniel Bursch, Mario Runco, and Marc Garneau (CSA).
The Coca-Cola dispenser was developed for use on the Endeavour to see if carbonated beverages can be produced in microgravity, which causes bubble nucleation resulting in foam formation.
Back row (L-R): Jan Davis, Mark Lee, Robert Gibson, Mae Jemison, Mamoru Mohri
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-47), launched September 12, 1992, was the fiftieth mission of NASA's shuttle program and the second flight for Endeavour. Its crew consisted of Commander Robert L. Gibson, Pilot Curtis Brown, Mark Lee, Jay Apt, Jan Davis, Mae Jemison and Mamoru Mohri (JAXA).
It was the first flight for an African-American female, Mae C. Jemison. It was the first time a married couple went into space, Mark Lee and Jan Davis. NASA has a rule prohibiting married couples from serving on the same mission, but Lee and Davis got married in a secret ceremony a few weeks prior. By the time NASA found out, it was too late to do anything.
Mamoru Mohri became the first Japanese astronaut to fly on a shuttle mission, representing JAXA, as a payload specialist.
Standing (L-R): Robert Curbeam, Stephen Robinson, Nancy Jan Davis, Bjarni Tryggvason
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-85) blasted off August 7, 1997 with the first Icelandic-born astronaut, Bjarni Tryggvason, payload specialist. The rest of the crew consisted of Commander Curtis Brown, Pilot Kent Rominger, Nancy Jan Davis, Robert Curbeam, and Stephen Robinson. Tryggvason was an astronaut from the Canadian Space Agency.
This was the fourth cooperative mission between the German Space Agency and NASA. The crew returned to Earth August 19, a day later than scheduled due to fog at the Kennedy Space Center.
Left to right; C. Michael Foale, Claude Nicollier, Scott J. Kelly, Curtis L. Brown, Jr., Jean-Francois Clervoy, John M. Grunsfeld and Steven L. Smith
Mission patch
Discovery blasted off December 19, 1999 on mission STS-103 to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Her international crew consisted of Commander Curtis Brown, Pilot Scott Kelly, mission specialists John Grunsfeld, Jean-Francois Clervoy (ESA), Michael Foale, Steven Smith and Claude Nicollier (ESA)
Four EVAs were scheduled but scaled back to only three. Smith and Grunsfeld each performed two, while Foale and Nicollier did one. Each EVA lasted a little over 8 hours.
Discovery attained the highest altitude for a Space Shuttle flight, 378 miles! It was the last solo flight for Discovery since the rest were to the International Space Station. It was the third time a crew has spent Christmas in space.
It was the fourth and final flight of Claude Nicollier, the first Swiss astronaut. It was Scott Kelly's inaugural flight.
(L-R): Jean-Francois Clervoy, Scott Parazynski, Curtis Brown, Jr., Joseph Tanner, Donald McMonagle, Ellen Ochoa
Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-66) blasted off November 3, 1994 from Kennedy Space Center. It was the first flight for astronauts Joseph Tanner, Scott Parazynski, and Jean-Francois Clervoy, astronaut from the National Centre for Space Studies, the French space agency. It was also the second flight for the first Latina in space, Ellen Ochoa.
Clervoy's fellow astronauts nicknamed him "Billy Bob" since they had trouble pronouncing his name.
The crew took advantage of the timing to study the hole in ozone over the Antarctic. For the next 14 years, Atlantis' flights were dedicated to Mir or the International Space Station until the repair mission to the Hubble Telescope in 2009.
Atlantis landed at Edwards Air Force Base November 14.
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.
