Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Robert Curbeam!

Robert Curbeam, born March 5, 1962 in Baltimore, Maryland(!), has been in space three times.  After graduation from the US Naval Academy with a Master's Degree in Astronautical Engineering in 1991, he was selected by NASA in Dec 1994.  

His first mission into space was aboard Discovery (STS-85) as mission specialist in August 1997. One of the experiments was the Southwest Ultraviolet Imaging Systems from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas (I've been there!) and the University of Maryland (I've been by there!).

His second flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-98) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in February 2001.  During the mission, he performed three EVAs with fellow astronaut Thomas Jones for almost 20 hours total.

His third and final mission was aboard Discovery (STS-116) to the International Space Station in December 2006.  He conducted four spacewalks for about 25 1/2 hours total, setting the record for the most EVAs during a mission.  

Discovery (STS-85) launched 1997

STS-85 crew 

Front row (L-R): Kent Rominger, Curtis Brown

Back row (L-R): Robert Curbeam, Stephen Robinson, Jan Davis, Bjami Tryggvason

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery, launched August 7, 1997, carried a number of experiments into space.  Its crew consisted of Commander Curtis Brown, Pilot Kent Rominger (whose birthday is today), Jan Davis, Robert Curbeam, Stephen Robinson, and Bjami Tryggvason (CSA).

They returned to Earth on August 19. 

Happy birthday, Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang!

Christer Fuglesang, an astronaut for the European Space Agency born March 18, 1957 in Stockholm, Sweden, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights and is the first Swedish astronaut.

His first spaceflight was on Discovery (STS-116) as mission specialist in December 2006 to the International Space Station.  He conducted 3 EVAs during the flight with fellow astronaut Robert Curbeam.  Ground Control played Waterloo by ABBA as one of Fuglesang's wake-up calls.

HIs second and final flight was on Discovery (STS-128) as mission specialist in August-September 2009 to the ISS.  During the mission he conducted two EVAs with fellow astronaut John Olivas.

Atlantis (STS-98) launched 2001

STS-98 crew (L-R): Robert Curbeam, Mark Polansky, Marsha Ivins, Kenneth Cockrell and Thomas Jones

STS-98 Mission patch

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-98), launched February 7, 2001, was the first flight of the twenty-first century.  Its crew consisted of Commander Kenneth Cockrell, Pilot Mark Polansky, Robert Curbeam, Marsha Ivins and Thomas Jones.  The mission delivered the Destiny Laboratory Module to the International Space Station and was installed during three EVAs by Tom Jones and Robert Curbeam. 

They returned to Earth February 20.

Discovery (STS-85) launched 1997

STS-85 crew:

Seated (L-R): Kent Rominger, Curtis Brown

Standing (L-R): Robert Curbeam, Stephen Robinson, Nancy Jan Davis, Bjarni Tryggvason

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-85) blasted off August 7, 1997 with the first Icelandic-born astronaut, Bjarni Tryggvason, payload specialist.  The rest of the crew consisted of Commander Curtis Brown, Pilot Kent Rominger, Nancy Jan Davis, Robert Curbeam, and Stephen Robinson.  Tryggvason was an astronaut from the Canadian Space Agency. 

This was the fourth cooperative mission between the German Space Agency and NASA.  The crew returned to Earth August 19, a day later than scheduled due to fog at the Kennedy Space Center.

Celebrating Black History Month - Robert Curbeam, most spacewalks during space shuttle mission

Astronaut Robert Curbeam, born March 5, 1962 in Baltimore, Maryland(!), has performed the most  spacewalks (four) in a single mission.  He accomplished this record during  his third and final space shuttle mission on Discovery (STS-116) in December 2006.

His first flight was on Discovery (STS-85) in August 1997 and his second was on Atlantis (STS-98) in February 2001 when he conducted three EVAs.

Discovery (STS-116) launched 2006

Back row (L-R): Robert Curbeam, Nicholas Patrick, Sunita Williams, Christer Fuglesang

Front (L-R): William Oefelein, Joan Higginbotham, Mark Polansky

Mission patch

Discovery (STS-116), launched December 9, 2006 to the International Space Station, had 5 rookie astronauts, the only flight for Joan Higginbotham and the first flight for Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang.  The crew consisted of Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot William Oefelein, Mission Specialist 1 Nicholas Patrick, Mission Specialist 2 Robert Curbeam, Mission Specialist 3 Fuglesang, Mission Specialist 4 Higginbotham and Mission Specialist 5 Sunita Williams.

Discovery's crew performed 4 EVAs over the 14-day mission.  They returned to Earth December 22.  Their wake-up call that morning was Perry Como's Home for the Holidays.