Happy birthday, astronaut Gregory Harbaugh!

Gregory Harbaugh, born April 15, 1956 in Cleveland, Ohio, went into space four times. 

His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-39) as mission specialist in April 28, 1991. The mission was dedicated to the US Department of Defense. He spent over 8 days in space, returning to Earth on May 6.

His second flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-54) as mission specialist launched January 13, 1993. During the mission, Harbaugh and fellow astronaut Mario Runco conducted a 5 hour EVA in the cargo bay to advance NASA's understanding of working in space. He spent almost 6 days in space, returning to Earth January 19.

His third mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-71) as mission specialist to the Russian space station Mir, the third mission in the Shuttle-Mir program, launched June 27, 1995. He spent almost 10 days in space, returning to Earth, July 7. 

His fourth and final trip into space was aboard Discovery (STS-82) as mission specialist, launched February 11, 1997.  It was the second mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.  He and fellow astronaut Joseph Tanner conducted two EVAs during the mission for a total of about fifteen hours.  He spent almost 10 days in space before returning to Earth on February 21.

Atlantis (STS-115) launched 2006

STS-115 crew (L-R): Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Christopher Ferguson, Joseph Tanner, Daniel Burbank, Brent Jett, Steve MacLean

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-115), launched September 9, 2006, was the first assembly mission to the International Space Station following the Challenger disaster in 2003.  Its crew consisted of Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Christopher Ferguson, Steven MacLean (CSA), Daniel Burbank, Joseph Tanner, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper.

Burbank and MacLean conducted 3 EVAs to install trusses and new solar arrays on the ISS.

They returned to Earth September 21.

Discovery (STS-82) launched 1997

STS-82 crew

Front row (L-R): Kenneth Bowersox, Steven Hawley, Scott Horowitz

Back row (L-R): Joseph Tanner, Gregory Harbaugh, Mark Lee, Steven Smith

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-82), launched February 11, 1997, was the second misson to service the Hubble Space Telescope.  Its crew consisted of Commander Kenneth Bowersox, Pilot Scott Horowitz, Joseph Tanner, Steven Hawley, Gregory Harbaugh, Mark Lee and Steven Smith.

Lee and Smith conducted 3 EVAs and Harbaugh and Tanner conducted two EVAs.  The crew returned to Earth February 21.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Carlos Noriega!

Carlos Noriega, born October 8, 1959 in Lima, Peru, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights and the first Peruvian-born astronaut.

His first mission into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-84) as mission specialist to space station Mir, in May 1997.

His second and final mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-97) to the International Space Station as mission specialist in December 2000.  During the mission he conducted three EVAs with fellow astronaut Joseph Tanner, for a total of about 19 hours.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Joe Tanner!

Joseph Tanner, born January 21, 1950 in Danville, Illinois, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.  His first trip into space was as mission specialist on Atlantis (STS-66) in November 1994.

His second trip was on board Discovery (STS-88) in February 1997 to service the Hubble Space Telescope.  He performed two EVAs totaling about 14 hours.

His third flight was on Endeavour (STS-97) in December 2000 to the International Space Station.  He and fellow astronaut Carlos Noriega conducted 3 EVAs for about 19 hours.

His fourth and final flight was back on Atlantis (STS-115) in September 2006 to the ISS, during which he performed a 5 hour 26 minute EVA.

Endeavour (STS-97) launched 2000

Seated (L-R): Michael Bloomfield, Marc Garneau, Brent Jett

Standing (L-R): Carlos Noriega, Joseph Tanner

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour launched November 30, 2000, carried the first set of solar arrays to the International Space Station.  Her crew was Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Michael Bloomfield, Mission Specialist Joseph Tanner, Mission Specialist Marc Garneau (Canadian Space Agency) and Mission Specialist Carlos Noriega (first Peruvian in space, but this wasn't his first flight). 

On Flight Day 3, Endeavour linked to the ISS.  Joseph Tanner and Carlos Noriega moved through Endeavour's docking tunnel and opened the hatch to the ISS docking port to leave supplies and computer hardware on the "doorstep" of the ISS.

The next day, the crew of Expedition 1, Commander Bill Shepherd, Pilot Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev, retrieved the items left for them.

Tanner and Noriega performed 3 EVAs to install the solar arrays on the ISS and installed a camera cable outside the Unity Module.

On Flight Day 8, Endeavour's crew met Expedition 1's crew in the ISS.  Up until now, they had kept one hatch closed between the shuttle and the station to maintain respective atmospheres.

Flight Day 9, the crews finished transferring supplies to the station and stuff to be brought back to Earth.  Endeavour landed December 11.




https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-97.html

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.