Astronaut Bruce McCandless born 1937

Bruce McCandless II, born June 8, 1937 in Boston, Massachusetts, went into space twice. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1958, and received flight training from the Naval Air Training Command in Pensacola, Florida and in Kingsville, Texas.

He was selected as an astronaut in the NASA Astronaut Group 5 at age 28, the youngest member of the group. He served as mission control capsule communicator (CAPCOM) during Apollo 11.  He served as CAPCOM for Apollo 14, as well as astronaut support crew.  He was reassigned to the Skylab program, serving as CAPCOM for Skylab 3 and Skylab 4.

His first mission was aboard Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-41-B) as mission specialist in February 1984. During the mission he performed the first untethered spacewalk, using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), traveling 322 ft away from the shuttle. He spent eight days in space.

His second mission was aboard Discovery (STS-31) as mission specialist in April 1990. He was planning to conduct an EVA with fellow astronaut Kathryn Sullivan to fix and array that could not be deployed through ground control, but the problem was fixed without the need of an EVA.  He returned to Earth after 5 days in space.

McCandless passed away in December 2017.

Happy birthday, astronaut and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden!

Charles Bolden, born August 19, 1946 in Columbia, South Carolina, is a veteran of four space shuttle missions and a former NASA administrator.

His first trip into space was aboard Columbia (STS-61-C) as pilot in January 1986.  He was the second African-American to pilot a space shuttle.

His second trip was aboard Discovery (STS-31) as pilot in April 1990.  The mission launched the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit.

His third trip was aboard Atlantis (STS-45) as commander in March-April 1992.  It was a nine-day mission of scientific experiments.

His fourth and final trip was aboard Discovery (STS-60) as commander in February 1994.  During the mission, the crew managed a link-up with the cosmonauts on Mir.

President Obama appointed Bolden as NASA's administrator in 2009.  He resigned from NASA in 2017.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Kathryn Sullivan!

Kathryn Sullivan, born October 3, 1951 in Paterson, New Jersey, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights and the first American woman to walk in space.  She joined the US Naval Reserve in 1988 and retired as captain in 2006.

Her first flight was aboard Challenger (STS-41-G) in October 1984 as mission specialist.  During this mission she conducted the first EVA for an American woman with fellow astronaut David Leetsma. 

Her second mission was aboard Discovery (STS-31) as mission specialist in April 1990.  The crew deployed the Hubble Space Telescope during the flight.

Sullivan's third and final was aboard Atlantis (STS-45) as mission specialist in March-April 1992.  The crew carried a payload of instruments for scientific experiments, all non-deployable.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Loren Shriver!

Loren Shriver, born September 23, 1944 in Jefferson, Iowa, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights.  From 1969 to 1973 he was an academic pilot instructor at Vance Air Force Base over here in Enid, Oklahoma.

His first mission into space was aboard Discovery (STS-51-C) as pilot in January 1985.  It was the first space shuttle flight to carry a classified payload for the Dept. of Defense.

His second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-31) as commander in April 1990.  This mission deployed the Hubble Space Telescope.

Shriver's third and final flight was on Atlantis (STS-46) as commander in July-August 1992.  The mission deployed the Italian Space Agency's Tethered Satellite Relay System and the European Space Agency's European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA).

Shriver is also a retired US Air Force Colonel.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Steve Hawley!

Steven Hawley, born December 12, 1951 in Ottawa, Kansas, is a veteran of 5 space shuttle flights, logging over 770 hours in space.

His first mission was aboard the maiden voyage of Discovery (STS-41-D) as mission specialist August-September 1984.  Portions of the mission were filmed for the IMAX motion picture The Dream is Alive.

His second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-61-C) in January 1986 as mission specialist.  It was the last successful space shuttle flight before the Challenger disaster, which occurred only 10 days after Columbia landed.

Hawley's third flight was on Discovery (STS-31) in April 1990.  During this flight, the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed.

His fourth flight was on Discovery(!) (STS-82) in February 1997.  His primary role was to operate the Discovery's robotic arm to retrieve and redeploy the Hubble Telescope after upgrades and repairs.

Hawley's fifth and final flight was on Columbia (STS-93) in July 1999 as flight engineer.  The Chandra X-ray Observatory was deployed during the mission.

Discovery (STS-31) launched 1990

STS-31 crew (L-R): Charles Bolden, Steven Hawley, Loren Shriver, Bruce McCandless, Kathryn Sullivan

Discovery (STS-31), launched April 24, 1990, carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit.  Its crew consisted of Commander Loren Shriver, Pilot Charles Bolden, Mission Specialist 1 Bruce McCandless, Mission Specialist 2 Steven Hawley and Mission Specialist 3 Kathryn Sullivan.

During the deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope, one of the solar arrays on the observatory failed to unfurl completely.  While ground control tried to get the solar array to finish unfurling, McCandless and Sullivan prepared for a spacewalk, but ground control managed to complete the task before it became necessary to leave the shuttle.

They returned to Earth April 29.

Remembering astronaut Bruce McCandless II (1937-2017)

Bruce McCandless II, Space Shuttle astronaut, passed away December 21, 2017.  He is best known for being the first astronaut to fly untethered from his spacecraft. On the fourth day of mission STS-41-B aboard Challenger in February, Bruce operated the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) for the first time. McCandless ventured out about 320 feet from the shuttle.

His second and final mission was on Discovery (STS-31) in April 1990, when he helped deploy the Hubble Space Telescope.

McCandless passed away at his home in California.  He was 80 years old.