The crew woke up to John Denver’s Leaving on a Jet Plane on Day
3, October 7. They lowered Challenger’s
orbit to 140 miles, which was the optimal altitude for the Shuttle Imaging
Radar-B (SIR-B) and other Earth-observing instruments. Garneau continued his
CANEX investigations. Leestma conducted several
scheduled ORS fuel transfers.
Scully-Power continued his oceanography studies.
Thomas John Hennen, born August 17, 1952 in Albany, Georgia, went into space aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-44), a Department of Defense mission in November 1991. Hennen is the first Warrant Officer within the US Army and Department of Defense to have been selected as a member of a Space Shuttle crew.
He spent almost 7 days in space and completed 10 orbits. He retired from the Army in December 1995 and lives in Houston, Texas.
Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-4), launched June 27, 1982, was the final test flight for the shuttle program. After a successful week-long mission, the shuttle was deemed to be operational. Its crew consisted of Commander Ken Mattingly and Pilot Henry Hartsfield.
After launch, the solid rocket boosters were lost when their main parachutes failed.
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 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.
Borus Morukov, born October 1, 1950 in Moscow, Soviet Union, went into space aboard Atlantis (STS-106) to the International Space Station as mission specialist. Prior to becoming an astronaut, he completed medical training in cardiology, gastroenterology, otolaryngology, stomatology, ophthalmology and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He logged just over 11 days 19 hours in space.
He passed away January 2015 from undisclosed causes.
John W. Young, born September 24, 1930 in San Francisco, California, has been referred to as NASA's most experienced astronaut. He was the only person to participate in three different space programs.
In the 1960s, he flew on Gemini 3 and Gemini 10. He flew on Apollo 10 and Apollo 16, making him one of three people to go to the moon twice. In the 1980s, he flew twice on Columbia (STS-1), the first space shuttle flight, and again on STS-9.
After 42 years with NASA, he retired in December 2004. He passed away in January 2018 from complications from pneumonia.
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.
Standing (L-R): Michael Gernhardt, James Newman, James Voss
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-69) launched September 7, 1995 for the 100th successful manned spaceflight for NASA. Its crew consisted of Commander David Walker, Pilot Kenneth Cockrell, James Voss, James Newman, and Michael Gernhardt.
It was also the second flight of the Wake Shield Facility. Other experiments investigated bone loss during space flights, monitoring and measuring long-term variations in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) from the sun and tested assembly techniques for the International Space Station.
Bryan O'Connor, born September 6, 1946 in Orange, California, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights.
His first flight was as pilot on Atlantis (STS-61-B) November-December 1985. The mission deployed three communication satellites and tested constructing structures in orbit.
His second was as Commander on Columbia (STS-40) in June 1991. It was the first space lab mission dedicated solely to biology and the first mission to include three women astronauts.
Back row L-R: James van Hoften, John Lounge, William Fisher
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-51-I), launched August 27, 1985, was the sixth flight for Discovery. Its crew consisted of Commander Joe H. Engle, Pilot Richard Covey, James van Hoften, John Lounge and William Fisher.
Fisher and van Hoften conducted two EVAs for a total of almost 12 hours.
Manley "Sonny" Carter, born August 15, 1947 in Macon, Georgia, went into space on Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-33) in November 1989, as mission specialist.
Carter died on April 5, 1991 in an airplane crash in Brunswick, Georgia.
Charles Brady Jr., born August 12, 1951, flew into space on Space Shuttle Columbia on mission STS-78 in June-July 1996. He was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1982 and qualified for mission specialist.
He died in July 2006 from self-inflicted wounds after suffering a long illness related to a severe type of arthritis.
Standing (L-R): Robert Curbeam, Stephen Robinson, Nancy Jan Davis, Bjarni Tryggvason
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-85) blasted off August 7, 1997 with the first Icelandic-born astronaut, Bjarni Tryggvason, payload specialist. The rest of the crew consisted of Commander Curtis Brown, Pilot Kent Rominger, Nancy Jan Davis, Robert Curbeam, and Stephen Robinson. Tryggvason was an astronaut from the Canadian Space Agency.
This was the fourth cooperative mission between the German Space Agency and NASA. The crew returned to Earth August 19, a day later than scheduled due to fog at the Kennedy Space Center.
Michael J. McCulley, born August 4, 1943, in San Diego, California, went into space aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-34) in October 1989. He enlisted in the Navy after graduating from high school and served on a diesel-powered submarine and two nuclear-powered submarines. He also received pilot training before being selected by NASA in May 1984.
STS-43 crew (L-R): Shannon Lucid, James Adamson, John Blaha, David Low, Michael Baker
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-43), the ninth mission for this shuttle, was launched August 2, 1991 to deploy the fourth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-5). Its crew consisted of Commander John Blaha, Pilot Michael Baker, Shannon Lucid, David Low and James Adamson.
Other than the deployment of the TDRS-5, the crew remained busy with a variety of experiments throughout the nine-day mission.
Front row (seated) L–R: Gordon Fullerton, Roy Bridges,
Back row (standing) L–R: Anthony England, Karl Henize, F. Story Musgrave, Loren Acton, John-David Bartoe
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-51-F), launched July 29, 1985, was the only shuttle mission that had to "Abort To Orbit" (ATO). Shortly after liftoff, a number of sensor failings caused the main engine to shut down and the crew had to abort to orbit. They achieved orbit at a lower altitude and managed to complete their mission successfully.
Its crew consisted of Commander Gordon Fullerton, Pilot Roy Bridges, Karl Henize, F. Story Musgrave, Anthony England, Loren Acton and John-David Bartoe. Challenger's primary payload was the lab module Spacelab 2, which involved multiple experiments related to life sciences and physics.
Coca-Cola and Pepsi provided carbonated drinks for the mission in specially-designed cans, but the crew preferred Tang, since it could be mixed with chilled water available on the shuttle. The carbonated beverages weren't refrigerated and foamed excessively in microgravity.
John Glenn, born July 18, 1921 in Cambridge, Ohio, is the first American to orbit Earth. In February 1962, he orbited Earth three times in Friendship 7, lasting almost 5 hours. After his historic flight, JFK said Glenn was too valuable to the nation as an iconic figure that he would not risk putting Glenn back in space.
After leaving NASA, Glenn ran for the US Senate and became Ohio's senator from 1974 to 1999.
Glenn did return to space in 1998 aboard the space shuttle Discovery (STS-95) October-November 1998, making him the oldest person in space.
John Casper, born July 9, 1943 in Greenville, South Carolina, is a veteran of 4 space shuttle flights. After getting a Maser of Science degree in Astronautics from Purdue University in 1967, he attended U.S. Air Force to become a fighter pilot. He flew 229 combat missions in the Vietnam War.
He served as pilot on his first space flight on Atlantis (STS-36) February-March 1990. It was a Department of Defense flight so its payload was confidential.
His second flight was as commander on Endeavour (STS-54) January 1993, during which the fifth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite was deployed.
Casper was assigned as commander aboard Columbia (STS-62) in March 1994. The landing of the mission was chronicled by the Discovery Channel for a special featuring the Space Shuttle program.
His fourth and final mission was as commander aboard Endeavour (STS-77) in May 1996. A Coca-Cola fountain dispense with Coca-Cola and Diet Coke was taken aboard.
