Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Bonnie Dunbar!

Bonnie Dunbar, born March 3, 1949 in Sunnyside, Washington, has flown on five space shuttle missions and been to Mir twice.

Her first flight as aboard Challenger (STS-61-A) as mission specialist in October-November 1985. The mission was funded and directed by West Germany.

Her second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-32) as mission specialist in January 1990.  

Her third flight was again aboard Columbia (STS-50) as mission specialist in June-July 1992.  Its primary objective was the US Microgravity Laboratory 1.

Her fourth flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-71) as mission specialist to the space station Mir in June-July 1995.  It was the first Space Shuttle docking to the Russian space station.

Her fifth and final flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-89) as mission specialist to Mir in January 1998.  The mission swapped crew members aboard Mir. 

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Joe Edwards!

Joe Frank Edwards, born February 3, 1957 in Richmond, Virginia, went into space aboard the space shuttle Endeavour (STS-89) to Mir as pilot in January 1998.  He spent over 8 days and 19 hours in space.

He retired from NASA in 2000.

Endeavour (STS-89) launched 1998

STS-89 crew:

Front row (L-R): Joe Edwards, Terrence Wilcutt, Bonnie Dunbar

Back row (L-R): David Wolf, Salizhan Sharipov, James Reilly, Andy Thomas, Michael Anderson

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-89) was launched January 22, 1998 to the space station Mir.  Its crew consisted of Commander Terrence Wilcutt, Pilot Joe Edwards, James Reilly, Michael Anderson, Bonnie Dunbar, Salizhan Sharipov (Roscosmos) and Andy Thomas. 

Endeavour carried Andy Thomas to Mir and brought David Wolf back.  Both were part of expedition Mir EO-24.  The crew returned to Earth January 31.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov!

Salizhan Sharipov, born August 24, 1964 in the former Soviet Union, is the first cosmonaut from the Kyrgyz Republic.  He graduated from the Soviet Air Force Pilot School in 1987.

His first mission in space was aboard Endeavour (STS-89) as mission specialist in January 1998. It was a shuttle mission to the space station Mir.

He was commander of Soyuz TMA-5, launched to the International Space Station in October 2004 as part of Expedition 10.  He performed two EVAs for a total of 10 hours 34 minutes.  He returned to Earth in April 2005.

Space Shuttle astronaut Michael P. Anderson born 1959

Michael Phillip Anderson, born December 25, 1959 in Plattsburg, NY, was a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions.  After graduating from the University of Washington in Seattle he became a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.  In 1986, he was selected to attend undergraduate pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma.

Anderson reported to NASA in March 1995 and qualified to become a mission specialist.  His first Space Shuttle flight was on Endeavour (STS-89) in January 1998 to the space station Mir.

His second and final flight was aboard the ill-fated mission of Columbia (STS-107) which disintegrated over north Texas upon its return in February 2003.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Andy Thomas!

Andrew Sydney Withiel Thomas, born December 18, 1951, is the first Australian-born professional astronaut in space.  Fellow countryman Paul Scully-Power was the first Aussie in space but he was an oceanographer.  Thomas has flown on 5 shuttle missions, including time spent on Mir.

His first mission was on Endeavour (STS-77) May 1996 as a Mission Specialist. On January 23, 1998, he took off on Endeavour (STS-89) and transferred to the Mir spacecraft where he spent four months.  He returned to Earth in May aboard Discovery (STS-91).

In March 2001, he flew on Discovery (STS-102) to the International Space Station for resupplying and rotating Expedition 1 and Expedition 2 crews. 

His fifth and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-114) for NASA's "Return to Flight" mission July-August 2005.  It was the first space shuttle mission following the Columbia disaster.

Thomas retired from NASA in February 2014.

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.

.