Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Jay Apt!

Jerome "Jay" Apt III, born April 28, 1949 in Springfield, Massachusetts, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.

HIs first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-37) as mission specialist in April 1995.  He conducted two EVAs with fellow astronaut Jerry Ross for over 10 hours.

His second flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-47) as mission specialist in September 1992.  The mission included two experiments prepared by an all-girls school in Kent, UK.

Apt's third mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-59) as mission specialist in April 1994.  He exchanged greetings with the cosmonauts aboard the Mir space station.

His fourth and final flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-79) as mission specialist to Mir in September 1996.  It was the first shuttle mission to dock with a completed Mir space station.

 

Endeavour (STS-88) launched 1998

STS-88 crew

Front row (L-R): Sergei Krikalev, Nancy Currie-Gregg

Back row (L-R): Jerry Ross, Robert Cabana, Frederick Sturckow, James Newman

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-88), launched December 4, 1998, carried the first American module, Unity node, to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Robert Cabana, Pilot Frederick Sturckow, Jerry Ross, Nancy Currie-Gregg, James Newman, and Sergei Krikalev (Roscosmos).

Ross and Newman performed three EVAs for a total of over 21 hours, to complete the Unity node installation.

They returned to Earth December 13.  

Atlantis (STS-110) launched 2002

STS-110 crew

Front row (L-R): Stephen Frick, Ellen Ochoa, Michael Bloomfield

Back row (L-R): Steven Smith, Rex Walheim, Jerry Ross, Lee Morin

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-110), launched April 8, 2002, carried the S0 Truss segment, which formed the backbone of the truss structure of the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Michael Bloomfield, Pilot Stephen Frick, Rex Walheim, Ellen Ochoa, Lee Morin, Jerry Ross, and Steven Smith.

Four EVAs were conducted by Smith, Walheim, Ross, and Morin to install the truss segment.

The crew returned to Earth April 19.

Atlantis (STS-37) launched 1991

STS-37 crew

Front row (L-R): Kenneth Cameron, Steven Nagel, Linda Godwin

Back row (L-R): Jay Apt, Jerry Ross

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-37), launched April 5, 1991, carried the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) and the Chadra X-ray Observatory into space.  Its crew consisted of Commander Steven Nagel, Pilot Kenneth Cameron, Linda Godwin, Jerry Ross and Jay Apt.

Ross and Apt conducted two EVAs during the mission for a total of more than 10 hours.  The crew returned to Earth April 11.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Lee Morin!

Lee Morin, born September 9, 1952 in Manchester, New Hampshire, went into space once aboard Atlantis (STS-110) as mission specialist in April 2002.  He conducted 2 EVAs with fellow astronaut Jerry Ross which lasted about 14 hours total, installing equipment on the International Space Station.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Sherwood Spring!

Sherwood Spring, born September 3, 1944 in Hartford, Connecticut, went into space aboard space shuttle Atlantis (STS-61-B) as mission specialist in November-December 1985.  During the mission, he performed two EVAs with fellow astronaut Jerry Ross, lasting over 12 hours.

Columbia (STS-55) launched 1993

Seated (L-R): Terence Henricks,  Steven Nagel, Charles Precourt; 

Standing (L-R): Bernard Harris, Hans Schlegel, Jerry Ross, Ulrich Walter

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-55), launched April 26, 1993, carried the second reusable German Spacelab into orbit.  The first one flew on STS-61-A in October 1985.  Its crew consisted of Commander Steven Nagel, Pilot Terence T. Henricks, Jerry Ross, Charles Precourt, Bernard Harris, Ulrich Walter and Hans Schlegel (both from the German Aerospace Center [DLR]).

The crew conducted almost 90 experiments from over 11 countries, during the 10-day trip.

They returned to Earth May 6.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Jerry Ross!

Jerry Lynn Ross, born January 20, 1948 in Crown Point, Indiana, is a veteran of 7 space shuttle flights, tying Franklin Chang-Diaz for the most flights.

His first flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-61-B) as mission specialist November-December 1985.  He performed 2 6-hour space walks to demonstrate space station construction techniques.

His second was aboard Atlantis (STS-27) in December 1988 as mission specialist. This trip was cut short due to critical heat-resistant tiles being damaged during liftoff.

During his third flight, back on Atlantis (STS-37) in April 1991, he performed two more EVAs to deploy the Gamma Ray Observatory antenna and test prototype software for the Space Station Freedom.

He served as Payload Commander/Mission Specialist on Columbia (STS-55) in April-May 1993.

He returned to space on Atlantis (STS-74) in November 1995 to space station Mir. 

In December 1998, he was on Endeavour (STS-88), which was the first International Space Station assembly mission.  Ross performed 3 EVAs totaling 21 hours 22 minutes to connect umbilicals and attach tools and hardware.

His final flight was on Atlantis (STS-110) April 2002, when he performed 2 EVAs for just over 14 hours.

Ross retired from NASA on January 28, 2012 being the first person to go into space 7 times.

Atlantis (STS-27) launched 1988

Back row, L-R: William Shepherd, Richard Mullane. Front row, L-R: Guy Gardner, Robert Gibson, Jerry Ross.

Mission Patch

Atlantis (STS-27), the second Space Shuttle flight after the Challenger disaster, launched December 2, 1988.  It was a mission for the Department of Defense, so its payload and purpose were classified.  Her crew consisted of Commander Robert Gibson, Pilot Guy Gardner (not the Green Lantern), Mission Specialist 1 Richard Mullane, Mission Specialist 2 Jerry Ross and Mission Specialist 3 William Shepherd.

During the ascent the Thermal Protection System tiles were damaged by ablative insulating material from the right SRB.  The crew reported they saw white material on the windshield at various times during ascent.  They tried to examine the starboard side of Atlantis with the Canadarm but could not determine the full extent of the damage.  Due to the sensitive nature of the mission, the crew could not send hi-res photos to the ground to assess the damage.  The poor resolution pics weren't enough to tell what had happened, either.  NASA told the crew that the damage didn't look any worse than previous shuttle incidents.  Small comfort for the crew.

It has been reported that Commander Gibson thought the crew would perish upon re-entry, but miraculously, Atlantis landed safely December 6, despite being one of the most damaged shuttles to return.

Atlantis (STS-61-B) launches 1985

Back row L-R: Charles Walker, Jerry Ross, Mary Cleave, Sherwood Spring, Rodolfo Neri Vela

Front row L-R: Bryan O'Connor, Brewster Shaw

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Atlantis blasted off November 26, 1985 from Kennedy Space Center for the 23rd mission of the shuttle program.  The takeoff came just 54 days after the launch of STS-51-J, the quickest turnaround between launches.  Her crew consisted of Commander Brewster Shaw, Pilot Bryan O'Connor, Mission Specialist 1 Jerry Ross, Mission Specialist 2 Mary Cleave, Mission Specialist 3 Sherwood Spring, Payload Specialist Charles Walker and Payload Specialist 2 Rodolfo Neri Vela.

Vela is the first Mexican astronaut in space.  Jerry Ross and Sherwood Spring performed two EVAs to demonstrate the feasibility of assembling large structures in space.

Atlantis returned to Earth December 3 at Edwards Air Force Base.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut James Newman!

James Hansen Newman, born October 16, 1956 in what is now the Federated States of Micronesia, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.  After obtaining his doctoral degree in physics from Rice University, he completed an additional year of post-doc work and began his astronaut training in July 1990.

His first space shuttle mission was aboard Discovery (STS-51) in September 1993. Although manay scientific experiements were carried out, the main focus of the mission was repairing the Hubble Telescope.  Newman and Carl Walz performed a 7-hour EVA as part of the Hubble repair.

His second flight was STS-69, aboard Endeavour in September 1995.  It was the 100th successful manned NASA flights, not counting X-15s. 

Newman's third mission was on Endeavour again (STS-88) in December 1998.  Newman performed 3 EVAs with Jerry Ross completing the Unity module which is the first U.S.-built component of the International Space Station. 

His final flight was on Columbia (STS-109) in March 2002.  He participated in 2 of 5 spacewalks on this mission to do additional repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Atlantis (STS-74) launched to rendezvous with Mir 1995

Front row: Pilot James D. Halsell, Commander Kenneth D. Cameron

Back row: Mission Specialist 3 William S. McArthur, Jr.; Mission Specialist 2 Jerry L. Ross; Mission Specialist 1 Chris A. Hadfield (Canadian Space Agency)

November 12, 1995, the Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-74) blasted off for its second rendezvous with the Russian Space Station Mir.  It was the fourth mission of NASA's Space Shuttle and Russia's Mir joint program.  Atlantis would make a total of seven trips to the space station.

Its crew consisted of James Halsell, Kenneth Cameron, William McArthur, Jerry Ross, Chris Hadfield (Canadian Space Agency).

She had been scheduled to blast off on Nov 11 but bad weather caused the launch to abort.  Atlantis returned to Earth eight days later.