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.

Endeavour (STS-77) launched 1996

STS-77 crew

Front row (L-R): Curtis Brown, John Casper

Back row (L-R): Daniel Bursch, Mario Runco, Marc Garneau, Andrew Thomas

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-77), launched May 19, 1996, carried a Coca-Cola fountain dispenser into space as part of opening the commercial space frontier.  Its crew consisted of Commander John Casper, Pilot Curtis Brown, Andrew Thomas, Daniel Bursch, Mario Runco, and Marc Garneau (CSA).

The Coca-Cola dispenser was developed for use on the Endeavour to see if carbonated beverages can be produced in microgravity, which causes bubble nucleation resulting in foam formation.

They returned to Earth May 29.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Mario Runco!

Mario Runco Jr., born January 26, 1952 in the Bronx, New York, is a U.S. Navy Officer and an astronaut, a veteran of three space shuttle flights.

His first mission into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-44) in November 1991 as mission specialist to deploy a Defense Support Program satellite. 

His second mission was on Endeavour (STS-54) in January 1993 as mission specialist. He and Greg Harbaugh conducted a 4.5 hour EVA to evaluate the limits of human performance during extravehicular activities.  This was in anticipation of building the International Space Station.

His third and final flight was as mission specialist on Endeavour (STS-77) in May 1996.  Runco made several appearances on Sesame Street as part of his Physics of Toys scenes.

Endeavour (STS-54) launched 1993

Left to right: Mario Runco, John Casper, Don McMonagle, Susan Helms, Greg Harbaugh

 Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour launched January 13, 1993 on its third mission (STS-54). Her crew was Commander John Casper, Pilot Donald McMonagle, Mission Specialist 1 Mario Runco, Jr., Mission Specialist 2 Gregory Harbaugh and Mission Specialist Susan Helms.

On the fifth day of the mission, Mario Runco and Greg Harbaugh spent almost 5 hours in the open cargo bay conducting space-walking tests to show how people could work in space.

Endeavour returned January 19.

Atlantis (STS-44) launched 1991

 

Left to right - Seated: Hendricks, Gregory, Musgrave; Standing: Voss, Hennen, Runco

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Atlantis launched November 24, 1991 on a mission for the Department of Defense.  Her crew consisted of Commander Frederick Gregory, Pilot Terence Henricks, Mission Specialist 1 James Voss, Mission Specialist 2 Story Musgrave, Mission Specialist 3 Mario Runco, Jr. and Payload Specialist Thomas Hennen.

They landed December 1 at Edwards Air Force Base and took over 3 miles and 107 seconds to come to a complete stop.  This was due to testing of the minimal braking system.

It was the first space shuttle landing on a dry lake bed.