Donald Williams, Space Shuttle astronaut, born 1942

Donald Williams, born February 13, 1942, was a veteran of two space shuttle flights.  He earned his Bachelor's of Science in Mechanical Engineering and received a commission through the Naval ROTC both from Purdue University.

His first flight was on Discovery (STS-51-D) as pilot in April 1985.  During the mission, he became the first person to juggle in microgravity!

His second and final flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-34) as commander in October 1989. The Galileo spacecraft to Jupiter was deployed during this mission.

Williams passed away in February 2016.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut John Casper!

John Casper, born July 9, 1943 in Greenville, South Carolina, is a veteran of 4 space shuttle flights.  After getting a Maser of Science degree in Astronautics from Purdue University in 1967, he attended U.S. Air Force to become a fighter pilot. He flew 229 combat missions in the Vietnam War. 

He served as pilot on his first space flight on Atlantis (STS-36) February-March 1990.  It was a Department of Defense flight so its payload was confidential.

His second flight was as commander on Endeavour (STS-54) January 1993, during which the fifth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite was deployed.

Casper was assigned as commander aboard Columbia (STS-62) in March 1994.  The landing of the mission was chronicled by the Discovery Channel for a special featuring the Space Shuttle program.

His fourth and final mission was as commander aboard Endeavour (STS-77) in May 1996.  A Coca-Cola fountain dispense with Coca-Cola and Diet Coke was taken aboard.