Happy birthday, astronaut James Buchli!

James Buchli, born June 20, 1945 in New Rockford, North Dakota, flew into space four times with NASA's Space Shuttle program.  He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1967 and received a commission in the US Marine Corps.  He served in the Vietnam War as a Platoon Commander with the 9th Marine Regiment, and then for B Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion.  He returned to the US in 1969 and completed his training as a naval flight officer. 

Buchli was chosen as an astronaut in 1979.  His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-51-C) as mission specialist in January 1985.  The mission was dedicated to the US Department of Defense, and he returned to Earth after just over 3 days in space.

His second mission was aboard Challenger (STS-61-A) as flight engineer in October-November 1985, the last successful mission of the Challenger.  He spent seven days in space.

Buchlil's third mission was aboard Discovery (STS-29) as mission specialist in March 1989 to insert a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) into orbit. He spent almost 5 days in space before returning to Earth.

His fourth and final mission was aboard Discovery (STS-48) as mission specialist in September 1991 to deploy the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS).  He returned to Earth after more than 5 days in space.

Buchli retired from NASA in 1992

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut James Bagian!

 

James Bagian, born February 22, 1952 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights.  He received his Doctorate of Medicine from Thomas  Jefferson University in 1977.  He is the first astronaut of Armenian descent to travel into space.

His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-29) as mission specialist in March 1989.  The mission's main goal was the deployment of part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite.

His second and final flight was aboard Columbia (STS-40) as mission specialist in June 1991.   It was the fifth dedicated SpaceLab mission, dedicated solely to life sciences experiments.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Michael Coats!

Michael Coats, born January 16, 1946 in Sacramento, California, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights. 

His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-41-B) as pilot in August-September 1984.  The  mission involved deploying three commercial communications satellites.

His second flight was again aboard Discovery (STS-29) as commander in March 1989.  The primary mission was the third and final component of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS).

His third and final flight was aboard, of course, Discovery (STS-38) as commander in April-May 1991.  This payload was for the Department of Defense, so not much info about this flight.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Robert Springer!

Robert Springer, born May 21, 1942 in St. Louis, Missouri, is a veteran of tw space shuttle flights.  He was a pilot in the Marine Corps and flew combat sorties during the Vietnam War. 

His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-29) as mission specialist in March 1989.

Springer's second and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-38) as mission specialist in November 1990.  This flight carried a classified payload rumored to monitor events during the first Gulf War.

He retired from NASA in December 1990.

Discovery (STS-29) launched 1989

Back row, L-R: James Bagian, Robert Springer, James Buchli. 

Front row, L-R: John Blaha, Michael Coats

Mission patch

Discovery (STS-29), launched March 13, 1989, was the twenty-eighth overall space shuttle mission, since the previous mission (STS-28) was delayed until August of that year. Its crew consisted of Commander Michael Coats, Pilot John Blaha, mission specialists Robert Springer, James Buchli and James Bagian. 

What?  They couldn't find a commander and another mission specialist with the initials "J. B."?

The mission included two Shuttle Student Involvement Program experiments.  One used four live rats with tiny pieces of bone removed from them to see how environmental effects of space flight affected bone healing.  The second involved 32 chicken eggs to see how space flight affected fertilized chicken embryos.

No word on the success of those experiments.

They returned to Earth March 18.

Happy birthday, 6-time astronaut John Blaha!

John Elmer Blaha, born August 26, 1942 in San Antonio, made 6 trips to space aboard space shuttles and one four-month stay on Mir.

His first flight was on board Discovery (STS-29) in March 1989.  His second mission was also on Discovery (STS-33) in November 1989. His third mission (STS-43) was on Atlantis in August 1991.  The fourth was on Columbia (STS-58) in October 1993, during which they performed numerous medical experiments expanding our knowledge of human physiology in space.

His fifth flight took him to Mir on Atlantis (STS-79) in September 1996 where he would spend the next four months.  Atlantis brought Shannon Lucid home from Mir.

Blaha returned to Earth on Atlantis (STS-81) in January 1997.