Happy birthday. astronaut Donald Thomas!

Donald Alan Thomas, born May 6, 1955 in Cleveland, Ohio, has made four trips into space.  He got his BS in Physics from Case Western Reserve University in 1977, a MS and PhD in Materials Science, both from Cornell University.

NASA selected him as an astronaut in January 1990.  His first mission was aboard Columbia (STS-65) as mission specialist in July 1994, with birthday twin Chiaki Mukai. It was the mission that deployed the International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) into space.  He spent almost 15 days in space.

His second flight was aboard Discovery (SGS-70) as mission specialist in July 1995.  It was the last of seven missions to carry a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) into orbit.  He spent 9 days in space.

On his third mission, he flew on Columbia (STS-83) as mission specialist in April 1997.  The flight was cut short due to a technical problem in a fuel cell, and the crew landed after just 4 days.

His fourth and final spaceflight was aboard Columbia (STS-94) as mission specialist in July 1997.  It was the re-flight of STS-83 just three months before.  The mission was a success and he landed after almost 16 days in space.

Columbia (STS-83) launched 1997

STS-83 crew

Front row (L-R): Janice Voss, James Halsell, Susan Kilrain, Donald Thomas

Back row (L-R): Roger Crouch, Greg Linteris, Michael Gernhardt

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-83), launched April 4, 1997, was originally scheduled to remain in space for over 15 days, but the mission was cut short when a problem with Fuel Cell #2 developed.  Its crew consisted of Commander James Halsell, Pilot Susan Kilrain, Janice Voss, Michael Gernhardt, Donald Thomas, Roger Crouch, and Greg Linteris.

The payload was the Microgravity Science Laboratory, but the crew returned to Earth after just 4 days.  The mission was flown again as STS-94.

Columbia (STS-94) launched 1997

STS-94 crew

Front Row (L-R): Janice Voss, James Halsell, Susan Kilrain Still, Donald Tomas

Back Row (L-R): Roger Crouch, Greg Linteris, Michael Gernhardt

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-94), launched July 1, 1997, was the reflight of STS-83 from April, which was cut short due to a problem with Fuel Cell #2.  Its crew consisted of Commander James Halsell, Pilot Susan Kilrain Still, Janice Voss, Michael Gernhardt, Donald Thomas, Roger Crouch, and Greg Linteris.  It was the only time in history two missions with more than one crewmember had the exact same crew.

This time, the crew managed to complete all their objectives for the mission.  They returned to Earth 

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Susan Kilrain!

Susan Leigh Still Kilrain, born October 24, 1961 in Augusta, Georgia, is a veteran of two Space Shuttle flights.  Her first mission was aboard Columbia (STS-83) as pilot in April 1997.  That mission was cut short because of a problem with Fuel Cell #2 and had to land early.

The mission was rescheduled for July 1997 on Columbia (STS-94), when she served as pilot again.  It is the only time in history that two space flights with more than one crew member flew with the exact same crew.

Janice Voss, Space Shuttle astronaut, born 1956

Janice E. Voss, born October 8, 1956 in South Bend, Indiana, was a veteran of 5 space shuttle missions. 

Voss' first mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-57) in June-July 1993 as mission specialist.  During the flight, the astronauts conducted numerous experiments inside the SpaceHab module.

Her second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-63) as mission specialist in February 1995, the first mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir program. 

Her third flight was aboard Columbia (STS-83) as mission specialist in April 1997.  The mission was cut short due to a problem with Fuel Cell #2.

Her fourth mission was aboard Columbia (STS-94) as mission specialist in July 1997.  This was the make-up flight for STS-83 which had to be cut short.

Voss' fifth and final mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-99) as mission specialist in February 2000.  It was the last solo mission of Endeavour, since the rest were devoted to the International Space Station.

Janice passed away in February 2012 from breast cancer.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Roger Crouch!

Roger Crouch, born September 12, 1940 in Jamestown, Tennessee, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights.  His bio on wikipedia.com says he was "on loan" to NASA from MIT to be the Senior Scientist for the International Space Station.

His first flight was on Columbia (STS-83) in April 1997 as payload specialist.  The mission was cut short because a problem with Fuel Cell #2 developed and Columbia landed just short of 4 days after it lifted off.

Crouch's second and final trip was on Columbia (STS-94) as payload specialist in July 1997.  This was considered a "reflight" of the STS-83 mission, since the earlier flight was cut short.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Mike Gernhardt!

Michael L. Gernhardt, born May 4, 1956 in Mansfield, Ohio, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights and three missions to NASA's Aquarius underwater laboratory.

His first mission was as mission  specialist on Endeavour (STS-69) in September 1995, NASA's 100th successful manned spaceflight.

His second flight, also as mission specialist was on Columbia (STS-83) in April 1997, but the mission was cut short due to a problem with a fuel cell.

His third mission was STS-94 on Columbia in July 1997.  This was the "reflight" of STS-83, which was cut short.

His fourth flight was on Atlantis (STS-104) in July 2001 to the International Space Station. He conducted three  EVAs during the mission.

In April 2005, he commanded NEEMO 8, in NASA's Aquarius underwater laboratory.  NEEMO stands for NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations.  His second mission underwater was for NEEMO 15, when he piloted the DeepWorker submersible, a small submarine which is a "stand-in" for a Space Exploration Vehicle that may one day explore an asteroid.

Most recently, he piloted hte DeepWorker submersible during NEEMO 16, for which he was principal investigator.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Greg Linteris!

Astronaut Gregory Linteris, born October 4, 1957 in Englewood, New Jersey, is a veteran of two Space Shuttle flights both on Columbia, as a payload specialist.

His first mission, STS-83 in April 1997, was only 4 days.  The flight was cancelled after 4 days due to a fuel cell problem.  His second trip was STS-94 in July 1997, which was STS-83 re-scheduled.  STS-94 was flown by the exact same crew as STS-83.

Linteris now works at the National Institute of Standards and Technology here in Gaithersburg, Maryland.