Happy birthday, astronaut Brian Duffy!

Brian Duffy, born June 20, 1953 in Boston, Massachusetts, has been in space four times. He graduated from the US Air Force Academy in 1975 and was selected by NASA to become an astronaut in June 1985.

His first flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-45) as pilot in March-April 1992.  He spent almost 9 days in space before returning to Earth. 

His second mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-57) as pilot in June-July 1993. He spent 10 days in space before returning to Earth. 

Duffy's third mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-72) as commander January 11-20, 1996. He spent almost 9 days in space before returning to Earth.

His fourth and final mission was aboard Discovery (STS-92) as commander to the International Space Station October 11-24, 2000. He spent 13 days in space before returning to Earth.

Duffy was inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame May 14, 2016.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Daniel Barry!

Daniel Barry, born December 30, 1953 in Norwalk, Connecticut, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights. 

His first flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-72) as mission specialist in January 1996.  He conducted a spacewalk with fellow astronaut Leroy Chiao.

His second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-96) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in May-June 1999.  He conducted an EVA with fellow astronaut Tamara Jernigan.

HIs third and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-105) as mission specialist to the International Space Station.  He conducted two EVAs with fellow astronaut Patrick Forrester. 

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Brent Jett!

Brent Jett, born October 5, 1958 in Pontiac, Michigan, is a veteran of four space shuttle missions.  He became a Naval aviator, and was deployed overseas aboard the USS Saratoga to the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Jett's first mission into space aboard Endeavour (STS-72) in January 1996 as pilot.  He spent almost 9 days in space.

His second mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-81) as pilot in January 1997 to the space station Mir, spending just over 10 days in space.

His third trip into space was aboard Endeavour (STS-97) as commander in December 2000 to the International Space Station.

His fourth and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-115) as commander in September 2006, the first assembly mission to the International Space Station since the Columbia disaster.

He has spent  over 41 days in space.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Winston Scott!

Winston Scott, born August 6, 1950 in Miami, Florida, is a veteran of two space shuttle missions.  He graduated from Coral Gables Senior High School and was considered one of the school's best trumpet players.

He completed flight training from the US Navy and has flown more than 20 different military and civilian aircraft and logged more than 5000 hours in flight.

His first mission into space was aboard Endeavour (STS-72) as mission specialist in January 1996.  He performed an EVA on January 17 with fellow astronaut Leroy Chiao for almost 7 hours.

His second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-87) November-December 1997 as mission specialist.  He performed two EVAs with astronaut Takao Doi for a total of almost 12 hours in space.  They are the first EVAs conducted by a Japanese astronaut.

He retired from NASA and the US Navy in July 1999.

Celebrating Black History Month - Winston Scott, Space Shuttle astronaut

Winston Scott, born August 6, 1950, is the veteran of two space shuttle missions.  He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in music from Florida State University but then went into Aeronautical Engineering and got a Masters from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.

He first went into space aboard Endeavour (STS-72) in January 1996 as mission specialist.  He performed his first EVA during the flight.

His second mission was on Columbia (STS-87) in November-December 1997, when he performed two more EVAs.

Scott wrote a book Reflections From Earth Orbit, which is about his experiences in space.

STS-72 launched 1996

Left to right - Seated: Brent Jett, Brian Duffy; 

Standing: Winston Scott, Leroy Chiao, Koichi Wakata, Daniel Barry

 Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour blasted off January 11, 1996 on its tenth mission (STS-72).  Its primary mission was to capture a Japanese microgravity research satellite and return it to Earth.  

Endeavour's crew consisted of Commander Brian Duffy, Pilot Brent Jett, Mission Specialist Leroy Chiao, Mission Specialist Winston Scott, Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata (JAXA) and Mission Specialist Daniel Barry.

Wakata operated the remote manipulator system arm on the shuttle to capture the satellite.

On the seventh day of the flight, Scott climbed into the payload bay and Endeavour was maneuvered into a position where he would be exposed to the extreme cold of space (-104 °F) to test how his spacesuit would protect him.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut & UFO spotter, Leroy Chiao!

Leroy Chiao, born August 28, 1960 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a veteran of 3three Space Shuttle flights and one Soyuz mission to the International Space Station.  He received a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1987.

His first mission was on board Columbia (STS-65) in July 1994, which carried the first Japanese woman in to space, Chiaki Mukai.

Chiao's second trip was on board Endeavour (STS-72) in January 1996 and his third was aboard Discovery in October 2000 (STS-92).  Since he was fluent in Mandarin Chinese, he studied Russian and flew to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-5, Expedition 10, in October 2004.  He remained on the ISS until April 2005.

Here is some interesting footage of him experiencing strange lights during an EVA: