Endeavour (STS-100) launched 2001

STS-100 crew

Front row (L-R): Yury Lonchakov, Ken Rominger, Umberto Guidoni, Jeffrey Ashby, John Phillips

Back row (L-R): Scott Parazynski, Chris Hadfield

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-100), launched April 19, 2001, installed the Canadarm2 robotic arm on the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeffrey Ashby, Chris Hadfield (CSA), John Phillips, Scott Parazynski, Umberto Guidoni (ESA), and Yury Lonchakov (Roscosmos).  

Parazynski and Hadfield conducted two EVAs for almost 15 hours.  

The crew returned to Earth May 1, 2001.

Discovery (STS-85) launched 1997

STS-85 crew 

Front row (L-R): Kent Rominger, Curtis Brown

Back row (L-R): Robert Curbeam, Stephen Robinson, Jan Davis, Bjami Tryggvason

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery, launched August 7, 1997, carried a number of experiments into space.  Its crew consisted of Commander Curtis Brown, Pilot Kent Rominger (whose birthday is today), Jan Davis, Robert Curbeam, Stephen Robinson, and Bjami Tryggvason (CSA).

They returned to Earth on August 19. 

Kent Rominger, Space Shuttle astronaut, born 1956

Ken Rominger, born August 7, 1956 in Del Norte, Colorado, is a veteran of five space shuttle flights.  

His first flight was aboard Columbia (STS-73) as pilot in October 1995.  It was the second mission of the US Microgravity Laboratory.  

His second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-80) as pilot in November-December 1996. It was the longest Shuttle mission at 17 days, 15 hours and 53 minutes.

His third flight was aboard Discovery (STS-85) as pilot in August 1997.  Rominger was originally not assigned to this flight, but replaced Jeffrey Ashby, who asked to be relieved in order to take care of his dying wife.

His fourth flight was aboard Discovery (STS-96) as commander to the International Space Station in May-June 1999.

His fifth and final flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-100) as commander to the ISS in April-May 2001.  The mission installed the Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Discovery (STS-96) launched 1999

STS-96 crew

Front row (L-R): Kent Rominger, Ellen Ochoa, Rick Husband

Back row (L-R): Daniel Barry, Julie Payette, Valeri Tokarev, , Tamara Jernigan

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-96), launched May 27, 1999, was the second mission to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Rick Husband, Daniel Barry, Ellen Ochoa, Tamara Jernigan, Julie Payette (CSA), Valeri Tokarev (Roscosmos).

Jernigan and Barry conducted a spacewalk for almost 8 hours.  The crew returned to Earth on June 7.

Discovery (STS-85) launched 1997

STS-85 crew:

Seated (L-R): Kent Rominger, Curtis Brown

Standing (L-R): Robert Curbeam, Stephen Robinson, Nancy Jan Davis, Bjarni Tryggvason

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-85) blasted off August 7, 1997 with the first Icelandic-born astronaut, Bjarni Tryggvason, payload specialist.  The rest of the crew consisted of Commander Curtis Brown, Pilot Kent Rominger, Nancy Jan Davis, Robert Curbeam, and Stephen Robinson.  Tryggvason was an astronaut from the Canadian Space Agency. 

This was the fourth cooperative mission between the German Space Agency and NASA.  The crew returned to Earth August 19, a day later than scheduled due to fog at the Kennedy Space Center.

Columbia (STS-80) launched 1996

Back row (L-R): Tamara Jernigan, Thomas Jones

Front row (L-R): Kent Rominger, Story Musgrove, Kenneth Cockrell

Mission patch

Columbia blasted off November 19, 1996 was the longest Space Shuttle flight, lasting 17 days, 15 hours and 53 minutes.  Her crew was Commander Kenneth Cockrell, Pilot Kent Rominger, Mission Specialist Story Musgrave, Mission Specialist Thomas Jones and Mission Specialist Tamara Jernigan.

Tom Jones and Tamara Jernigan were to have performed two EVAs but both were cancelled.