posted 09-09-2007 01:27 PM               

• Chris Ferguson, CDR
  
• Eric Boe, Pilot
  
• Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper, MS
  
• Joan Higginbotham, MS
  
• Stephen Bowen, MS
  
• Robert "Shane" Kimbrough, MS
  
• Sandy Magnus, ISS Flight Engineer

posted 09-10-2007 09:54 AM               

Jim Kelly (2 flights)
Charles Hobaugh (2 flights)
Lee Archambault (1 flight)

With 8 possible remaining flights that have yet to be assigned a commander (119, 127-133), there are still 7 pilots who have not yet been assigned a pilot position on a flight. If NASA tries to ensure that most of these pilots get to fly at least one mission, I think we'll be seeing more of the one-time pilots moving up to commands...simply because there aren't enough flights to allow pilots to fly the standard two missions before getting a command. Granted, it's always possible that NASA could rely on it's pool of experienced (or soon-to-be experienced) commanders to fill some/most of the remaining seats, if NASA simply wants to make the pilot's seat available to the unflown pilot astros in order to make sureas many as possible get a flight experience. (Granted, it's also quite likely that several of these guys who don't get a shuttle assignment or command will be in line for the early Orion flights.)

Out of interest, here are the shuttle commanders who served as pilot only once before sliding over to the commander's seat:

Richard Truly
Gordon Fullerton
Hank Hartsfield
Robert Overmyer
Karol Bobko
Rick Hauck
Dan Brandenstein
Brewster Shaw
Robert Gibson
Dick Scobee
Michael Coats
David Walker
Loren Shriver
Donald Williams
Frederick Gregory
John Creighton
Steven Nagel
Bryan O'Connor
Richard Richards
James Wetherbee
John Casper
Kenneth Cameron
Frank Culbertson
Sidney Gutierrez
William Readdy
Donald McMonagle
Kenneth Cockrell
Charles Precourt
Rick Husband
Mark Polansky
Scott Kelly
Stephen Frick
Christopher Ferguson

Of the 69 assigned commanders to date, 33 flew (or are scheduled to fly) with only one previous assignment in the pilot's seat. Also, at the risk of repeating the obvious, the first 6 commands went to astronauts with no previous shuttle flight experience, one of whom (Joe Engle) had no orbital spaceflight experience at all (but did earn his wings on the X-15). To date, the number of people who sat in the command seat with two pilot assignments prior to their command is 30.

posted 09-10-2007 03:06 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by mjanovec:
Out of interest, here are the shuttle commanders who served as pilot only once before sliding over to the commander's seat

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posted 09-10-2007 03:48 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Tom:
Forgot Robert Crippen

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posted 09-11-2007 07:37 AM               

It is a MAJOR coup for him to get a flight since when NASA selected the class of 2004 they pretty much told the bunch that their chances of getting a flight on shuttle were not in the cards. Training for flights to the ISS on Soyuz were a better chance in the near term.

posted 09-11-2007 08:33 AM               

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Originally posted by ASCAN1984:
Lets not forget it is Shame Kimbrough's first flight which makes him the first member of the 2004 class to be selected.

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posted 09-11-2007 10:48 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Jay Chladek:
Good point about Shane and thanks for bringing it up. The Peacocks get their first flyer! Plus this guy is US Army (my dad retired a Lt Col in the Army).

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Sorry for my ignorance, I'm from Germany, but what means "Peacocks"? Is it the nickname for the astronauts, who were selected finally?

The Eastfrisian

posted 09-11-2007 11:51 AM               

As it was told to me by Chris Cassidy, when the Class of 2004 was announced they recieved an above average amount of press attention due to the inclusion of educator astronauts.

posted 09-13-2007 12:03 AM               

By 1978, the first class of shuttle astronauts were called the TFNGs for "Thirty Five New Guys." But it also means in military slang "The &^%$ing New Guys". Class of 1984 was called the "Magots" with a bit of a drill sargent slant (I think "An Officer and a Gentleman" came out that year as Lou Gossett won an Oscar for his DI role in it). The class of 1990 is known as "The Hairballs" due to them being the 13th astronaut class at NASA. Black cats are normally associated with the number 13 (sign of bad luck), and cats usually caugh up hairballs, hence the name. The class of 1995 was called "The Snails" by the previous class (given that name because they were selected a year later then normal), but they took on the name "The Flying Escargot" probably due to a couple French ESA astronauts in their class. Within the astronaut ranks, they are still called the snails for the most part though.

Class of 1996 was called "The Sardines" since they were the biggest astronaut class to date (packed in like Sardines as they say). Since the 1996 class was so large (due to George Abbey's buildup to help get astronauts in as a source of engineering talent on the government payroll), they figured that the class after them was going to be waiting a long time before they would fly. So they were going to name the 1998 class after a flightless bird.

The 1998 class took the initiative to make sure they would become "The Penguins" by doing what amounted to an election campaign, complete with stickers, T-shirts and the like. They did this since they didn't want the earlier class to call them something less then flattering such as The Rheas, Emus, DoDos or Ostriches. It worked and they are one of the few classes that ever succeeded in naming themselves.

posted 09-13-2007 07:29 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Jay Chladek:
...the only humorous name I can recall from the 1960s was one of the early scientist astronaut classes. They were known as the "XS-11" (Excess 11, get it?).

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Don't forget Group 5, named "The Original 19" by John Young.

posted 09-13-2007 10:34 PM               

What's "completely ridiculous" about that?

Fisher is "active" in name only, and it's been that way for a very long time.

See also: Cagle; Caldeiro.

posted 09-13-2007 10:50 PM               

Her NASA bio states:

"Dr. Fisher is currently assigned to the Shuttle Branch and works technical assignments in that branch while awaiting an assignment as either a Space Shuttle crewmember on a Space Station assembly mission or as a crewmember aboard the International Space Station."

posted 09-14-2007 06:41 PM               

In any case, there are too many newer-vintage astronauts in the queue now.

Fisher is "active" in name only the way John Young was "active" in name only for many years. Sort of in the way that some people hang around their high school, long after graduation.

Dave

posted 10-01-2007 11:38 AM               

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NASA Assigns Crew for Space Station Assembly Mission

NASA has assigned the space shuttle crew for Endeavour's STS-126 mission, targeted for launch in September 2008. The flight will deliver equipment to the International Space Station that will enable larger crews to reside aboard the complex.

Veteran space flier Navy Capt. Christopher J. Ferguson will command Endeavour. Air Force Lt. Col. Eric A. Boe will serve as the pilot. The mission specialists are Navy Cmdr. Stephen G. Bowen, NASA astronaut Joan E. Higginbotham, Army Lt. Col. Robert S. Kimbrough and Navy Capt. Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper. Boe, Bowen and Kimbrough will be making their first spaceflight.

STS-126 will be the second spaceflight for Ferguson and Stefanyshyn-Piper, who flew together on STS-115 in September 2006. It also is the second flight for Higginbotham, who flew on STS-116 in December 2006.

Endeavour will carry a reusable logistics module that will hold supplies and equipment, including additional crew quarters, a second treadmill, equipment for the regenerative life support system and spare hardware.

A native of Philadelphia, Ferguson served as pilot of the shuttle Atlantis for STS-115. He has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Drexel University, Philadelphia, and a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif. He was selected as an astronaut in 1998.

Boe was born in Miami and grew up in Atlanta. He has a bachelor's degree in astronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo., and a master's degree in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. He was selected as an astronaut in 2000.

Bowen was born in Cohasset, Mass. He has a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., and a master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. Bowen also was selected as an astronaut in 2000. He was previously named to the STS-124 crew but has been reassigned to STS-126. The change will allow room for the STS-124 mission to rotate a space station resident, who will be named later.

A native of Chicago, Higginbotham flew on STS-116. She has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and master's degrees in both management and space systems from the Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne. She was selected as an astronaut in 1996.

Kimbrough was born in Killeen, Texas, and grew up in Smyrna, Ga. He has a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., and a master's degree in operations research from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He was selected as an astronaut in 2004.

Stefanyshyn-Piper was born in St. Paul, Minn. She conducted two spacewalks on STS-115. She has a bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was selected as an astronaut in 1996.

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posted 10-27-2007 07:03 PM               

Another question mark is Kay Hire, who's had one flight in 1998, and nothing since.

posted 11-02-2007 02:33 AM               

quote:

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Mission specialist Joan Higgenbotham [sic] said her new position will be with Marathon as a vice president of business development and worldwide production.

Referring to her more than twenty years of government service, Higgenbotham said, "It was fine, but its time to move on."

...

She has been replaced on the September mission by astronaut Don Petit [sic], who spent months aboard Space Station Alpha last year.

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posted 11-02-2007 06:07 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Delta7:
Another question mark is Kay Hire, who's had one flight in 1998, and nothing since.

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posted 11-02-2007 07:10 AM            

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
Fox News is reporting that Joan Higginbotham has chosen to resign from NASA, effective Nov. 30, and has been replaced by Don Pettit aboard STS-126

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posted 11-02-2007 09:49 AM               

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Originally posted by KSCartist:
Didn't Kay Hire return to active duty with the Navy for a time after 9/11. That would account for her still waiting her next flight assignment.

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posted 11-21-2007 02:06 PM               

quote:

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NASA Amends Crew Assignment for STS-126 Mission

NASA has replaced a crew member assigned to space shuttle mission STS-126. Astronaut Donald R. Pettit will take the place of astronaut Joan E. Higginbotham, who has left NASA to accept a position in the private sector. The mission is targeted to launch in September 2008 and will deliver equipment to the International Space Station enabling larger crews to reside aboard the complex.

Higginbotham flew as a mission specialist on STS-116 in December 2006. She began her career at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in 1987, contributing to 53 space shuttle launches. She was selected as an astronaut in 1996.

"Joan has done a tremendous job as an astronaut during the past 11 years," said Steve Lindsey, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston. "She contributed her expertise to nearly every space shuttle and International Space Station mission. She will be missed, but we wish her the very best in her future endeavors."

The STS-126 mission will be Pettit's second spaceflight. Pettit will serve as a mission specialist aboard shuttle Endeavour. He joins previously named crew members Commander Christopher J. Ferguson, Pilot Eric A. Boe and mission specialists Stephen G. Bowen, Robert S. Kimbrough and Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper.

Pettit first flew as a crew member of Expedition 6, logging more than 161 days in space, including more than 13 hours during two spacewalks. He launched to the station aboard shuttle mission STS-113 in November 2002 and returned to Earth on the Soyuz TMA-1 spacecraft in May 2003. He was selected as an astronaut in 1996.

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posted 11-21-2007 04:47 PM               

I've got to believe it's awfully rare for an astronaut to leave NASA while assigned to an upcoming flight.

Any others?

posted 11-21-2007 04:59 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by GoesTo11:
I've got to believe it's awfully rare for an astronaut to leave NASA while assigned to an upcoming flight.

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posted 11-21-2007 05:26 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by GoesTo11:
Any others?

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Mary Cleave departed after being named to the STS-42 crew (Sonny Carter was assigned to replace her but was killed in a plane crash before he could fly).

posted 11-21-2007 05:44 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by mjanovec:
I have to wonder if there's more to the story that we're not hearing. Or did she just get an offer she couldn't refuse?

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quote:

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Higginbotham said her new position will be with Marathon [Oil Corporation] as a vice president of business development and worldwide production.

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posted 11-21-2007 08:58 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by mjanovec:
Or did she just get an offer she couldn't refuse?

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posted 11-21-2007 09:03 PM               

John Herrington retired after beginning ISS expedition crew training.

Donald Thomas replaced on Expedition 6 by Don Pettit (medical issue). Subsequently went into management.

Mark Lee after being assigned to STS-98 (removed for reasons unknown).

Jean-Loup Chretien from STS-105 after injuring his hand.

Jim Halsell (STS-120) and Terrence Wilcutt (STS-116) were scheduled to command Shuttle missions at the time of the Columbia accident; both subsequently took management positions.

Carlos Noriega left Steve Lindsey's crew (originally assigned to STS-119, then re-assigned to STS-121 post-Columbia) for medical reasons.

Astronauts who were scheduled to fly at the time of Challenger, but who subsequently left without flying again:

posted 11-21-2007 10:34 PM               

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Originally posted by robsouth:
Vice President blah blah blah, doesn't even come close to going into space.

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posted 11-21-2007 11:50 PM               

An astronaut has so many other things pulling at them from different sides. First you have the relatively low civil servant employee pay compared to what one could be making in the private sector. Second there is the stress from family, something that really tends to get sent upwards near the time of a launch, be it the family member flying or a close friend of the family (there are lots of friends among astronauts). Third there is the pressure to perform in the day to day duties as one doesn't entirely know what it takes to get a flight or to not get one. Not everyone performs exactly the same way in such an environment year after year as it does take years of experiencing this on average before the big spaceflight assignment.

posted 11-22-2007 12:22 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by robsouth:
Vice President blah blah blah, doesn't even come close to going into space.

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Maybe space is boring. And if astronauts themselves feel that way, the space program is in real trouble.

Astronauts don't make "much" as astronauts and risk their lives when launched. Going to work for an oil company may not be such a bad idea.

Although I find it strange to quit when your flight is 10 months away. If you had to wait 2-3 years like the post Challenger/Columbia accidents, I could understand.