Happy birthday, astronaut James Voss!

Astronaut James Voss, born March 3, 1949 in Cordova, Alabama, is a veteran of 5 space shuttle flights. He graduated from Auburn University in 1972 with a Bachelor's Degree in Aerospace Engineering, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army.  He attended the University of Colorado and graduated with a Master's Degree in Aerospace Engineering Sciences.

His first trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-44) as mission specialist in November-December 1991. The crew was scheduled for a ten-day mission but was scrubbed after only 6 days, due to failure of one of the three orbiter inertial measurement units.

His second trip was aboard Discovery (STS-53) as mission specialist in December 1992.  The payload was a classified by the US Department of Defense.  Voss and the crew spent over 7 days in space.

His third mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-69) as mission specialist in September 1995.  During the mission, Voss conducted an EVA with fellow astronaut Michael Gernhardt which lasted o6 hours 46 minutes.  The crew spent nearly 11 days in space.

Voss's fourth trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-101) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in May 2000.  During the mission, he conducted another EVA with fellow astronaut Jeffrey Williams which lasted 6 hours and 44 minutes. The crew spent nearly 10 days in space.

His fifth and final mission was aboard Discovery (STS-102) as mission specialist launched in March 2001 to the International Space Station.  Along with fellow astronauts Susan Helms (who celebrated her birthday last week) and cosmonaut Yuri Usachov, he participated in Expedition 2 aboard the ISS.  He and Voss conducted the longest EVA to date: 8 hours, 56 minutes. They returned to Earth in August 2001 aboard Discovery (STS-105).

Overall, Voss has spent over 202 days in space.

Happy birthday, astronaut Susan Helms!

Susan Jane Helms, born February 26, 1958 in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a veteran of five Space Shuttle flights.  She attained the rank of Lieutenant General in the US Air Force before retiring.

Her first mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-54) as mission specialist in January 1993. She spent almost 6 days in space, making 96 orbits of Earth.  

Her second mission was aboard Discovery (STS-64) as mission specialist in September 1994.  She spent almost 11 days in space and completed 176 orbits of Earth.

Her third mission was aboard Columbia (STS-78) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in June-July 1996. She spent almost 17 days in space and completed 271 orbits of Earth.

Her fourth trip was aboard Atlantis (STS-101) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in May 2000. The wake up call on Day 2, Free Fallin' by Tom Petty was dedicated to Helms. She spent almost 10 days in space and completed 155 orbits of Earth.

Her fifth and final mission started on Discovery (STS-102) as mission specialist to the International Space Station launched in March 2001.  She participated in Expedition 2 on the ISS, conducting an EVA on March 11.  She returned to Earth aboard Discovery (STS-105) in August 2001, having spent over 167 days in space.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Yury Usachov!

Yury Usachov, born October 9, 1957 in the former Soviet Union, is a veteran of four space flights, including two on Soyuz spacecraft and two on space shuttles.

Usachov's first trip into space was aboard Soyuz TM-18 in January 1994 as part of the Mir EO-15 crew.  He performed EVAs to assess potential damage done to Mir when Soyuz TM-17 hit the space station twice while leaving.  They found no damage.  He returned to Earth in July 1994.

His second trip to space was aboard the Soyuz TM-23 spacecraft in February 1996 as part of the Mir EO-21 crew.  Shannon Lucid joined him for part of his stay.  He returned to Earth September 1996.

Usachov's third mission was on Atlantis (STS-101) in May 2000 as mission specialist to the International Space Station.  The mission lasted almost 10 days.

His fourth and final trip into space was aboard Discovery (STS-102) in March 2001 to the ISS.  He was the commander of Expedition 2, which lasted until August, when he returned to Earth on Discovery (STS-105).

Over the course of his career, he has performed seven EVA and has spent 553 days in space.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Scott Horowitz!

Scott J. Horowitz, born March 24, 1957 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a veteran of four space shuttle missions.  He obtained a degree in engineering from California State University, Northridge and then a doctorate from Georgia Institute of Technology.

After completing the US Air Force Test Pilot School in 1990, he was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1992.

His first mission was as pilot aboard Columbia (STS-75) February-March 1996.  STS-75 also had the distinction of being the first flight with two Italians on board, Maurizio Cheli and Umberto Guidoni.

Horowitz served as pilot aboard Discovery (STS-82) in February 1997.  It was NASA's second mission to the Hubble Space Telescope for repairs.

His third mission was on board Atlantis (STS-101) as pilot to the International Space Station in May 2000.

His fourth and final mission was as commander on Discovery (STS-105) to the ISS in August 2001.

Since October 2007, Horowitz has been an advocate for reorienting NASA's plans for the human exploration of Mars.

Happy birthday, Shuttle and Soyuz astronaut Jeff Williams!

Jeffrey Williams, born January 18, 1958 in Wisconsin, is a veteran of a space shuttle flight and three Soyuz flights.

His first trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-101) in May 2000 to the International Space Station as Mission Specialist.  Before his second trip, Williams served as the Commander of the NEEMO 3 mission on the Aquarius underwater laboratory in July 2002.

His next trip was as flight engineer on Soyuz TMA-8 for Expedition 13 on the ISS in March-September 2006.  He spent about 6 months aboard the ISS.

Williams' third mission was aboard Soyuz TMA-16 to the ISS in November 2009.  He participated in Expedition 21 and was Commander of the ISS for Expedition 22.

HIs fourth flight (and hopefully not his last) was on Soyuz TMA-20M in March 2016 for Expedition 47 and was Commander for ISS Expedition 48.