Happy birthday, astronaut Michael Baker!

Astronaut Michael Baker, born October 27, 1953 in Memphis, Tennessee, has been to space four times.  

His first trip was aboard Atlantis (STS-43) as pilot in August 1991.  He spent almost 9 days in space, making 142 orbits.

His second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-52) as pilot in October-November 1992.  He celebrated his 39th birthday during the mission.  He spent almost 10 days in space and made 159 orbits.

His third mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-68) as commander in September-October 1994. He spent over 11 days in space and made 182 orbits.

His fourth and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-81) as commander to the Mir space station in January 1997.  It was the second flight to Mir to involve an exchange of US astronauts. He spent over 10 days in space and made 160 orbits.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Steven Smith!

Steven Smith, born December 30, 1958 in Phoenix, Arizona, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights and seven space walks.

His first mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-68) as mission specialist in September-October 1994.  He spent just over 11 days in space.

His second mission was aboard Discovery (STS-82) in February 1997 as mission specialist.  It was the second servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.  Smith conducted three EVAs with fellow astronaut Mark Lee.

His third mission was on Discovery (STS-103) as mission specialist in December 1999 to service the Hubble Space Telescope again.  He conducted two EVAs with fellow astronaut John Grunsfield.

Smith's fourth and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-110) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in April 2002.  He conducted two more EVAs with fellow astronaut Rex Walheim,

Endeavour (STS-68) launched 1994

STS-68 crew

Front row (L-R): Thomas Jones, Peter Wisoff, Steven Smith, Daniel Bursch

Back row (L-R): Michael Baker, Terrence Willcutt

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-68), launched September 30, 1994, observed changes in Earth's climate and atmosphere during the eleven-day journey.   Its crew consisted of Commander Michael Baker, Pilot Terrence Wilcutt, Steven Smith, Daniel Bursch, Peter Wisoff, and Thomas Jones.

They returned to Earth October 11.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Peter (Jeff) Wisoff!

Peter "Jeff" Wisoff, born August 16, 1958 in Norfolk, Virginia, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.

His first mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-57) as mission specialist in June-July 1993.  He conducted a spacewalk with fellow astronaut David Low last almost 6 hours to retrieve the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) science satellite.

His second flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-68) as mission specialist in September-October 1994. Wisoff relayed information of storms, lightning and fires to the Space Radar Laboratory (SRL-2) scientists.

Wisoff's third mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-81) as mission specialist in January 1997.  It was the fifth space shuttle mission to the space station Mir.

His fourth and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-92) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in October 2000, the 100th space shuttle mission of the program.  During the flight Wisoff performed two EVAs with fellow astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria for a total of 14 hours.

Wisoff is married to fellow astronaut Tamara Jernigan.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Daniel Bursch!

Daniel Bursch, July 25, 1957 in Bristol, Pennsylvania, is a veteran of three space shuttle missions and one mission to the International Space Station.

His first flight was on Discovery (STS-51) as mission specialist in September 1993.  During the flight, he rode a stationary bike as part of a continuing study of using exercise to counteract the effects of weightlessness on the body.

His second flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-68) as mission specialist September-October 1994.  He partook in a radar experiment to search for environmental changes in Earth's land masses and oceans since the previous mission.

Bursch's third mission was on Endeavour (STS-77) in May 1996.  A Coca-Cola fountain was on board to see if carbonated beverages could be produced from the carbon dioxide and water stored separately.

His fourth trip into space was on Endeavour (STS-108), the fourth mission to the International Space Station, as a member of Expedition 4. Bursch performed 2 EVAs during his six-month stay. 

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Tom Jones!

Thomas Jones, born January 22, 1955 here in Baltimore, Maryland, is a veteran of four (magic number!) space shuttle flights.  He graduated from high school in Essex and got his Bachelor's Degree from the United States Air Force Academy.  While serving 6 years in the Air Force, he got pilot training in Oklahoma!  Wikipedia doesn't say where, though.

His first flight was on Endeavour (STS-59) in April 1994 as mission specialist.  His second flight was also on Endeavour (STS-68) September-October 1994 as mission specialist.

He was scheduled to conduct two EVAs during his third mission on Columbia (STS-80) with fellow astronaut Tammy Jernigan in November-December 1996.  However, problems with the airlock hatch resulted in both being cancelled.

His fourth and final mission was on Atlantis (STS-98) in February 2001 to the International Space Station.  This time he completed three successful EVAs totaling over 19 hours in space.

He retired from NASA in 2001.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Terrence W. Wilcutt!

Terrence Wilcutt, born October 31, 1949 in Russellville, Kentucky, is a veteran of 4 space shuttle missions. (He shares his birthday with Michael Collins!) It seems four is the average number of flights for a space shuttle astronaut.  Does anybody know?  I'll have to check that out.

Anyway, Wilcutt's first flight was on Endeavour (STS-68) September 30-October 11, 1994 when he was pilot.

His second mission was on Atlantis (STS-79) in September 1996 also as pilot.  On this mission, they brought back Shannon Lucid from the space station Mir after her record breaking stay. 

He was commander on his third mission, which was on Endeavour (STS-89) in January 1998.  The crew flew to Mir again for another American astronaut exchange, the fifth of the program.

His fourth and final mission was back on Atlantis (STS-106) in September 2000.  He and the crew spent a week transferring equipment and supplies to the International Space Station, getting it ready for a permanent crew.

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