Happy birthday, astronaut James Voss!

Astronaut James Voss, born March 3, 1949 in Cordova, Alabama, is a veteran of 5 space shuttle flights. He graduated from Auburn University in 1972 with a Bachelor's Degree in Aerospace Engineering, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army.  He attended the University of Colorado and graduated with a Master's Degree in Aerospace Engineering Sciences.

His first trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-44) as mission specialist in November-December 1991. The crew was scheduled for a ten-day mission but was scrubbed after only 6 days, due to failure of one of the three orbiter inertial measurement units.

His second trip was aboard Discovery (STS-53) as mission specialist in December 1992.  The payload was a classified by the US Department of Defense.  Voss and the crew spent over 7 days in space.

His third mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-69) as mission specialist in September 1995.  During the mission, Voss conducted an EVA with fellow astronaut Michael Gernhardt which lasted o6 hours 46 minutes.  The crew spent nearly 11 days in space.

Voss's fourth trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-101) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in May 2000.  During the mission, he conducted another EVA with fellow astronaut Jeffrey Williams which lasted 6 hours and 44 minutes. The crew spent nearly 10 days in space.

His fifth and final mission was aboard Discovery (STS-102) as mission specialist launched in March 2001 to the International Space Station.  Along with fellow astronauts Susan Helms (who celebrated her birthday last week) and cosmonaut Yuri Usachov, he participated in Expedition 2 aboard the ISS.  He and Voss conducted the longest EVA to date: 8 hours, 56 minutes. They returned to Earth in August 2001 aboard Discovery (STS-105).

Overall, Voss has spent over 202 days in space.

Discovery (STS-53) launched 1992

STS-53 crew

Back row (L-R): David Walker, Robert Cabana, Michael Clifford

Front row (L-R): Guion Bluford, James Voss

STS-53 mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-53) launched December 2, 1992, carrying a classified payload for the Department of Defense. Its crew consisted of Commander David Walker, Robert Cabana, Guion Bluford (final flight), Michael Clifford (first flight), and James Voss.

One of the unclassified payload was the Orbital Debris Radar Calibration Spheres (ODERACS), which put objects of known size and shape into orbit.  The experiment was used to calibrate radars and telescopes for measuring orbital debris.

The crew returned to Earth December 9.

David Walker, Space Shuttle astronaut, born 1944

David Walker, born May 20, 1944 in Columbus, Georgia, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.

His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-51-A) as pilot in November 1984.  The flight recovered two satellites.

His second flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-30) as commander in May 1989.  The primary objective of the mission was to deploy the Magellan spacecraft to Venus.

His third flight was aboard Discovery (STS-53) as commander in December 1992.  It was a mission dedicated to the US Department of Defense.

His fourth and final flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-69) as commander in September 1995.  It was the second flight of the Wake Shield Facility.

He passed away from cancer in April 2001.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Robert Cabana!

Robert Cabana, born January 23, 1949 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.  He became a naval aviator in the US Marine Corps.

His first flight was on Discovery (STS-41) in October 1990 as pilot.  The primary objective of the mission was to launch the Ulysses probe which was to study the polar regions of the sun. 

His second flight was again on Discovery (STS-53) and as pilot in December 1992.  It was a mission for the US Department of Defense.

Cabana's third flight was aboard Columbia (STS-65) in July 1994 as commander.  The crew conducted experiments from the space agencies from Japan, Canada, Germany and France as well as NASA and the ESA.

His fourth and final mission was on Endeavour (STS-88) in December 1998 as commander.  It was the first space shuttle mission to the International Space Station.

After he retired from being an astronaut he became director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center.

Happy birthday, Michael Clifford, Space Shuttle astronaut

Michael "Rich" Clifford, born October 13, 1952 in San Bernadino, California, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights and one of the first astronauts to perform an EVA between two docked spacecraft.

His first trip to space was aboard Discovery (STS-53) in December 1992.  It was a mission supporting the Department of Defense.

His second flight was on Endeavour (STS-59) in April 1994. 

His third and final trip to space was aboard Atlantis (STS-76) in March 1996.  During this trip, he and fellow astronaut Linda Godwin performed the first EVA between two docked spacecraft, Atlantis and the space station Mir.

Clifford was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1994.