Columbia (STS-28) launched 1989

STS-28 crew

Front row (L-R): Richard Richards, Brewster Shaw, David Leestma

Back row (L-R): Mark Brown, James Adamson

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-28), launched August 8, 1989, was the fourth mission dedicated to the Department of Defense.  Its crew consisted of Commander Brewster Shaw, Pilot Richard Richards, James Adamson, David Leestma and Mark Brown.

The crew deployed two reconnaissance satellites during the mission.  They returned to Earth August 13.

Atlantis (STS-43) launched 1991

STS-43 crew (L-R): Shannon Lucid, James Adamson, John Blaha, David Low, Michael Baker

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-43), the ninth mission for this shuttle, was launched August 2, 1991 to deploy the fourth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-5).  Its crew consisted of Commander John Blaha, Pilot Michael Baker, Shannon Lucid, David Low and James Adamson.

Other than the deployment of the TDRS-5, the crew remained busy with a variety of experiments throughout the nine-day mission.

They returned to Earth on August 11.

Happy birthday, space shuttle astronaut James Adamson!

James Adamson, born March 3, 1946 in Warsaw, New York, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights.  He was a military pilot in the Vietnam War and became an employee of NASA at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center from 1981 to 1992.

His first shuttle flight was on Columbia (STS-28) in August 1989 as mission specialist.  It was a mission dedicated to the Department of Defense purposes.

His second mission was on Atlantis (STS-43) in August 1991, also as mission specialist.  Adamson retired from NASA in June 1992.