Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut John Creighton!

John Creighton, born April 28, 1943 in Orange, Texas, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights.

His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-51-G) as pilot in June 1985.  The mission objective was to release three communication satellites, from Mexico, the Arab Satellite Communications Organization and AT&T.

His second flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-36) as commander in February 1990.  The mission carried a classified payload for the US Department of Defense.

His third and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-48) as commander in September 1991.  Its primary mission was to deploy the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.

In total, Creighton spent over 16 days, 20 hours in space.

Discovery (STS-48) launched 1991

STS-48 crew

Front row (L-R): Mark Brown, John Creighton, Kenneth Reightler 

Back row (L-R): Charles Gemar, James Buchli

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-48), launched September 12, 1991, carried the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) into space.  Its crew consisted of Commander John Creighton, Pilot Kenneth Reightler, Charles Gemar, James Buchli, and Mark Brown.

STS-51-G launched 1985

STS-51-G crew:

Front Row (L-R): Daniel Bradenstein, John Creighton

Back Row (L-R): Shannon Lucid, Steven Nagel, John Fabian, Saiman Al Saud, Patrick Baudry

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-51-G), launched June 17, 1985, carried Sultan Saiman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia into orbit.  He is the first Arab, first Muslim and the first member of a royal family to travel into space.

The entire crew consisted of Commander Daniel Brandenstein, Pilot John Creighton, John Fabian, Steven Nagel, Shannon Lucid, Patrick Baudry, and Saud (Royal Saudi Air Force).  During the mission, the Arabsat-1B (Arab Satellite Communications Organization) was deployed.

They returned to Earth June 24.

Atlantis (STS-36) launched 1990

 

Left to right: Pierre Thuot, John Casper, John Creighton, Richard Mullane, David Hilmers

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Atlantis, launched February 28, 1990, was the sixth flight for Atlantis and carried a classified payload for the U.S. Department of Defense.  Its crew consisted of Commander John Creighton, Pilot John Casper, mission specialists Pierre Thuot, David Hilmers and Richard Mullane.

It has been theorized that the crew deployed a reconnaissance satellite "Misty" for the DoD, but that is still classified.

Atlantis returned to Earth March 4.