Endeavour (STS-61) launched 1993

STS-61 crew

Front row (L-R): Ken Bowersox, Kathryn Thornton, Story Musgrave, Claude Nicollier

Back row (L-R): Richard Covey, Jeffrey Hoffman, Thomas Akers

STS-61 mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-61), launched December 2, 1993, was the first Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.  Its crew consisted of Commander Richard Covey, Pilot Ken Bowersox, Kathryn Thornton, Claude Nicollier (ESA), Jeffrey Hoffman, Story Musgrave, and Thomas Akers. The crew conducted 5 EVAs during the mission.  Musgrave and Hoffman conducted three EVAs for a total of around 22 hours.  Thornton and Akers performed two spacewalks for about 13 hours.  

They returned to Earth December 13, after spending almost 11 days in space. 

Discovery (STS-26) "Return to Flight" launched 1988

STS-26 crew

Front row (L-R): Richard Covey, Frederick Hauck

Back row (L-R): John Lounge, David Hilmers, George Nelson

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-26), launched September 29, 1988, was the "Return to Flight" mission, the first since the Challenger disaster in January 1986.  Its crew consisted of Commander Frederick Hauck, Pilot Richard Covey, John Lounge, David Hilmers and George Nelson.

It was the first space shuttle to be equipped with a Voice Control Unit, which was a computer capable of recognizing and responding to human speech.

They returned to Earth October 3.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Richard Covey!

Richard Covey, born August 1, 1946 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, has flown in space four times. 

His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-51-I) as pilot August-September 1985.  He spent just over 7 days in space.

His second flight was again aboard Discovery (STS-26) as pilot September-October 1988.  It was the first flight after the Challenger disaster in 1986.  It was also the first mission with an all-veteran crew since Apollo 11. They stayed in space about 4 days.

His third flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-38) as commander in November 1990.  This mission carried a classified payload for the Department of Defense.  They remained in space for almost 5 days.

Covey's fourth and final mission was as commander on Endeavour (STS-61) in December 1993, which was a Hubble servicing mission.  The crew remained in space for almost 11 days.

Discovery (STS-51-I) launched 1985

STS-51-I crew

Front row L-R: Joe Engle, Richard Covey

Back row L-R: James van Hoften, John Lounge, William Fisher

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-51-I), launched August 27, 1985, was the sixth flight for Discovery.  Its crew consisted of Commander Joe H. Engle, Pilot Richard Covey, James van Hoften, John Lounge and William Fisher. 

Fisher and van Hoften conducted two EVAs for a total of almost 12 hours.

They returned to Earth September 3.

Atlantis (STS-38) launched 1990

Seated (L-R): Frank Culbertson, Jr., Richard Covey

Standing (L-R): Charles Gemar, Robert Springer, Carl Meade 

Mission STS-38 patch

Atlantis blasted off on its 7th flight (STS-38) and 7th mission dedicated to the Department of Defense, November 15, 1990 for a four-day trip into space.  The crew consisted of Commander Richard Covey, Pilot Frank Culbertson, Mission Specialist Carl Meade, Mission Specialist Robert Springer, and Mission Specialist Charles Gemar.

Since this was a DoD mission, Atlantis' payload was classified.   She landed November 20, her returned a day later than planned because of unacceptable wind conditions at Edwards AFB so she landed at Kennedy Space Center.