Discovery Scheduled To Lift Off In One Year
NASA has assigned the crew for space shuttle Discovery's STS-129
mission. The flight will deliver two experiment racks to the
International Space Station.
Marine Col. Charlie Hobaugh will command the mission, which is
targeted to launch in October 2009. Navy Capt. Barry Wilmore will
serve as the pilot. Mission Specialists are Robert Satcher, Navy
Capt. Michael Foreman, Marine Lt. Col. Randy Bresnik and Leland
Melvin. Wilmore, Satcher and Bresnik will be making their first
trips to space.
The mission will return Canadian Space Agency astronaut and
station crew member Robert Thirsk to Earth. This is slated to be
the final space shuttle crew rotation flight to or from the space
station.
Discovery will deliver parts to the space station, including two
spare gyroscopes. The mission will feature four spacewalks.
Hobaugh flew as the pilot on STS-104 in 2001 and STS-118 in
2007. He was born in Bar Harbor, ME. Hobaugh earned a bachelor's
degree in aerospace engineering from the US Naval Academy. He was
selected as an astronaut in 1996.
Wilmore was born in Murfreesboro, TB, and grew up in Mt. Juliet.
He has bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering
from Tennessee Technological University, and a master's degree in
aviation systems from University of Tennessee. He was selected as
an astronaut in 2000.
Foreman was born in Columbus, OH but considers Wadsworth his
hometown. He earned a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering
from the US Naval Academy and a master's degree in aeronautical
engineering from the US Naval Postgraduate School. Foreman flew as
a mission specialist on STS-123 in 2008 and performed three
spacewalks. He was selected as an astronaut in 1998.
Satcher was selected as an astronaut in 2004. He earned a
doctorate in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology. He also is a graduate of Harvard Medical School. He
was born in Hampton, VA.
Bresnik, also selected as an astronaut in 2004. He was born in
Fort Knox, KY but considers Santa Monica, CA, his hometown. Bresnik
earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from The Citadel and a
master's degree in aviation systems from the University of
Tennessee.
Melvin flew as a mission specialist on the STS-122 mission in
2008. He was born in Lynchburg, VA. Melvin earned a bachelor's
degree in chemistry from the University of Richmond and a master's
degree in materials science engineering from the University of
Virginia. He was selected as an astronaut in 1998.
Thirsk will be concluding his long-duration stay on the station
when STS-129 launches. He is scheduled to arrive at the complex in
May 2009 aboard a Soyuz spacecraft and serve as a flight engineer
during parts of Expeditions 20 and 21.
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