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.

FMI: www.nasa.gov/shuttle, www.jsc.nasa.gov/bios