posted 05-02-2013 02:45 PM            

January 17, 1996

Ed Campion
Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/358-1780)

Kyle Herring
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 713/483-5111)

RELEASE: 96-6

Astronauts Selected for STS-80, STS-83 Shuttle Missions

Kenneth D. Cockrell will command the third flight of the Wake Shield Facility (WSF) aboard Columbia (STS-80) scheduled for November 1996. He will be joined on the flight by Pilot Kent V. Rominger (Commander, USN), and Mission Specialists Tamara E. Jernigan, Ph.D., Thomas David Jones, Ph.D. and Dr. Story Musgrave.

In addition, Janice Voss, Ph.D., and Donald A. Thomas, Ph.D., have been named payload commander and mission specialist, respectively, for the long-duration microgravity science laboratory flight of Columbia (STS-83) scheduled for spring 1997. The commander, pilot, flight engineer and payload specialists will be named at a later date.

STS-80 will mark the third flight of the WSF that flew on STS-60 and STS-69 and the second flight of the Orbiting Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer (ORFEUS) satellite. Both satellites will be deployed and retrieved during the mission.

The saucer-shaped WSF is designed to fly free of the Shuttle, creating a super vacuum in its wake in which to grow thin film wafers for use in semiconductors and other high-tech electrical components. The ORFEUS instruments are mounted on the reusable Shuttle Pallet Satellite and will study the origin and makeup of stars.

Astronauts Jernigan and Jones will conduct a spacewalk during the mission to continue the flight test and evaluation of hardware for future spacewalks or extravehicular activity.

Columbia's next flight after STS-80 will be a 16-day mission to conduct multiple experiments in materials science research in a pressurized laboratory mounted in the payload bay. As payload commander, Voss will oversee the long-range planning and organization necessary for that mission.

Cockrell, 45, will be making his third flight on the Shuttle. He flew aboard Discovery on STS-56 in April 1993 and most recently on STS-69 aboard Endeavour in September 1995 -- the second flight of WSF. A Captain in the Naval Reserve, Cockrell joined NASA in 1987 as an aerospace engineer, research pilot and instructor for the Aircraft Operations Division at Johnson Space Center. He earned a master of science degree in aeronautical systems from the University of West Florida in 1974. Cockrell was born in Austin, TX.

Rominger, 39, completed his first Shuttle flight in October 1995 aboard Columbia on the STS-73 mission. He came to NASA in 1992 after serving as an operations officer aboard the USS Nimitz in the Arabian Gulf during Desert Storm. Rominger was born in Del Norte, CO, and earned a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1987.

Jernigan, 36, has flown three times on the Shuttle: STS- 40 on Columbia in June,1991, STS-52 on Columbia in October,1992, and STS-67 aboard Endeavour in March,1995. She joined the Astronaut Corps in 1985 after serving as a research scientist at the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA. Jernigan was born in Chattanooga, TN, and earned her doctorate in space physics and astronomy from Rice University in 1988.

Jones, 40, flew on two Shuttle missions aboard Endeavour in April and October, 1994 (STS-59 and STS-68) to assist in the operation of the Space Radar Laboratory. He joined NASA in 1990 after serving as a program management engineer at the Central Intelligence Agency's Office of Development and Engineering and as a senior scientist at Science Applications International Corp. in Washington, DC. Prior to that, Jones was a B-52 pilot and aircraft commander. He was born in Baltimore, MD, and earned a doctorate in planetary science from the University of Arizona in 1988.

Musgrave, 60, has flown on five Shuttle missions. He flew on Challenger's maiden voyage (STS-6) in April 1983 and participated in the first Shuttle spacewalk. He then flew on STS-51F aboard Challenger in July/August, 1985, STS-33 on Discovery in November, 1989, and STS-44 aboard Atlantis in November, 1991. Musgrave conducted three of the five spacewalks on his most recent flight -- the first Hubble Space Telescope (STS-61) servicing mission -- aboard Endeavour in December, 1993. He earned his doctorate in medicine from Columbia University in1964. Musgrave considers Lexington, KY, his hometown.

Voss, 39, flew on STS-57 aboard Endeavour in June,1993 and STS-63 aboard Discovery in February, 1995, the Shuttle mission that conducted a rendezvous within 37 feet of the Russian Space Station Mir. Voss earned her doctorate in aeronautics/astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977. She considers Rockford, IL, her hometown.

Thomas, 40, will be making his third flight aboard the Shuttle. He flew on a 15-day microgravity laboratory mission aboard Columbia in July, 1994 (STS-65) and most recently on STS-70 aboard Discovery in July, 1995 to deploy a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite. Thomas earned a master of science and doctorate from Cornell University in 1980 and 1982, respectively. He was born in Cleveland, OH.

posted 05-02-2013 04:06 PM            

March 5, 1993

Mark Hess/Ed Campion
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone: 202/358-1778)

Barbara Schwartz
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 713/483-5111)

RELEASE: 93-42

STS-62 and STS-59 Space Shuttle Crew Assignments Announced

NASA today named the crews of STS-62 and STS-59, two Space Shuttle missions scheduled for launch in early 1994.

USAF Colonel John H. Casper will command the STS-62 mission with the second U.S. Microgravity Payload and the second Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications payload, called OAST-2, aboard Columbia. Other crew members are USMC Major Andrew M. Allen as Pilot and mission specialists USN Commander Pierre J. Thuot, USA Lt. Colonel Charles D. "Sam" Gemar and Marsha S. Ivins.

Experiments on STS-62, a 13-day extended duration orbiter mission, include growing crystals of semiconductor materials; investigating the properties of xenon during phase transitions, investigating the fundamental behavior of materials as they solidify into structures known as dendrites and monitoring equipment that will measure and record disturbances in the microgravity environment of the USMP carrier. These experiments allow the scientific and commercial communities to test space-based processes for beneficial applications here on Earth.

USAF Colonel Sidney M. Gutierrez will command the STS-59 Space Radar Laboratory mission aboard Atlantis. Other crew members are USAF Colonel Kevin P. Chilton as Pilot and mission specialists Jay Apt, Ph.D., and Michael R. "Rich" Clifford, USA Lt. Colonel. Previously announced crew members are Linda M. Godwin, Ph.D., named Payload Commander in August 1991 and Thomas D. Jones, Ph.D., named mission specialist in February 1992.

The Space Radar Laboratory, STS-59, will take radar images of the Earth's surface for Earth system sciences studies including geology, geography, hydrology, oceanography, agronomy and botany; gather data for future radar system design including the Earth Observing System, and take measurements of the global distribution of carbon dioxide in the troposphere.

Casper, 49, commanded STS-54 in January 1993, a mission to deploy a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite. He was Pilot on STS-36 in February 1990, a DOD flight. Casper was born in Greenville, S.C., but considers Gainesville, Ga., his hometown. He received a bachelor of science degree in engineering science from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1966 and a master of science degree in astronautics from Purdue University in 1967.

Allen, 37, was Pilot on STS-46, an 8-day mission to deploy the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) and to demonstrate the Tethered Satellite System (TSS) launched in July 1992. Allen was born in Philadelphia, Penn., and received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Villanova University in 1977.

Thuot, 37, was mission specialist on STS-36, a DOD mission launched in February 1990. He also was mission specialist and one of the spacewalking crew members on Endeavour's maiden voyage to retrieve, repair and reboost the Intelsat communications satellite. Thuot was born in Groton, Conn., but considers Fairfax, Va., and New Bedford, Mass., his hometowns. He received a bachelor of science degree in physics from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1977 and a master of science degree in systems management from the University of Southern California in 1985.

Gemar, 37, was a mission specialist on STS-38, a DOD mission in November 1990, and STS-48 in September 1991 to deploy the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite which studied the winds, chemistry and energy particles in Earth's upper atmosphere. emar was born in Yankton, S.D., but considers Scotland, S.D., his hometown. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in engineering from the U.S. Military Academy in 1979.

Ivins, 41, was mission specialist on STS-32 in January 1990, an 11-day flight during which the crew deployed a communications satellite and retrieved the Long Duration Exposure Facility, and STS-46, the EURECA/TSS mission. Ivins was born in Baltimore, Md., and received a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado in 1973.

Gutierrez, 41, was Pilot on STS-40 Spacelab Life Sciences-1 in June 1991. Born in Albuquerque, N.M., Gutierrez received a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1973 and a master of arts degree in management from Webster College in 1977.

Chilton, 38, was Pilot on STS-49, the Space Shuttle Endeavour's maiden flight in May 1992. He was born in Los Angeles, Calif. Chilton graduated with a bachelor of science degree in engineering sciences fr1976 and received a master of science degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University on a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1977.

Apt, 43, was mission specialist and a spacewalking crew member on STS- 37 in April 1991, a mission to deploy the Gamma Ray Observatory and to test concepts and gather engineering data on the forces a crew member can exert on bolts and equipment in preparation for assembling Space Station Freedom. Apt was the flight engineer on STS-47. He was born in Springfield, Mass., but considers Pittsburgh, Penn., his hometown. Apt graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in physics from Harvard College in 1971 and received a doctorate in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1976.

Clifford, 40, flew as a mission specialist on STS-53 in December 1992, a DOD flight, during which Clifford operated a fluid transfer experiment and a laser detector to acquire transmissions from low-power Earth-based lasers. He was born in San Bernadino, Calif., but considers Ogden, Utah, his hometown. Clifford received a bachelor of science degree from the U.S. Military Academy in 1974 and a master of science degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1982.