Richard Garriott, born July 4, 1961 in Cambridge, England, is the son of NASA astronaut Owen K. Garriott. He went into space aboard Soyuz TMA-13 in October 2008 as a private citizen to the International Space Station. He remained on board for 12 days and returned on Soyuz TMA-12. His father Owen was present at blast-off and touchdown in Kazakhstan.
It was the second time a son of an astronaut had gone into space. The first was Sergey Volkov, son of Alexander Volkov, who went into space aboard Soyuz TMA-12 in April 2008.
Anthony England, born May 15, 1942 in Indianapolis, Indiana, went into space aboard Challenger (STS-51-F) as mission specialist in July-August 1985. He was the second amateur radio operator to trasnmit from space during the mission. Owen Garriott was the first in 1983 from STS-9.
Soyuz TMA-13 crew (L-R): Richard Garriott, Yury Lonchakov, Michael Fincke
Mission patch
Soyuz TMA-13, launched October 12, 2008 to the International Space Station, was the 100th manned Soyuz spacecraft. Its crew consisted of Yury Lonchakov (Roscosmos), Michael Fincke (NASA) and Richard Garriott (space tourist).
Lonchakov and Fincke were the crew of Expedition 18 and remained on the ISS until April 2009.
Richard Garriott is the son of Skylab astronaut Owen Garriott. Space tourist Charles Simonyi returned with Lonchakov and Fincke in April 2009.
Alan Bean, born March 15, 1932 in Wheeler, Texas (that's in the panhandle just north of Shamrock), made his first trip into space aboard Apollo 12, becoming the fourth man to walk on the moon. NASA slected him as part of Astronaut Group 3 in 1963 and was assigned backup command pilot for Gemini X. He was assigned as backup crew for Apollo 9 when fellow astronaut Clifton Williams was killed when his T-38 jet trainer crashed.
Bean was launched on Apollo 12 in November 1969. The spacecraft was struck by lightning 36 seconds after launch and Bean restored telemetry by executing the "Flight, try SCE to 'Aux'" task. The lunar lander touched down in the Ocean of Storms within walking distance of the probe Surveyor 3, which had landed in April 1967. Bean and Pete Conrad removed parts of the probe to return to Earth for testing.
Bean was then assigned as commander of Skylab 3, with Owen Garriott and Jack Lousma. During the mission, Bean tested a prototype of the Manned Maneuvering Unit and performed an EVA outside Skylab.
He resigned from NASA in June 1981 to devote time to his painting.
L-R: Owen Garriott, Byron Lichtenberg, Brewster Shaw, John Young, Ulf Merbold, Robert Parker
Mission patch
The sixth mission of Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-9), launched November 28, 1983, carried the first Spacelab module into orbit. She carried six astronauts for the first time. Her crew consisted of Commander John Young, Pilot Brewster Shaw, Missional Specialist Owen Garriott (Okie!), Mission Specialist Robert Parker, Payload Specialist Ulf Merbold, and Payload Specialist Byron Lichtenberg. Merbold was the first non-U.S. citizen, the first West German citizen (remember this was before the Berlin Wall came down), and the first ESA astronaut in space.
Garriott made the first ham radio transmissions from space during the flight. The crew carried out numerous experiments on the effects of low gravity on the human body. See the highlight video below.
Columbia landed December 8, ten days after launch. The crew was looking forward to taking showers since they had not been able to for over a week. What did Columbia smell like on the inside after they landed?
Owen K. Garriott, born November 22, 1930 in Enid, Oklahoma, flew on Skylab 3 and the Space Shuttle Columbia. He was selected as an astronaut in 1965 and his first mission was aboard Skylab 3 from July - September 1973, doubling the amount of time astronauts spent in space from the previous record.
During the mission, the controllers in Houston were surprised to hear a woman's voice coming from Skylab 3, even calling Bob Crippen by name. She explained:
"The boys haven't had a home-cooked meal in so long I thought I'd bring one up." After several minutes in which she described forest fires seen from space and the beautiful sunrise, the woman said: "Oh oh. I have to cut off now. I think the boys are floating up here toward the command module and I'm not supposed to be talking to you."
Garriott had recorded his wife the night before liftoff and the crew was in on the prank.
Garriott's second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-9) November-December 1983 as a mission specialist. His son Richard flew aboard Soyuz TMA-13 in October 2008, becoming the first American to follow a parent into space.
Skylab 3 crew (L-R): Owen Garriott, Jack Lousma, Alan Bean
Astronauts Alan L. Bean, Science Pilot (and Oklahoman) Owen K. Garriott and Pilot Jack R. Lousma blasted off July 28, 1973 in Skylab 3, the second manned mission to the U.S. space station. Their mission time was 59 days and 11 hours. NASA extended the mission from one to two months so the effects of flight duration on physiological adaption and readaptation could be examined.
L-R: Mission Specialist 1 Owen K. Garriott, Payload Specialist II Byron Lichtenberg, Pilot Brewster H. Shaw, Commander John W. Young, Payload Specialist 1 Ulf Merbold, Mission Specialist 2 Robert A. Parker.
Space Shuttle Columbia blasted off November 28, 1983 on her sixth mission. Her commander was John Young, his sixth mission as well. It was the largest crew to date, six!! She carried the first Spacelab moduleand the first European Space Agency representative (West German Ulf Merbold).
John Young is the 9th person to walk on the moon and the first person to make 6 space flights. Owen Garriott, who hails from Enid, Oklahoma, spent 56 days aboard Skylab 3 in 1973.
