Happy birthday, astronaut Jeffrey Ashby!

Jeffrey Ashby, born June 16, 1954 in Dallas, Texas, has been into space three times.  He served in the navy, flying combat missions in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Southern Watch, and Operation Continue Hope.

His first space flight was aboard Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-93) as pilot in July 1999. He returned to Earth after almost 4 days in space.

His second mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-100) as pilot to the International Space Station in April-May 2001. He returned to Earth after almost 12 days.

His third and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-112) as commander to the International Space Station in October 2002.  He returned to Earth after almost 11 days in space.

Happy birthday, astronaut Catherine Coleman!

Catherine "Cady" Coleman, born December 14, 1960 in Charleston, South Carolina, has been into space three times.  She received a B.S. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD in polymer science and engineering from University of Massachusetts.

Her first trip into space was aboard Columbia (STS-73) as mission specialist in October-November 1995. 

Her second trip was aboard Columbia (STS-93) as mission specialist in July 1999.  The main objective of this mission was the Chandra X-Ray Observatory.

Her third and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-20 launched in December 2010 to the International Space Station. She was part of Expeditions 26 and 27.  She returned to Earth in May 2011.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Steve Hawley!

Steven Hawley, born December 12, 1951 in Ottawa, Kansas, is a veteran of 5 space shuttle flights, logging over 770 hours in space.

His first mission was aboard the maiden voyage of Discovery (STS-41-D) as mission specialist August-September 1984.  Portions of the mission were filmed for the IMAX motion picture The Dream is Alive.

His second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-61-C) in January 1986 as mission specialist.  It was the last successful space shuttle flight before the Challenger disaster, which occurred only 10 days after Columbia landed.

Hawley's third flight was on Discovery (STS-31) in April 1990.  During this flight, the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed.

His fourth flight was on Discovery(!) (STS-82) in February 1997.  His primary role was to operate the Discovery's robotic arm to retrieve and redeploy the Hubble Telescope after upgrades and repairs.

Hawley's fifth and final flight was on Columbia (STS-93) in July 1999 as flight engineer.  The Chandra X-ray Observatory was deployed during the mission.

Happy birthday, French astronaut Michel Tognini!

Michel Tognini, born September 30, 1949 in Vincennes, France, has gone into space on Soyuz and space shuttle missions.  He was selected by France's space agency, the National Center for Space Studies (CNES), in July 1986. 

His first flight was aboard Soyuz TM-15 in July 1992 to the space station Mir.  He stayed on board for about two weeks before returning on Soyuz TM-14.

His second and final mission in space was aboard Columbia (STS-93) as mission specialist in July 1999.  The mission lasted just under 5 days.

Discovery (STS-114) launched 2005

Back (L-R): Stephen Robinson, Andrew Thomas, Charles Camarda, Soichi Noguchi 

Front (L–R): James Kelly, Wendy Lawrence, Eileen Collins

STS-114 mission patch

Discovery (STS-114), launched July 26, 2005 to the International Space Station, was the "Return to Flight", the first space shuttle mission following the Columbia disaster in 2003.  During Discovery's liftoff, video footage showed a piece of debris separating from the external tank, which was caused the Columbia disaster.  As a result, NASA decided to postpone future flights until they could modify the design.  Shuttle flights resumed a year later in July 2006.

STS-114's crew consisted of Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot James Kelly, Soichi Noguchi (JAXA), Stephen Robinson, Andrew Thomas, Wendy Lawrence, and Charles Camarda.  It was the second mission to be commanded by a woman, Eileen Collins, who also commanded STS-93. 

Three EVAs were performed by Robinson and Noguchi. 

Columbia (STS-93) launched 1999

STS-93 crew (L-R): Eileen Collins, Steven Hawley, Jeffrey Ashby, Michel Tognini, Catherine Coleman.

STS-93 mission patch

Space Shuttle Columbia blasted off July 23, 1999 with the first female commander of any shuttle mission.  Its crew consisted of Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot Jeffrey Ashby, Michel Tognini (Centre National d'etudes Spatiales, CNES), Steven Hawley and Catherine Coleman.

The mission's primary objective was to deploy the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the most sophisticated of its kind ever built.

After this flight, Columbia went out of service for upgrading and did not fly again until 2002 (STS-109).

The crew returned to Earth July 28.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Eileen Collins!

Eileen Marie Collins, born November 19, 1956 in Elmira, New York, is a veteran of four Space Shuttle flights.  She is the first female pilot for a space shuttle and first female commander of a space shuttle mission. Her parents immigrated from Ireland.

Her first flight was on Discovery (STS-63) in February 1995 as pilot, the first female to pilot the space shuttle.  She also piloted Atlantis (STS-84) in May 1997.

She served as commander aboard Columbia (STS-93) July 1999 for her third trip.  Her fourth and final trip was on Discovery (STS-114) July - August 2005.  During this last flight, Collins performed a backflip maneuver of Discovery so the crew of the International Space Station could check the hull for missing tiles.

How cool is that!