From NASANews@luna.osf.hq.nasa.govSun Jan 28 12:35:30 1996 Date: Wed, 17 Jan 1996 16:51:14 -0500 From: NASA HQ Public Affairs Office To: press-release-com@mercury.hq.nasa.gov Subject: Astronauts Selected for STS-80, STS-83 Shuttle Missions Ed Campion Headquarters, Washington, DC January 17, 1996 (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. - end - NASA press releases and other information are available automatically by sending an Internet electronic mail message to domo@hq.nasa.gov. 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