CREWS NAMED TO SUPPORT 1999 SHUTTLE FLIGHTS



August 4, 1998



Jennifer McCarter
Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/358-1639)



Eileen Hawley/Doug Peterson
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone: 281/483-5111

<h4>Release: H98-143</h4> <h3>Crews Named to Support 1999 Shuttle 
Flights</h3> 

Thirteen astronauts have been named to support upcoming Shuttle 
missions, STS-96, -97 and -98, slated for launch next year and 
dedicated to continuing the on-orbit construction of the 
International Space Station.



Three-time Shuttle astronaut Kent V. Rominger (Cmdr., USN) will lead 
the crew of STS-96, a logistics and resupply mission for the 
International Space Station targeting a mid-May 1999 launch. Rick D. 
Husband (Lt. Col., USAF) will join Rominger on the flight deck of 
Discovery as pilot. Mission Specialists for the planned 10-day flight 
are Ellen Ochoa, Ph.D.; Tamara E. Jernigan, Ph.D.; Daniel T. Barry, 
M.D., Ph.D.; Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette; and 
Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko (Col., Russian Air Force).



STS-96 will follow the launch of the Zarya control module on a Russian 
vehicle in November 1998; the STS-88 mission in December 1998, 
delivering the American-built Unity module and two docking adapters; 
and the arrival of the Russian Service Module in April 1999. The 
STS-96 crew will be the first crew to visit the station following the 
arrival of the Service Module. During STS-96, Discovery will carry a 
variety of logistical and resupply items to ready the International 
Space Station for the arrival of the first resident crew in July 
1999. The Shuttle will spend seven days docked to the uninhabited 
station, and Jernigan and Barry will conduct at least one spacewalk 
for assembly work.



Brent W. Jett Jr. (Cmdr., USN) will command the crew of Endeavour for 
STS-97 in



August 1999, continuing construction of the International Space 
Station. He will be joined on board by pilot Michael J. Bloomfield 
(Major, USAF) and mission specialist Marc Garneau of the Canadian 
Space Agency. Astronauts Joseph R. Tanner and Carlos I. Noriega 
(Major, USMC) were named to the mission in June 1997, and will 
conduct two planned space walks.



The fourth American mission to build and enhance the capabilities of 
the International Space Station, STS-97 will deliver the first set of 
U.S.-provided solar arrays and batteries as well as radiators to 
provide cooling. The Shuttle will spend five days docked to the 
station, which at that time will be staffed by the first station 
crew. Two spacewalks will be conducted to complete assembly 
operations while the arrays are attached and unfurled. A 
communications system for voice and telemetry also will be installed.



In October 1999, Discovery will continue expansion of the 
International Space Station when astronaut Kenneth D. Cockrell 
commands STS-98. Cockrell will be joined by pilot Mark L. Polansky, a 
member of the 1996 astronaut class and mission specialist Marsha 
Ivins. Astronauts Mark C. Lee (Col., USAF) and Thomas D. Jones, 
Ph.D., previously named to the mission, are in training to support 
three planned space walks.



STS-98 will mark the arrival of the U.S. laboratory module, which will 
become the centerpiece of scientific research on the station. The 
Shuttle will spend six days docked to the station while the 
laboratory is attached and three spacewalks are conducted to complete 
its assembly. The laboratory will be launched with five equipment 
racks aboard, which will provide essential functions for station 
systems, including high data-rate communications and maintaining the 
station's orientation using control gyroscopes launched earlier. 
Additional equipment and research racks will be installed in the 
laboratory on subsequent Shuttle flights. This mission also will 
occur while the first station crew is aboard the new spacecraft.



Of the astronauts assigned to these flights, all but three have 
previous space flight experience. Cockrell has commanded a Shuttle 
mission previously. While they will be making their first flights as 
commanders, both Rominger and Jett have experience as Shuttle pilots 
in their earlier assignments. Mission specialists Jernigan, Ivins and 
Lee all have four previous missions to their credit; Jones has three; 
Ochoa, Garneau and Tanner have flown twice previously; and Barry, 
Bloomfield and Noriega have flown onboard the Shuttle once. Making 
their first flights will be Husband, Payette and Polansky.



For additional information on these astronauts, or any astronaut, see 
the NASA Internet biography home page at URL: 
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/



For additional information on the International Space Station, visit 
the space station home page at URL: http://station.nasa.gov

	
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