Happy birthday, German astronaut Ulf Merbold!

Dr. Ulf Merbold, born June 20, 1941 in Germany, is a retired European Space Agency astronaut and went into space three times. 

His first mission was aboard Columbia (STS-9) as payload specialist in November-December 1983.  He is the first non-US citizen to reach orbit in a US spacecraft.

His second mission was aboard Discovery (STS-42) as payload specialist in January 1992.  The main goal of the mission was to study microgravity on different organisms.

His third and final mission was aboard Soyuz TM-20 as research cosmonaut to the space station Mir in October 1994.  He participated in a month-long expedition Euromir 94.  He returned to Earth in November 1994 on Soyuz TM-19.

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.

Happy birthday, American cosmonaut Norman Thagard!

Norman Thagard, born July 3, 1943 in Marianna, Florida, is the first American to fly on a Russian spacecraft in March 1995, making him the first American cosmonaut.

His first trip into space was aboard Challenger (STS-7) as mission specialist in June 1983 with Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.

His second trip was aboard Challenger (STS-51-B) as mission specialist in April-May 1985.

His third trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-30) as mission specialist in May 1989.

Thagard's fourth mission was aboard Discovery (STS-42) as mission specialist in January 1992.

His fifth and last trip into space was aboard Soyuz TM-21 as a research cosmonaut to the Mir space station in March 1995.  He was part of the Mir EO-18 expedition and returned to Earth on Atlantis (STS-71) in July.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Stephen Oswald!

Stephen Scot Oswald, born June 30, 1951 in Seattle, Washington, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights. 

His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-42) as pilot in January 1992.  The shuttle carried the International Microgravity Laboratory and Spacelab module. 

His second mission was again aboard Discovery (STS-56) as pilot in April 1993.

His third and final mission was as commander on Endeavour (STS-67) in March 1995.

Discovery (STS-42) launched 1992

STS-42 crew (L-R): Stephen Oswald, Roberta Bondar, Norman Thagard, Ronald Grabe, David Hilmers, Ulf Merbold, William Readdy

STS-42 mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-42), launched January 22, 1992, carried seven astronauts into space to study the effects of microgravity on different organisms.  Its crew consisted  of Commander Ronald Grabe, Pilot Stephen Oswald, Norman Thagard, William Readdy, David Hilmers, Roberta Bondar (CSA) and Ulf Merbold (ESA).

Merbold, Germany's first astronaut, made his second flight on STS-42.  Roberta Bondar was Canada's first female astronaut and this was her only space flight.

They landed January 30.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Ronald Grabe!

Ronald John Grabe, born June 13, 1945 in New York City, New York, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.  In 1969 he was assigned as F-100 pilot in Vietnam where he flew 200 combat missions.

He became an astronaut in 1981 and his first flight into space was aboard the maiden voyage of Atlantis (STS-51-J) as pilot in October 1985.  It was the second shuttle mission dedicated completely to the Department of Defense.

His second flight was back aboard Atlantis (STS-30) as pilot in May 1989. The crew deployed the Magellan probe, to study Venus.

His third flight was as commander aboard Discovery (STS-42) in January 1992.  This mission carried Canada's first female astronaut Roberta Bondar. 

Grabe's last flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-57) as commander June-July 1993. 

He retired from NASA in 1994.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut William Readdy!

William Readdy, born January 24, 1952 in Quonset Point, Rhode Island, is a veteran of three space shuttle missions.  He graduated high school down the road here in McLean, Virginia and then got his Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy over here in Annapolis, Maryland.

His first flight was as mission specialist aboard Discovery (STS-42) in January 1992.

He served as pilot for his second mission on Discovery (STS-51) in September 1993, which was a servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.

He was commander of his third and final spaceflight on Atlantis (STS-79) in September 1996, the first shuttle mission to arrive at a fully completed Mir space station.  His crew transferred almost two tons of supplies to Mir, including water generated by Atlantis' fuel cells.  The flight home brought Shannon Lucid back to Earth, after setting a record for an American in space at that time.

Happy birthday, Roberta Bondar, first female Canadian astronaut!

Dr. Roberta Bondar, born December 4, 1945 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is the first Canadian female astronaut and flew on the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-42) in January 1992 as a payload specialist.  Before becoming an astronaut, Dr. Bondar received a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Toronto and then a Doctor of Medicine from McMaster University in Ontario.

After her only shuttle flight, she served as the head of NASA's space medicine.