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, Space Shuttle astronaut Frank Culbertson!

Frank Culbertson, born May 15, 1949 in Charleston, South Carolina, has been in space three times, and is the only American not on Earth during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

His first flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-38) as pilot in November 1990.  The mission carried a classified payload for the Department of Defense.

His second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-51) as commander in September 1993.  The astronauts were filmed by a camera crew from the United Kingdom and the documentary was released as Space Shuttle Discovery.

His third and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-105), launched in August 2001 as mission specialist to the International Space Station.  He was commander of the ISS during Expedition 3.  He conducted one space walk with fellow astronaut Vladimir Dezhurov for just over 5 hours.  He returned to Earth on Endeavour (STS-108) in December 2001.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Patrick Forrester!

Patrick Forrester, born March 31, 1957 in El Paso, Texas, is a veteran of three space shuttle missions.

His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-105) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in August 2001.  He conducted 2 EVAs with fellow astronaut Daniel Barry for over 12 hours  total.

His second mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-117) as mission specialist to the ISS in June 2007.  He conducted two more EVAs with fellow astronaut Steven Swanson for almost 14 hours.

His third and final mission was aboard Discovery (STS-128) as mission specialist to the ISS in August-September 2009, but he did not do any EVAs during this trip into space.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Daniel Barry!

Daniel Barry, born December 30, 1953 in Norwalk, Connecticut, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights. 

His first flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-72) as mission specialist in January 1996.  He conducted a spacewalk with fellow astronaut Leroy Chiao.

His second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-96) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in May-June 1999.  He conducted an EVA with fellow astronaut Tamara Jernigan.

HIs third and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-105) as mission specialist to the International Space Station.  He conducted two EVAs with fellow astronaut Patrick Forrester. 

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Frederick Sturckow!

Frederick Sturckow, born August 11, 1961 in La Mesa, California, flew on four space shuttle missions.

His first mission into space was aboard Endeavour (STS-88) as pilot in December 1998.  It was the first space shuttle mission to the International Space Station.

His second mission was aboard Discovery (STS-105) as pilot in August 2001.  It carried Expedition 3 to the ISS and returned with Expedition 2.

His third trip was aboard Atlantis (STS-117) as commander in June 2007.  He performed the Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver (RPM), which is a "back flip" to allow the crew of the ISS to photograph the heat shields of the shuttle's belly.

Sturckow's fourth and final space shuttle mission was on Discovery (STS-128) as commander in August-September 2008.  It was the final mission to land at Edwards Air Force Base.

Sturckow retired from the Marine Corps as colonel in 2009.

Sturckow is currently test flying Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo spacecraft as they prepare for commercial operations in outer space.

Discovery (STS-105) launched 2001

STS-105 crew

Center (L-R) Fredeirck Sturckow, Patrick Forrester, Daniel Barry, Scott Horowitz

Top Left (L-R): James Voss, Yury Usachev, Susan Helms

Top Right (L-R): Mikhail Tyurin, Frank Culbertson, Vladimir Dezhurov

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-105), launched August 10, 2001, carried the third crew to the International Space Station and brought the second crew back home.  Its crew consisted of Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Frederick Sturckow, Patrick Forrester and Daniel Barry.  The members of Expedition 3 were Frank Culbertson, Mikhail Tyurin and Vladimir Dezhurov.

Barry and Forrester conducted 2 EVAs lasting a total of 11 hours and 45 minutes. Discovery returned to Earth August 22 with the crew of Expedition 2: Yury Usachev, James Voss and Susan Helms.

During the mission they woke up to Sting's Brand New Day!

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, cosmonaut Vladimir Dezhurov!

Veteran cosmonaut/astronaut Vladimir Dezhurov, born July 30, 1962, in the former Soviet Union, has traveled on Soyuz and the Space Shuttle to Mir and the International Space Station.  He has logged 9 EVAs at just over 37 hours total.  Not bad for only 2 trips to space!

His first mission was aboard Soyuz TM-21, launched in March 1995 to Mir.  This mission saw the first American, Norman Thagard, to ride on a Soyuz spacecraft.  Dezhurov returned to Earth in July 1995 on the Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-71).

He flew to the ISS in August 2001 aboard the Discovery (STS-105) and returned in December aboard the Endeavour (STS-108).