Endeavour (STS-127) launched 2009

STS-127 crew (L-R): David Wolf, Chris Cassidy, Doug Hurley, Julie Payette, Mark Polansky, Thomas Marshburn, Timothy Kopra

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-127), launched July 15, 2009, delivered the final components of the Japanese Experiment Module to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley, Chris Cassidy, Julie Payette (CSA), Thomas Marshburn, David Wolf, and Timothy Kopra.

It was the first time two Candians were in space at the same time: Payette and Robert Thirsk.  Wolf, Kopra, Marshburn, and Cassidy performed 5 EVAs during the mission.

Kopra stayed on board the ISS and Koichi Wakata returned with the rest of the crew on July 31.

Piers Sellers, British astronaut, born 1955

Piers Sellers, born April 11, 1955 in East Sussex, England, was a veteran of three space shuttle missions.

His first trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-112) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in October 2002.  He conducted three EVAs with fellow astronaut David Wolf for a total of over 19 hours.

His second mission was aboard Discovery (STS-121) as mission specialist to the ISS in July 2006.  He conducted three more EVAs with fellow astronaut Michael Fossum.

His third and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-132) as mission specialist to the ISS in May 2010.  He operated the Canadarm 2 robotic arm during the mission.

He passed away in December 2016 of pancreatic cancer.

Endeavour (STS-89) launched 1998

STS-89 crew:

Front row (L-R): Joe Edwards, Terrence Wilcutt, Bonnie Dunbar

Back row (L-R): David Wolf, Salizhan Sharipov, James Reilly, Andy Thomas, Michael Anderson

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-89) was launched January 22, 1998 to the space station Mir.  Its crew consisted of Commander Terrence Wilcutt, Pilot Joe Edwards, James Reilly, Michael Anderson, Bonnie Dunbar, Salizhan Sharipov (Roscosmos) and Andy Thomas. 

Endeavour carried Andy Thomas to Mir and brought David Wolf back.  Both were part of expedition Mir EO-24.  The crew returned to Earth January 31.

Columbia (STS-58) launched 1993

Seated (L-R): David Wolf, Shannon Lucid, Rhea Seddon, Richard Searfoss; 

Standing (L-R): John Blaha, William McArthur, Martin Fettman

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-58), launched October 18, 1993, used for the first time the Portable In-Flight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT) simulation software.  Its crew consisted of Commander John Blaha, Pilot Richard Searfoss, Rhea Seddon, William McArthur, David Wolf, Shannon Lucid and Martin Fettman.

PILOT was tested to be used as a tool to help the mission commander and shuttle pilot maintain proficiency for approach and landing. 

During the mission, Rhea Seddon sent a message to her husband astronaut Robert Gibson when she surpassed his total time of almost 633 hours.  Gibson teased that he had more launches than she did at the time.

Atlantis (STS-86) launched 1997

Front row (L-R): Michael Bloomfield, James Wetherbee, Wendy Lawrence; 

Back row: Jean-Loup Chrétien, Scott Parazynski, Vladimir Titov, Michael Foale.

(This picture must have been taken after the flight since Wolf is not in it.)

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-86), launched September 25, 1997, was the seventh shuttle mission to Mir and the last before Atlantis was taken out of service for maintenance and upgrades.  Its crew consisted of Commander James Wetherbee, Pilot Michael Bloomfield, Vladimir Titov (Roscosmos), Scott Parazynski, Jean-Loup Chretien (National Center for Space Studies), Wendy Lawrence and David Wolf.

Wolf replaced Michael Foale as the resident U.S. astronaut on Mir, the decision made only the night before the launch by NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin.  There had been political pressure on NASA to discontinue American astronauts on Mir after problems during Foale's residence and his predecessor Jerry Linenger. 

Parazynski and Titov conducted one EVA for about 5 hours.

The crew, with Foale instead of Wolf, landed October 6.

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-112) launched 2002

Sandra Magnus, David Wolf, Pamela Melroy, Jeffrey Ashby, Peirs Sellers, Fydor Yurchikhin

Space Shuttle Atlantis took off from Kennedy Space Center  October 7, 2002 on mission STS-112.  Her crew consisted of Commander Jeffrey Ashby, Pilot Pamela Melroy, Mission Specialist 1 Piers Sellers, Mission Specialist 2 Sandra Magnus, Mission Specialist 3 David Wolf, and Mission Specialist Fyodor Yurchikhin.

During the launch, a chunk of foam broke off the external tank and created a 4"x3" dent in an attachment to one of the solid booster rocket.  Despite realizing the dangers of such an incident, NASA decided to continue with launches as scheduled.  Endeavour's flight in November 2002 went without incident.  The next flight was STS-107, Columbia, which ended in disaster.

Pam Melroy's wake up call on Day 10 was Prime Time from Alan Parsons Project!  What a gal!

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut David Wolf!

David Wolf, born August 23, 1956, in Indianapolis, Indiana, is veteran of four space flights, one trip aboard Mir, seven EVA's and one ballot.  His first space shuttle mission was aboard Columbia (STS-58) in October 1993.  Also on that mission was Shannon "Right Stuff" Lucid, who was on her 4th trip into space.  (I wonder if she dozed off during launch?).

Wolf's second trip was on Atlantis (STS-86) in September 1997, which took him up to the space station Mir.  During his 128-day visit, he became the first American to cast a vote in a presidential election.  He returned to Earth on Endeavour (STS-89) January 1998.

His third trip was aboard Atlantis (STS-112), an eleven day mission to the International Space Station in October 2002.

His final trip (STS-127) was on Endeavor in July 2009 to the ISS.  The launch of the Endeavour was successful on its 6th attempt.