Endeavour (STS-68) launched 1994

STS-68 crew

Front row (L-R): Thomas Jones, Peter Wisoff, Steven Smith, Daniel Bursch

Back row (L-R): Michael Baker, Terrence Willcutt

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-68), launched September 30, 1994, observed changes in Earth's climate and atmosphere during the eleven-day journey.   Its crew consisted of Commander Michael Baker, Pilot Terrence Wilcutt, Steven Smith, Daniel Bursch, Peter Wisoff, and Thomas Jones.

They returned to Earth October 11.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Peter (Jeff) Wisoff!

Peter "Jeff" Wisoff, born August 16, 1958 in Norfolk, Virginia, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.

His first mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-57) as mission specialist in June-July 1993.  He conducted a spacewalk with fellow astronaut David Low last almost 6 hours to retrieve the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) science satellite.

His second flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-68) as mission specialist in September-October 1994. Wisoff relayed information of storms, lightning and fires to the Space Radar Laboratory (SRL-2) scientists.

Wisoff's third mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-81) as mission specialist in January 1997.  It was the fifth space shuttle mission to the space station Mir.

His fourth and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-92) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in October 2000, the 100th space shuttle mission of the program.  During the flight Wisoff performed two EVAs with fellow astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria for a total of 14 hours.

Wisoff is married to fellow astronaut Tamara Jernigan.

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-81) launched 1997

STS-81 crew

Front row (L-R):  Front: Brent Jett, Michael Baker; 

Back Row (L-R): John Grunsfeld, John Blaha, Peter Wisoff, Jerry Linenger, Marsha Ivins

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-81), launched January 12, 1997, was the fifth mission to the space station Mir.  Its crew consisted of Commander Michael Baker, Pilot Brent Jett, Peter Wisoff, John Gunsfeld, Marsha Ivins and Jerry Linenger.

Linenger stayed on board Mir as part of Expedition EO-22 and John Blaha returned with the rest of the crew January 22. Linenger became the third American to live on Mir.  Blaha had spent 118 days aboard.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Michael López-Alegría!

Michael Lopez-Alegria, born May 30, 1958 in Madrid, Spain, is a veteran of three space shuttle missions and one Soyuz mission.  He was raised in Mission Viejo, California and became a Naval Aviator in 1981.  Part of his naval experience was over here at the NAS Patuxent River, Maryland.

His first mission in space was on Columbia (STS-73) October-November 1995 as mission specialist.

His second trip was on Discovery (STS-92) in October 2000 as mission specialist. He conducted two EVAs with fellow astronaut Peter Wisoff.

His third shuttle mission was as mission specialist on Endeavour (STS-113) November-December 2002.  Lopez-Alegria conducted 3 more EVAs with fellow astronaut John Herrington.

His fourth and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-9, launched September 18, 2006 to the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 14.  He returned to Earth April 21, 2007.

He holds the second all-time record for EVA duration (67 hours, 40 minutes).  He has the third longest stay in space of American astronauts - 215 days.

Lopez-Alegria retired from NASA March 12, 2012.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Tammy Jernigan!

Tamara Elizabeth Jernigan, born May 7, 1959 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is a veteran of 5 space shuttle flights.

Her first flight was on board Columbia (STS-40) in June 1991 as mission specialist.  It was the first flight to have 3 female astronauts.

Her second mission was also on Columbia (STS-52) in October-November 1992.  On this mission, ashes of Gene Roddenberry were carried during the flight.

Jernigan's third flight was on Endeavour (STS-67) in March 1995.  At just over 16 1/2 days, it was Endeavour's longest flight.

Her fourth mission was back on Columbia (STS-80) in December 1996. At just over 17 1/2 days, it was the longest shuttle flight ever.

Her fifth and final flight was on board Discovery (STS-96) May-June 1999.  It was the first space  shuttle mission to the International Space Station.

She retired from NASA in 2001 and is married to fellow ex-astronaut Peter Wisoff.

Discovery, 100th Space Shuttle mission, launched 2000

Front row (L-R): Melroy, Duffy; 

Back row (L-R): Chiao, Lopez-Alegria, McArthur, Wisoff, Wakata

Space Shuttle Discovery blasted off October 11, 2000 on the 100th mission (STS-92) of the space shuttle program.  Seven astronauts docked with the International Space Station for seven days and performed 4 EVAs.

Discovery's crew consisted of Commander Brian Duffy, Pilot Pamela Melroy (remember her? She was the one who had Alan Parsons Project's Prime Time as her wake up call!), Mission Specialist 1 Koichi Wakata (remember him?  He would be the first Japanese commander of the ISS!), Mission Specialist 2 William McArthur, Mission Specialist 3 Peter Wisoff, Mission Specialist 4 Michael Lopez-Alegria (remember him? He's the first Spanish-born astronaut in space!), and Mission Specialist 5 Leroy Chiao (remember him?  He's the one who saw UFO lights during an EVA!).

Space Shuttle Endeavor (STS-57) 1993

Front row (L-R) Pilot Brian Duffy, Commander Ronald J. Grabe

Back row (L-R): Mission Specialist 3 Peter J. Wisoff, Mission Specialist 2 Nancy J. Sherlock, Mission Specialist 4 Janice E. Voss, and Mission Specialist 1 G. David Low

Space Shuttle Endeavour blasted off from Kennedy Space Center June 21, 1993.  The 10-day mission involved six astronauts, numerous biomedical and materials science experiments, one EVA, five stars (insignia), one satellite retrieval, one to two inches increase in height (due to spine lengthening in space) and about 4.1 million miles.

Pretty routine stuff, but in space, they don't much care for the non-routine stuff.