Happy birthday, French astronaut Jean-François Clervoy!

Jean-Francois Clervoy, born November 19, 1958 in France, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights.  He has represented both the European Space Agency and the National Centre for Space Studies (French space agency). 

His first mission into space was as mission specialist on Atlantis (STS-66) in November 1994.  The mission studied the Antarctic Zone Hole while it was diminishing to study its possible effects on mid-latitudes.

His next flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-84) to the space station Mir in May 1997.  He flew with birthday twin and fellow astronaut Eileen Collins.

Clervoy's third and last mission was on Discovery (STS-103) as mission specialist in December 1999.  It was a repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope and the last solo flight of Discovery.

Atlantis (STS-84) launched to Mir 1997

STS-84 crew:

Front Row (L-R): Jerry Linenger, Charles Precourt, Michael Foale; 

Back Row (L-R): Jean-Francois Clervoy, Eileen Collins, Ed Lu, Yelena Kondakova, Carlos Noriega

Mission patch

Atlantis (STS-84), launched May 17, 1997, was the sixth shuttle mission to the space station Mir.  Its crew consisted of Commander Charles Precourt, Pilot Eileen Collins, Jean-Francois Clervoy, Carlos Noriega, Ed Lu, Yelena Kondakova and Michael Foale.

Michael Foale stayed aboard as part of Expedition Mir EO-23, and Jerry Linenger returned with the STS-84 crew on May 24.

Discovery (STS-103) launched 1999

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.

Atlantis (STS-66) launched 1994, first flight for Jean-Francois "Billy Bob" Clervoy

(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.