Happy birthday, astronaut Jeffrey Ashby!

Jeffrey Ashby, born June 16, 1954 in Dallas, Texas, has been into space three times.  He served in the navy, flying combat missions in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Southern Watch, and Operation Continue Hope.

His first space flight was aboard Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-93) as pilot in July 1999. He returned to Earth after almost 4 days in space.

His second mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-100) as pilot to the International Space Station in April-May 2001. He returned to Earth after almost 12 days.

His third and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-112) as commander to the International Space Station in October 2002.  He returned to Earth after almost 11 days in space.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut, Pamela Melroy!

Pamela Melroy, born September 17, 1961 in Palo Alto, California, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights.  She is the second woman after Eileen Collins to command a Space Shuttle mission.

Her first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-92) as pilot to the International Space Station in October 2000.  It was the 100th Space Shuttle mission.

Her second flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-112) as pilot to the ISS in October 2002.  One of her wake-up songs was Prime Time by the Alan Parsons Project!

Her third and last mission was aboard Discovery (STS-120) as commander to the ISS in October-November 2007.  She met Peggy Whitson, who was commander of the ISS at the time.  It was the first time two female commanders were in space simultaneously.

Piers Sellers, British astronaut, born 1955

Piers Sellers, born April 11, 1955 in East Sussex, England, was a veteran of three space shuttle missions.

His first trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-112) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in October 2002.  He conducted three EVAs with fellow astronaut David Wolf for a total of over 19 hours.

His second mission was aboard Discovery (STS-121) as mission specialist to the ISS in July 2006.  He conducted three more EVAs with fellow astronaut Michael Fossum.

His third and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-132) as mission specialist to the ISS in May 2010.  He operated the Canadarm 2 robotic arm during the mission.

He passed away in December 2016 of pancreatic cancer.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin!

Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, born January 3, 1959 in the former Soviet Union, has been in space five times. 

His first trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-112) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in October 2002.

His second missoin was aboard Soyuz TMA-10 to the ISS as part of Expedition 15.  During the expedition, he conducted 3 EVAs.

His third trip was aboard Soyuz TMA-19 as commander to the ISS in June 2010. He participated in Expeditions 24 and 25 and conducted 2 EVAs during the stay.

His fourth trip was as commander of Soyuz TMA-09M to the ISS in May 2013, as part of Expeditions 36 and 37.  He conducted two more EVAs during the mission.

His fifth and final trip was as commander of Soyuz MS-04 to the ISS in April 2017, as part of Expeditions 51 and 52, when he conducted his ninth and final EVA.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Sandra Magnus!

Sandra Hall Magnus, born October 30, 1964, in Belleville, Illinois, is the veteran of 4 space shuttle flights and one expedition on the International Space Station.  Her first mission was on Atlantis (STS-112) in October 2002 as a mission specialist.

Her second mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-126) in November 2008 to the International Space Station where she remained for 134 days.  She returned to Earth on Discovery (STS-119 [I don't know why the mission numbers are out of sequence]) in March 2009, the first flight for Joe Acaba (back on the ISS).

Her third and final mission was on Atlantis (STS-135) which was the last mission of the Space Shuttle Program July 2011.

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-112) launched 2002

Sandra Magnus, David Wolf, Pamela Melroy, Jeffrey Ashby, Peirs Sellers, Fydor Yurchikhin

Space Shuttle Atlantis took off from Kennedy Space Center  October 7, 2002 on mission STS-112.  Her crew consisted of Commander Jeffrey Ashby, Pilot Pamela Melroy, Mission Specialist 1 Piers Sellers, Mission Specialist 2 Sandra Magnus, Mission Specialist 3 David Wolf, and Mission Specialist Fyodor Yurchikhin.

During the launch, a chunk of foam broke off the external tank and created a 4"x3" dent in an attachment to one of the solid booster rocket.  Despite realizing the dangers of such an incident, NASA decided to continue with launches as scheduled.  Endeavour's flight in November 2002 went without incident.  The next flight was STS-107, Columbia, which ended in disaster.

Pam Melroy's wake up call on Day 10 was Prime Time from Alan Parsons Project!  What a gal!

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut David Wolf!

David Wolf, born August 23, 1956, in Indianapolis, Indiana, is veteran of four space flights, one trip aboard Mir, seven EVA's and one ballot.  His first space shuttle mission was aboard Columbia (STS-58) in October 1993.  Also on that mission was Shannon "Right Stuff" Lucid, who was on her 4th trip into space.  (I wonder if she dozed off during launch?).

Wolf's second trip was on Atlantis (STS-86) in September 1997, which took him up to the space station Mir.  During his 128-day visit, he became the first American to cast a vote in a presidential election.  He returned to Earth on Endeavour (STS-89) January 1998.

His third trip was aboard Atlantis (STS-112), an eleven day mission to the International Space Station in October 2002.

His final trip (STS-127) was on Endeavor in July 2009 to the ISS.  The launch of the Endeavour was successful on its 6th attempt.