Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut James Wetherbee!

James Wetherbee, born November 27, 1952 in Flushing, New York, has been in space six times.

His first mission was aboard Columbia (STS-32) as pilot in January 1990.  It was the third night landing of the space shuttle program.

His second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-52) as commander in October-November 1992.  The mission involved projects with the Italian Space Agency and National Centre for Space Studies (France).   

His third flight was aboard Discovery (STS-63) as commander in February 1995.  It was the second mission of the Space Shuttle/Mir program.  It was the first rendezvous of NASA's shuttle and the Mir space station.

His fourth flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-86) as commander to Mir in September-October 1997. It was the seventh Mir docking mission.

His fifth flight was aboard Discovery (STS-102) as commander to the International Space Station in March 2001.  The flight rotated Expeditions 1 and 2 and resupplied the ISS.

His sixth and final flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-113) as commander to the ISS in November-December 2002.  The mission rotated Expeditions 5 and 6. 

He left NASA in 2005.

Discovery (STS-63) launched 1995

STS-63 crew

First row (L-R): Janice Voss, Eileen Collins, James Wetherbee, Vladimir Titov

Back row (L-R): Bernard Harris, Michael Foale

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-63), launched February 3, 1995, was the first space shuttle rendezvous with the space station Mir.  Its crew consisted of Commander James Wetherbee, Pilot Eileen Collins, Bernard Harris, Michael Foale, Janice Voss, and Vladimir Titov (Roscosmos).  It was the first flight to have a female pilot.

Foale and Harris performed an EVA for over 4 1/2 hours.

They returned to Earth February 11.

Endeavour (STS-113) launched 2002

STS-113 (L-R): Paul S. Lockhart, Michael López-Alegría, John Herrington, James D. Wetherbee

Mission patch

Expedition 6 crew (L-R): Donald Pettit, Ken Bowersox and Nikolai Budarin

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-113), launched November 23, 2002, was a mission to exchange Expeditions 5 and 6 on the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander James Wetherbee, Pilot Paul Lockhart, Michael Lopez-Alegria and John Herrington.  The members of Expedition 6 being carried to the ISS were Kenneth Bowersox, Nikolai Budarin and Donald Pettit.  The returning members of Expedition 5 were Valery Korzun, Peggy Whitson, and Sergei Treshchov.

Columbia (STS-52) launched 1992

Front Row (L-R): Charles Veach, Tamara Jernigan, William Shepherd

Back Row (L-R): Michael Baker, James Wetherbee, Steven Maclean

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-52) blasted off October 22, 1992.  Its crew consisted of Commander James Wetherbee, Pilot Michael Baker, Charles Veach, William Shepherd, Tamara Jernigan and Steven MacLean (CSA).

The crew carried out experiments and projects that were joint ventures with the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, Italian Space Agency and France's Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales. 

Also, some of Gene Roddenberry's ashes flew on this trip.  Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, died the previous October.

Columbia returned to Earth November 1.

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.

Columbia (STS-32) launched 1990

Clockwise from top left: Marsha Ivins, David Low, Bonnie Dunbar, James Wetherbee, Daniel Brandenstein.

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-32), launched January 9, 1990,  was the 33rd mission of the shuttle program.  It was the first use of Launch Pad A at Kennedy Space Center's Complex 39 since 1986 after the platform went through extensive modifications.

Columbia's crew consisted of Commander Daniel Brandenstein, Pilot James Wetherbee, Mission Specialist Bonnie Dunbar, Mission Specialist Marsha Ivins and Mission Specialist David Low.

Columbia landed on January 20 at Edwards Air Force Base.