Paul Richards, born May 20, 1964 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, went into space aboard the space shuttle Discovery (STS-102) to the International Space Station as a mission specialist in March 2001. The mission was to carry the crew of Expedition 2 to the ISS and bring home Expedition 1.
During the mission, Richards and fellow astronaut Andrew Thomas performed an EVA which lasted 6 hours and 21 minutes.
Richards returned to Earth after almost 13 days in space. He retired from NASA in February 2002 to pursue private interests.
James Kelly, born May 14, 1964 in Burlington, Iowa, traveled into space twice on Space Shuttle missions. He received his BS degree in astronautical engineering from the US Air Force Academy in 1986, and a MS in aerospace engineering from the University of Alabama in 1996.
His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-102) in March 2001 as pilot to the International Space Station. He spent over 12 days in space.
His second and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-114), the "Return to Flight" mission, the first after the Columbia disaster, to the International Space Station in July-August 2005. He spent almost 2 weeks in space before returning to Earth.
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).
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.
Expedition 1 crew (L-R): Sergei Krikalev, Bill Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko
Expedition 1 mission patch
Expedition One, which began November 2, 2000, marked the beginning of a constant human presence aboard the International Space Station. Crew members William Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko, and Sergei Krikalev had blasted off just two days before aboard Soyuz TM-31 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The first supply ship, the unmanned Russian spacecraft Progress M1-4 arrived at the station on November 18.
On December 2, Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-97) arrived at the ISS, bringing more equipment for the station. The crew conducted three EVAs prior to boarding the station. The Endeavour's crew returned to Earth December 11.
Expedition One's crew was given Christmas Day and New Year's Day off.
On February 9, 2001, Atlantis (STS-98) docked with the station bringing a crew of five for a temporary stay. By this time, Expedition One had been on board for three months. NASA had noticed a "three-month wall", a psychological barrier that causes depression in previous astronauts. To combat this, NASA allowed more time for them to speak to their families and encouraged them to watch movies and listen to music they liked.
Discovery (STS-102) arrived at the ISS March 10, 2001, bringing a new crew for Expedition 2. Expedition One returned to Earth on Discovery March 21, ending their four and a half months stay in space.
James Wetherbee, born November 27, 1952 in Flushing, New York, has been in space six times.
His first mission was aboard Columbia (STS-32) as pilot in January 1990. It was the third night landing of the space shuttle program.
His second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-52) as commander in October-November 1992. The mission involved projects with the Italian Space Agency and National Centre for Space Studies (France).
His third flight was aboard Discovery (STS-63) as commander in February 1995. It was the second mission of the Space Shuttle/Mir program. It was the first rendezvous of NASA's shuttle and the Mir space station.
His fourth flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-86) as commander to Mir in September-October 1997. It was the seventh Mir docking mission.
His fifth flight was aboard Discovery (STS-102) as commander to the International Space Station in March 2001. The flight rotated Expeditions 1 and 2 and resupplied the ISS.
His sixth and final flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-113) as commander to the ISS in November-December 2002. The mission rotated Expeditions 5 and 6.
Sergei Krikalev, born August 27, 1958 in Leningrad, Soviet Union (now St. Petersburg, Russia), is a veteran of six space flights.
His first trip into space was aboard Soyuz TM-7 as Flight Engineer to the space station Mir. He participated in Mir EO-4, spending 151 days in space.
His second trip into space was aboard Soyuz TM-12 as flight engineer to Mir in May 1991. He participated in expedition Mir EO-9. He returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-13 in March 1992.
His third flight was aboard Discovery (STS-60) as mission specialist in February 1994. He was the first cosmonaut aboard a Space Shuttle.
His fourth mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-88) as mission specialist in December 1998. The mission took the Unity node to the ISS.
His fifth mission was aboard Soyuz TM-31 to the International Space Station in October 2000. He participated in Expedition 1. He returned to Earth on Discovery (STS-102) in March 2001.
His sixth and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-6 as Commander in April 2005 to the International Space Station. where he participated in Expedition 11. He returned to Earth in October.
He has spent 803 days, 9 hours and 39 minutes in space.
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.
William Shepherd, born July 26, 1949 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is a veteran of three shuttle missions and was a member of the first crew aboard the International Space Station. He was selected as an astronaut for NASA in 1984.
His first mission into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-27) as mission specialist in December 1988. Atlantis carried payloads for the Department of Defense so many of the details of the trip are classified.
Shepherd's second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-41) in October 1990. This mission deployed the Ulysses probe to investigate polar regions of the Sun.
His third flight was aboard Columbia (STS-52) October-November 1992, which deployed the Laser Geodynamic Satellite.
In 1993, he was assigned to become the commander of Expedition 1 to the ISS aboard Soyuz TM-31 in October 2000. With cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, he stayed on board until March 2001. They returned to Earth aboard Discovery (STS-102).
Yuri Gidzenko, born March 26, 1962 in Ukraine, has flown on Soyuz spacecraft and a space shuttle, and has spent time on both Mir and the International Space Station.
His first trip into space was as Commander aboard Soyuz TM-22, launched September 3, 1995 to the space station Mir, as part of the twentieth expedition, Mir EO-20. He remained on board until February 29, 1996.
His second trip into space was as Commander of Soyuz TM-31, launched October 31, 2000, which carried Sergei Krikalev and William Shepherd (NASA), for the first long-duration ISS crew. Expedition 1. They returned to Earth aboard Discovery (STS-102) in March 2001.
Gidzenko's third and final flight was Commander aboard Soyuz TM-34, launched April 25, 2002, to the ISS. Then he remained on ISS for about 10 days and returned aboard Soyuz TM-33 May 5, 2002.
Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-102), launched March 8, 2001, was a resupply mission to the International Space Station. It also rotated the Expedition 1 and Expedition 2 crews to ISS. The crew that launched and then returned March 21 consisted of Commander James Wetherbee, Pilot James Kelly, mission specialist Andy Thomas and mission specialist Paul Richards.
They carried the members of Expedition 2 to the station, who were Yury Usachov, James Voss and Susan Helms. Expedition 1, which consisted of William Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko, and Sergei Krikalev.
Andrew Sydney Withiel Thomas, born December 18, 1951, is the first Australian-born professional astronaut in space. Fellow countryman Paul Scully-Power was the first Aussie in space but he was an oceanographer. Thomas has flown on 5 shuttle missions, including time spent on Mir.
His first mission was on Endeavour (STS-77) May 1996 as a Mission Specialist. On January 23, 1998, he took off on Endeavour (STS-89) and transferred to the Mir spacecraft where he spent four months. He returned to Earth in May aboard Discovery (STS-91).
In March 2001, he flew on Discovery (STS-102) to the International Space Station for resupplying and rotating Expedition 1 and Expedition 2 crews.
His fifth and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-114) for NASA's "Return to Flight" mission July-August 2005. It was the first space shuttle mission following the Columbia disaster.
