Steven Nagel, Space Shuttle astronaut, born October 27, 1946

Steven Nagel, born October 27, 1946 in Columbia, Missouri, went into space four times.

His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-51-G) as mission specialist in June 1985.  It was Shannon Lucid's first flight as well.

His second flight was aboard Challenger (STS-61-A) as pilot in October-November 1985.  It was the last successful flight of Challenger and holds the record for the largest crew - eight - aboard any since spacecraft for the entire mission.

His third mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-37) as commander in April 1991.  The mission included two EVAs, the first since 1985. 

His fourth and final mission was aboard Columbia (STS-55) as commander in April-May 1993.  The mission hosted 88 experiments from 11 different nations.

He was married to fellow astronaut Linda Godwin.  

Nagel passed away in August 2014 from advanced melanoma.

Happy birthday, German astronaut Ulrich Walter!

Ulrich Walter, born February 9, 1954 in Iserlohn, Germany, went into space once, aboard Columbia (STS-55) as a payload specialist in April-May 1993.  The mission carried the German Spacelab into orbit.

Happy birthday, German astronaut Hans Schlegel!

Hans Schlegel, born August 3, 1951 in Germany, is an ESA astronaut and has been into space twice on space shuttle missions.

His first trip into space was aboard Columbia (STS-55) as a payload specialist in April-May 1993.  It was an international cooperative effort between the United States, Germany and nine other nations.

His second and final trip was aboard Atlantis (STS-122) as a mission specialist in February 2008 to the International Space Station.  He performed an EVA with fellow astronaut Rex Walheim for 6 hours and 45 minutes.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Charles Precourt!

Charles Precourt, born June 29, 1955 in Waltham, Massachusetts, is a veteran of four space shuttle missions.

His first flight was on Columbia (STS-55) as mission specialist April-May 1993.  It was the second flight to carry a German spacelab into orbit.

His second flight was as pilot on Atlantis (STS-71) June-July 1995.  It was the first of seven straight missions to Mir flown by Atlantis.

For his third mission, Precourt was named Commander on Atlantis (STS-84) in May 1997.  This was the sixth flight of the shuttle program to Mir.

He was commander for his fourth and final spaceflight on Discovery (STS-91) in June 1998.  It was the final flight to Mir.

Columbia (STS-55) launched 1993

Seated (L-R): Terence Henricks,  Steven Nagel, Charles Precourt; 

Standing (L-R): Bernard Harris, Hans Schlegel, Jerry Ross, Ulrich Walter

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-55), launched April 26, 1993, carried the second reusable German Spacelab into orbit.  The first one flew on STS-61-A in October 1985.  Its crew consisted of Commander Steven Nagel, Pilot Terence T. Henricks, Jerry Ross, Charles Precourt, Bernard Harris, Ulrich Walter and Hans Schlegel (both from the German Aerospace Center [DLR]).

The crew conducted almost 90 experiments from over 11 countries, during the 10-day trip.

They returned to Earth May 6.

Celebrating Black History Month - Bernard Harris, first African-American to walk in space

Bernard Harris, Jr., born June 26, 1956 in Temple, Texas, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights and is the first African-American to walk in space. 

His first mission was on Columbia (STS-55) in April-May 1993 as mission  specialist.

His second flight was on Discovery (STS-63) in February 1995 as mission specialist to the space station Mir, but didn't dock.  During this mission, he became the first African-American to walk in space.  His fellow astronaut, Michael Foale, with whom he performed the EVA, became the first Brit to walk in space. 

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Jerry Ross!

Jerry Lynn Ross, born January 20, 1948 in Crown Point, Indiana, is a veteran of 7 space shuttle flights, tying Franklin Chang-Diaz for the most flights.

His first flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-61-B) as mission specialist November-December 1985.  He performed 2 6-hour space walks to demonstrate space station construction techniques.

His second was aboard Atlantis (STS-27) in December 1988 as mission specialist. This trip was cut short due to critical heat-resistant tiles being damaged during liftoff.

During his third flight, back on Atlantis (STS-37) in April 1991, he performed two more EVAs to deploy the Gamma Ray Observatory antenna and test prototype software for the Space Station Freedom.

He served as Payload Commander/Mission Specialist on Columbia (STS-55) in April-May 1993.

He returned to space on Atlantis (STS-74) in November 1995 to space station Mir. 

In December 1998, he was on Endeavour (STS-88), which was the first International Space Station assembly mission.  Ross performed 3 EVAs totaling 21 hours 22 minutes to connect umbilicals and attach tools and hardware.

His final flight was on Atlantis (STS-110) April 2002, when he performed 2 EVAs for just over 14 hours.

Ross retired from NASA on January 28, 2012 being the first person to go into space 7 times.