Endeavour (STS-99) launched 2000

STS-99 crew

Front row (L-R): Mamoru Mohri, Thiele

Back row (L-R): Janice Voss, Kevin Kegel, Dominic Gorie, Janet Kavandi

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-99), launched February 11, 2000, was the last solo flight of the Endeavour, since the rest of her flights were devoted to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Kevin Kregel, Pilot Dominic Pudwill Gorie, Gerhard Thiele (ESA), Janet Kavandi, Janice Voss, Mamoru Mohri (NASDA).

They returned to Earth February 22.

Happy birthday, German astronaut Gerhard Thiele!

Gerhard Thiele, born September 2, 1953 in Germany, went aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-99) as a mission specialist in February 2000.  He retired from the European Space Agency in October 2005.

Happy birthday, Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mohri!

Mamoru Mohri, born January 29, 1948 in Japan, is a veteran of two space shuttle missions. He was selected as astronaut by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) which is now the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

His first flight was on board Endeavour (STS-47) as mission specialist in September 1992.  It was a joint venture between NASA and NASDA, using a Spacelab module to conduct life and material sciences experiments.

Mohri's second and final flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-99) in February 2000 as mission specialist again.  The Smithsonian Networks aired a documentary Oasis Earth in 2007, which featured Mohri shooting video of the moon and Mount Fuji.

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 Dominic Gorie!

Dominic Lee Pudwill Gorie, born May 2, 1957 in Lake Charles, Louisiana, is a veteran of four space shuttle missions.  He was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1994 and flew as pilot on his first mission on Discovery (STS-91) in June 1998, the final space shuttle mission to Mir.

He piloted Endeavour (STS-99) in February 2000.  It was the last solo flight of Endeavour, since the remainder of its missions were dedicated to the International Space Station.

Gorie's third mission was as commander of Endeavour (STS-108) in December 2001.  The mission's main purpose was to deliver Expedition 4 to the ISS and bring back Expedition 3.

His final mission was as commander on Endeavour (STS-123) in March 2008.  The flight set a record for the longest shuttle mission to the ISS.

Happy birthday, shuttle astronaut Kevin Kregel!

Kevin Kregel, born September 16, 1956 in Amityville, NY, is a veteran of four shuttle flights.  Starting in the Air Force, he resigned to go to work for NASA in 1990.  His first Space Shuttle flight was aboard Discovery (STS-70) in July 1995, which deployed a NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite.

Kregel's second trip into space was aboard Columbia (STS-78) in December 1996, a multi-national effort with 10 countries and 5 space agencies cooperating.

He was commander of Columbia for mission STS-87 in November 1997 and spoke to President Bill Clinton over the phone on Thanksgiving Day.

His final trip was aboard Endeavour (STS-99) in February 2000.  The crew mapped more than 47 million miles of Earth's land surface.