Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Ellen Baker!

Ellen Baker, born April 27, 1953 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, has been in space three times.  

Her first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-34) as mission specialist in October 1989.  The mission deployed the Galileo probe to Jupiter.

Her second mission was aboard Columbia (STS-50) as mission specialist in June-July 1992.  It was the first flight of the US Microgravity Laboratory 1.  

Her third and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-71) as mission specialist in June-July 1995.  It was the first Space Shuttle docking to the space station Mir.

She has spent more than 28 days in space.  

Donald Williams, Space Shuttle astronaut, born 1942

Donald Williams, born February 13, 1942, was a veteran of two space shuttle flights.  He earned his Bachelor's of Science in Mechanical Engineering and received a commission through the Naval ROTC both from Purdue University.

His first flight was on Discovery (STS-51-D) as pilot in April 1985.  During the mission, he became the first person to juggle in microgravity!

His second and final flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-34) as commander in October 1989. The Galileo spacecraft to Jupiter was deployed during this mission.

Williams passed away in February 2016.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Michael McCulley!

Michael J. McCulley, born August 4, 1943, in San Diego, California, went into space aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-34) in October 1989.  He enlisted in the Navy after graduating from high school and served on a diesel-powered submarine and two nuclear-powered submarines.  He also received pilot training before being selected by NASA in May 1984.

He retired from NASA in 1990.

Happy birthday, space shuttle astronaut Dr. Franklin Chang- Díaz!

I've written about Dr. Franklin Chang Diaz several times before since he has achieved a number of firsts for astronauts.  Born April 5, 1950 in San Jose, Costa Rica, he became an American citizen in 1977 and was selected as an astronaut in 1980.

He is the first Hispanic American astronaut and the third Latin American in space.  His grandfather fled China during the Boxer Rebellion, so Chang Diaz has Chinese ancestry as well.  He is tied with Jerry Ross for the most space shuttle missions, at seven:

STS-61-C
STS-34
STS-46
STS-60
STS-75
STS-91
STS-111

He was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame May 5, 2012.

Galileo spacecraft performs first asteroid flyby of 951 Gaspra, 1991

The Galileo spacecraft, launched from Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-34) October 18, 1989, made the first flyby of an asteroid, 951 Gaspra, October 29, 1991.  After being launched, it made flybys of Earth and Venus to gather speed to make its journey to the asteroid belt.

Galileo revealed Gaspra to be a cratered, elongated body, measuring 11.8 x 7.5 x 6.8 miles.

Galileo probe, launched from Atlantis, 1989

The Galileo probe to Jupiter wa launched from the Space Shuttle Atlantis, October 18, 1989, a mere 6 hours after take-off.  The STS-34 mission crew consisted of Commander Donald Williams, Pilot Michael McCulley, Shannon Lucid(!), Franklin Chang-Diaz (remember him?) and Ellen Baker.

Galileo became the first spacecraft to orbit and fly into the atmosphere of an outer planet.

Ellen Baker, a medical doctor, studied the effectiveness of anti-motion sickness medication in space.  I'm sure some of those early cosmonauts wished they had some of that.

The wake-up calls included Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, Centerfield by John Fogerty, Fly Like an Eagle by the Steve Miller Band and the OU Fight Song (Shannon!).

The original date of the launch was scheduled for October 12, which was the first day of the optimum window to launch a spacecraft directly to Jupiter, but they had to replace a faulty main engine controller on Engine No. 2.  The date was re-set to October 17, but the crew wanted to get Billy Joel's new album Storm Front, which was released that day, so they took off on October 18.

(Not really)