Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Thomas Marshburn!

Thomas Marshburn, born August 29, 1960 in Statesville, North Carolina, is a veteran of two space flights and has spent over 161 days in space. 

His first flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-127) as mission specialist to the International Space Station.  He participated in three EVAs during the mission for a total of about 19 hours.

His second flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-07M as flight engineer to the ISS in December 2012 with birthday twin Chris Hadfield.  He participated in Expeditions 34 and 35.  He returned to Earth in May 2013. 

Endeavour (STS-127) launched 2009

STS-127 crew (L-R): David Wolf, Chris Cassidy, Doug Hurley, Julie Payette, Mark Polansky, Thomas Marshburn, Timothy Kopra

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-127), launched July 15, 2009, delivered the final components of the Japanese Experiment Module to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley, Chris Cassidy, Julie Payette (CSA), Thomas Marshburn, David Wolf, and Timothy Kopra.

It was the first time two Candians were in space at the same time: Payette and Robert Thirsk.  Wolf, Kopra, Marshburn, and Cassidy performed 5 EVAs during the mission.

Kopra stayed on board the ISS and Koichi Wakata returned with the rest of the crew on July 31.

Soyuz TMA-07M launched 2012

L-R: Thomas Marshburn, Roman Romanenko, Chris Hadfield 

Mission patch

Soyuz TMA-07M, launched December 19, 2012, carried the three members of Expedition 34 to the International Space Station.  The crew was Commander Roman Romanenko (Roscosmos), Chris Hadfield (Canadian Space Agency) and Thomas Marshburn (NASA).

They remained on the ISS until May 13, 2013 when they returned to Earth landing in Kazakhstan May 14.