Discovery (STS-119) launched 2009

Front row (L–R) Tony Antonelli, Lee Archambault. 

Back row (L–R) Joe Acaba, John L. Phillips, Steven Swanson, Richard Arnold, Koichi Wakata.

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-119) was launched March 15, 2009, the 125th shuttle mission and 28th trip to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Lee Archambault, Pilot Tony Antonelli, Joe Acaba, Steven Swanson, Richard Arnold, John L. Phillips and Koichi Wakata from JAXA.

A free-tailed bat was seen clinging to a fuel tank during the launch.  NASA observers thought it was have flown off once the shuttle started to launch but it did not.  A bat doctor analyzed the pictures and believed that it might have had a broken wing which is why it didn't fly away.  It probably was shaken off and incinerated in the rocket exhaust. 

They docked with the ISS on March 17 and crew performed three EVAs during the mission.  Wakata remained on board the ISS as part of Expedition 18.  Sandra Magnus, another member of Expedition 18, returned to Earth with the STS-119 crew March 28.

Endeavour (STS-126) launched 2008

L-R: Magnus, Bowen, Pettit, Ferguson, Boe, Kimbrough and Stefanyshyn-Piper 

STS-126 Mission Patch

Endeavour took off on its 22nd flight and the 124th mission (STS-126) of the space shuttle program November 14, 2008.  Her crew consisted of Commander Christopher Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe, Mission Specialist Donald Pettit, Mission Specialist Stephen Bowen, Mission Specialist Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Mission Specialist Robert Kimbrough and Mission Specialist Sandra Magnus.

It was the 27th shuttle mission to the International Space Station to conduct repairs. It was the first time cow and pig embryos were carried into space by NASA to see how weightlessness affected embryonic growth.

Stefanyshyn-Piper and Bowen each conducted three EVAs, and Kimbrough performed two during the 16-day mission.

Stefanyshyn-Piper requested Hold On Tight by Electric Light Orchestra as her wake-up song.  Awesome!

Endeavour returned to Earth November 30.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Sandra Magnus!

Sandra Hall Magnus, born October 30, 1964, in Belleville, Illinois, is the veteran of 4 space shuttle flights and one expedition on the International Space Station.  Her first mission was on Atlantis (STS-112) in October 2002 as a mission specialist.

Her second mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-126) in November 2008 to the International Space Station where she remained for 134 days.  She returned to Earth on Discovery (STS-119 [I don't know why the mission numbers are out of sequence]) in March 2009, the first flight for Joe Acaba (back on the ISS).

Her third and final mission was on Atlantis (STS-135) which was the last mission of the Space Shuttle Program July 2011.

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-112) launched 2002

Sandra Magnus, David Wolf, Pamela Melroy, Jeffrey Ashby, Peirs Sellers, Fydor Yurchikhin

Space Shuttle Atlantis took off from Kennedy Space Center  October 7, 2002 on mission STS-112.  Her crew consisted of Commander Jeffrey Ashby, Pilot Pamela Melroy, Mission Specialist 1 Piers Sellers, Mission Specialist 2 Sandra Magnus, Mission Specialist 3 David Wolf, and Mission Specialist Fyodor Yurchikhin.

During the launch, a chunk of foam broke off the external tank and created a 4"x3" dent in an attachment to one of the solid booster rocket.  Despite realizing the dangers of such an incident, NASA decided to continue with launches as scheduled.  Endeavour's flight in November 2002 went without incident.  The next flight was STS-107, Columbia, which ended in disaster.

Pam Melroy's wake up call on Day 10 was Prime Time from Alan Parsons Project!  What a gal!

Atlantis (STS-135) launches, Space Shuttle program's final mission, 2011

The Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) launched on July 8, 2011 on the last mission of the Space Shuttle program.  Four astronauts, the first four person crew in 28 years, delivered a payload to the International Space Station.  They returned to Earth July 21, closing the chapter on the Space Shuttle program.

Crew: Commander Christopher Ferguson, Pilot Douglas Hurley, Mission Specialist 1 Sandra Magnus, Mission Specialist 2 Rex Walheim