Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Joe Engle!

Joe Engle, born August 26, 1932 in Chapman, Kansas, was chosen by NASA as an astronaut in 1966.  He was the backup pilot for the Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 14.  He was originally scheduled as Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 17 but NASA selected Harrison Schmitt instead.

His first mission into space was aboard Columbia (STS-2) as commander with pilot Richard Truly in November 1981.  The mission was intended to reboot the Skylab space station but due to development delays and the Skylab's deteriorating orbit, Skylab was de-orbited in July 1979.

His second and final mission was as commander of Discovery (STS-51-I) in August-September 1985.  He spent just over 7 days in space.

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.

Discovery (STS-51-I) launched 1985

STS-51-I crew

Front row L-R: Joe Engle, Richard Covey

Back row L-R: James van Hoften, John Lounge, William Fisher

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-51-I), launched August 27, 1985, was the sixth flight for Discovery.  Its crew consisted of Commander Joe H. Engle, Pilot Richard Covey, James van Hoften, John Lounge and William Fisher. 

Fisher and van Hoften conducted two EVAs for a total of almost 12 hours.

They returned to Earth September 3.

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.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut James "Ox" Hoften!

James Dougal Adrianus van Hoften, born June 11, 1944 in Fresno, California is a veteran of two space shuttle flights.  He received a PhD in Hydraulic Engineering from Colorado State University and did two tours in Southeast Asia where he flew over 60 combat missions.

He was selected as an astronaut in January 1978.  His first mission was aboard Challenger (STS-41-C) as mission specialist in April 1984.  He conducted two EVAs during the mission with fellow astronaut George Nelson, logging just over 10 hours in space.

His second and last mission was aboard Discovery (STS-51-I) as mission specialist August-September 1985, where he performed two more EVAs with William Fisher, logging almost 12 hours in space.

He retired from NASA in August 1986.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut William Fisher!

William Frederick Fisher, born April 1, 1946 in Dallas, Texas, flew on Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-51-I) August-September 1985 as mission specialist. It was his only flight into space.  After leaving NASA, he returned to practice emergency medicine in Houston.