Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Frederick (Rick) Hauck!

Frederick "Rick" Hauck, born April 11, 1941 in Long Beach, California, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights. 

His first flight was aboard Challenger (STS-7) as pilot in June 1983.  The mission carried Sally Ride, first American female astronaut, into space.

His second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-51-A) as commander in November 1984.  Hauck was the first commander of a space shuttle mission not from the Apollo era.

His third and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-26) as commander in September-October 1988.  It was the Return to Flight mission, being the first flight after the Challenger disaster in January 1986.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut George Nelson!

George Nelson, born July 13, 1950 in Charles City, Iowa, is a veteran of three space flights.

His first trip was aboard Challenger (STS-41-C) as a mission specialist in April 1984.  He conducted two EVAs with fellow astronaut James van Hoften for a little over 10 hours.

His second trip was aboard Columbia (STS-61-C) as mission specialist in January 1986.  The mission was delayed four times and resulted in a delay for the next launch. 

His third and final trip was aboard Discovery (STS-26) as mission specialist in September-October 1988.  It was the "Return to Flight" mission, the first flight after the Challenger disaster.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut David Hilmers!

David Hilmers, born January 28, 1950 in Clinton, Iowa, is a veteran of four space flights.  He has a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Baylor College of Medicine.

Hilmers' first flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-51-J) as mission specialist in October 1985.  This was a Dept of Defense payload so everything was hush-hush.

His second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-26) as mission specialist in September-October 1988.  This was the "Return to Flight" mission, the first mission after the Challenger disaster in January 1986.

His third flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-36) as mission specialist in February-March 1990 on another Department of Defense mission.

His fourth and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-42) as mission specialist in January 1992.  The crew carried the International Microgravity Laboaratory-1 into orbit.

Discovery (STS-26) "Return to Flight" launched 1988

STS-26 crew

Front row (L-R): Richard Covey, Frederick Hauck

Back row (L-R): John Lounge, David Hilmers, George Nelson

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-26), launched September 29, 1988, was the "Return to Flight" mission, the first since the Challenger disaster in January 1986.  Its crew consisted of Commander Frederick Hauck, Pilot Richard Covey, John Lounge, David Hilmers and George Nelson.

It was the first space shuttle to be equipped with a Voice Control Unit, which was a computer capable of recognizing and responding to human speech.

They returned to Earth October 3.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Richard Covey!

Richard Covey, born August 1, 1946 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, has flown in space four times. 

His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-51-I) as pilot August-September 1985.  He spent just over 7 days in space.

His second flight was again aboard Discovery (STS-26) as pilot September-October 1988.  It was the first flight after the Challenger disaster in 1986.  It was also the first mission with an all-veteran crew since Apollo 11. They stayed in space about 4 days.

His third flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-38) as commander in November 1990.  This mission carried a classified payload for the Department of Defense.  They remained in space for almost 5 days.

Covey's fourth and final mission was as commander on Endeavour (STS-61) in December 1993, which was a Hubble servicing mission.  The crew remained in space for almost 11 days.

John Lounge, Space Shuttle astronaut, born 1946

John "Mike" Lounge, born June 28, 1946 in Denver, Colorado, was a veteran of three space shuttle mission as well as a Vietnam War veteran.  He spent nine months in Southeast Asia aboard the USS Enterprise participating in 99 combat missions after graduating from the U.S. Naval academy in 1969.

His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-51-I) as mission specialist August-September 1985.  Their objective was to deploy 3 communications satellites.

His second flight was as mission specialist aboard Discovery (STS-26), the first mission after the Challenger disaster in January 1986.  It was the first all-veteran crew mission since Apollo 11.

His third and final mission was on Columbia (STS-35) in December 1990.

Lounge passed away March 1, 2011 from liver cancer.