Astronaut Eileen Collins will command STS-114, assisted on the flight deck by Pilot James Kelly. Since 2001, they have been preparing for the flight alongside Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, and Stephen Robinson. The three newly-announced mission specialists are NASA Astronauts Andrew Thomas, Wendy Lawrence and Charles Camarda.

"This is a demanding mission, and the addition of Andy, Wendy and Charlie to this already well-qualified crew ensures they have all the skills necessary to meet the challenge of Return to Flight and the resumption of Space Shuttle support of the International Space Station," said Bob Cabana, director of Flight Crew Operations at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

"When coupled with Eileen, Jim, Steve and Soichi, who were already trained to perform the assembly tasks on this mission, the full crew will have the expertise and crew time to accomplish all mission objectives," Cabana said.

When Collins and her crewmates began training in 2001, they were preparing for an ISS crew rotation flight that would have delivered a new Expedition crew to the Station. Since the Space Shuttle Columbia accident in February, the major mission objectives have changed, so STS-114 will give the Space Shuttle Program a chance to test and evaluate new procedures for flight safety.

"STS-114 is going to be a complex developmental test flight, and this crew has the right set of skills and experience to help get the Space Shuttles safely flying again," said William Readdy, NASA's associate administrator for Space Flight.

"STS-114 was always slated to have a crew of seven. But now, instead of three crew rotating on-and-off the International Space Station, all crewmembers will be dedicated to the STS-114 mission objectives."

The STS-114 crew includes five space flight veterans and two first-time fliers. Collins, who served as pilot on STS-63 in 1995 and STS-84 in 1997, became the first woman to command a Space Shuttle on STS-93 in 1999. Kelly previously piloted STS-102 in 2001.

Robinson flew as a mission specialist on two previous flights -- STS-85 in 1997 and STS-95 in 1998. Thomas, a long-duration Russian Space Station Mir veteran, also served aboard STS-77 in 1996, STS-89 and 91 to and from the Mir in 1998, and STS-102 in 2001. Lawrence was a mission specialist for STS-67 in 1995, STS-86 in 1997 and STS-91 in 1998. Noguchi and Camarda will make their first flight to space aboard STS-114.

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