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Space Shuttle To Take Five Men And Two Women Into Space

The STS-121 Discovery Crew.
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Jun 28, 2006
The Discovery shuttle will carry seven astronauts -- two women and five men, including one German -- into space Saturday for the STS-121 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Following are brief biographies of the crew members:

- Commander Steven Lindsey, 45, is a US air force colonel who became an astronaut in 1995. He has flown in the shuttle three times, as commander in 2001 and as co-pilot in 1997 and 1998. He has logged more than 896 hours in space. As a pilot, he has logged more than 5,000 hours of flying time in more than 50 different types of aircraft. He is married and has three children.

- Co-pilot Mark Kelly, 42, was an instructor pilot at the US Naval Test Pilot School when NASA selected him in 1996. He flew on a shuttle mission in 2001 and has logged nearly 12 days in space. He has also recorded more than 4,000 flight hours in more than 50 different aircraft. He has landed more than 375 times on aircraft carriers. He has two children.

- Mission specialist Michael Fossum, 48, is a space science engineer and an air force reserve colonel. The STS-121 mission will be his first space flight. He will take two or three space walks during the mission with colleague Piers Sellers. He is married and has four children.

- Mission specialist Lisa Nowak, 43, will be the flight engineer in the STS-121 mission. She is a Navy commander who has logged more than 1,500 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft as a pilot. She became an astronaut in 1996. The STS-121 mission will be her first space flight. She is married and has three children.

- Mission specialist Stephanie Wilson, 40, is an aerospace engineer who became an astronaut in 1996. She started working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California in 1992. The STS-121 will be her first space flight. Her job will be to operate the International Space Station's robot arm.

- Mission specialist Piers Sellers, 51, is an American who was born in Crowborough, Britain. He has doctorate in biometeorology from Britain's Leeds University. He became an astronaut in 1996 and went to space for the first time in October 2002, when he took three space walks. He has logged more than 252 hours in space. He is married and has two children.

- Mission specialist Thomas Reiter, 48, represents the European Space Agency (ESA). The former German air force pilot is the only non-American in the STS-121 mission. The aerospace engineer became an ESA astronaut in 1992. He will transfer cargo from the Discovery shuttle to the ISS and will stay in the space station. The space veteran spent 179 in Russia's now-defunct Mir Space Station between 1995-1996 and has taken two space walks. He is married and has two children.

Source: Agence France-Presse

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US To Make New Bid To Get Shuttle Back In Space
Washington (AFP) Jun 28, 2006
NASA is counting down to the Discovery shuttle's launch on Saturday, a critical mission for the space program's future in just the second flight since the Columbia tragedy. Despite new warnings from engineers, six American astronauts and one German will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) and test shuttle safety procedures in a mission lasting nearly two weeks.







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