Discovery (STS-116) launched 2006

Back row (L-R): Robert Curbeam, Nicholas Patrick, Sunita Williams, Christer Fuglesang

Front (L-R): William Oefelein, Joan Higginbotham, Mark Polansky

Mission patch

Discovery (STS-116), launched December 9, 2006 to the International Space Station, had 5 rookie astronauts, the only flight for Joan Higginbotham and the first flight for Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang.  The crew consisted of Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot William Oefelein, Mission Specialist 1 Nicholas Patrick, Mission Specialist 2 Robert Curbeam, Mission Specialist 3 Fuglesang, Mission Specialist 4 Higginbotham and Mission Specialist 5 Sunita Williams.

Discovery's crew performed 4 EVAs over the 14-day mission.  They returned to Earth December 22.  Their wake-up call that morning was Perry Como's Home for the Holidays.

Happy birthday, astronaut Joan Higginbotham!

Joan Elizabeth Higginbotham, born August 3, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois, is the third black woman in space, behind Mae Jemison and Stephanie Wilson.  She flew on the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-116) as a mission specialist in December 2006.  It was the first shuttle mission to carry two African-American astronauts and the first time the ESA had two astronauts in space at the same time.