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 Marsha Ivins!

Marsha Ivins, born April 15, 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland, is a veteran of five space shuttle flights.

Her first flight was aboard Columbia (STS-32) as mission specialist in January 1990, the first mission of the 1990s.

Her second flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-46) as mission specialist in July-August 1992.  One of the objectives of the mission was to deploy the NASA/Italian Space Agency joint project, the Tethered Satellite System (TSS).

Her third flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-62) as mission specialist in March 1994.  During the mission, she spoke with students at Bronx High School of Science, who asked her questions about experiments being conducted in space.

Her fourth flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-81) as mission specialist in January 1997 to the space station Mir.  It was the fifth space shuttle mission mission to Mir.

Her fifth and final flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-98) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in February 2001.  The crew delivered the Destiny Laboratory Module to the ISS.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut John Grunsfeld!

John Grunsfeld, born October 10, 1958 in Chicago, Illinois, is a veteran of five space shuttle flights.

His first mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-67) as mission specialist in March 1995.  The mission carried an experiment sponsored by the Australian Space Office.

His second mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-81) as mission specialist in January 1997 to the space station Mir.  During the mission, Grunsfeld made a call to the NPR show Car Talk, which was hosted by two fellow graduates of MIT.

His third flight was aboard Discovery (STS-103) as mission specialist in December 1999. It was a servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.  Grunsfeld conducted two EVAs with fellow astronaut Steven Smith.

His fourth mission was aboard Columbia (STS-109) as mission specialist in March 2002.  It was another (the fourth) servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.  Grunsfeld conducted three EVAs with fellow astronaut Richard Linnehan.

His fifth and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-125) as mission specialist in May 2009.  It was the fifth and final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.  Grunsfeld conducted three EVAs with fellow astronaut Andrew Feustel.

His total EVA time is 58 hours, 30 minutes.  His time in space is 58 days, 15 hours, 3 minutes.

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.

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-81) launched 1997

STS-81 crew

Front row (L-R):  Front: Brent Jett, Michael Baker; 

Back Row (L-R): John Grunsfeld, John Blaha, Peter Wisoff, Jerry Linenger, Marsha Ivins

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-81), launched January 12, 1997, was the fifth mission to the space station Mir.  Its crew consisted of Commander Michael Baker, Pilot Brent Jett, Peter Wisoff, John Gunsfeld, Marsha Ivins and Jerry Linenger.

Linenger stayed on board Mir as part of Expedition EO-22 and John Blaha returned with the rest of the crew January 22. Linenger became the third American to live on Mir.  Blaha had spent 118 days aboard.

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 Jerry Linenger!

Jerry Michael Linenger, born January 16, 1955 in East Detroit, Michigan, is a veteran of 3 Space Shuttle flights and one mission aboard Mir.  After graduating from the US Naval Academy in 1977 down here in Annapolis, Maryland, he went to medical school, eventually getting a Doctor of Philosophy in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina in 1989.

His first trip into space was aboard Discovery (STS-64) in September 1994 as mission specialist.  Dr. Linenger's second mission was on Atlantis (STS-81) in January 1997 to the space station Mir, where he stayed for 132 days as part of Expedition EO-22.  While on board, he became the first American astronaut to conduct an EVA from a foreign spacecraft, wearing a foreign-made spacesuit.

He returned to Earth aboard Atlantis (STS-84) in May 1997.

Happy birthday, 6-time astronaut John Blaha!

John Elmer Blaha, born August 26, 1942 in San Antonio, made 6 trips to space aboard space shuttles and one four-month stay on Mir.

His first flight was on board Discovery (STS-29) in March 1989.  His second mission was also on Discovery (STS-33) in November 1989. His third mission (STS-43) was on Atlantis in August 1991.  The fourth was on Columbia (STS-58) in October 1993, during which they performed numerous medical experiments expanding our knowledge of human physiology in space.

His fifth flight took him to Mir on Atlantis (STS-79) in September 1996 where he would spend the next four months.  Atlantis brought Shannon Lucid home from Mir.

Blaha returned to Earth on Atlantis (STS-81) in January 1997.