COMMANDER, PILOT ROUND OUT STATION ASSEMBLY CREW February 2, 1998 Jennifer McCarter Headquarters, Washington, DC (Phone: 202/358-1639) Eileen Hawley/James Hartsfield Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (Phone: 281/483-5111)

Release: H98-21

Commander, Pilot Round Out Station Assembly Crew

Astronaut Brian Duffy (Col., USAF) will command the third U.S. assembly flight, designated Shuttle mission STS-92, to the International Space Station. Joining Duffy on the flight deck will be Pilot Pamela Ann Melroy (Major, USAF). Melroy, a member of the 1994 Astronaut Class, marks her first space flight with STS-92. Mission Specialists Koichi Wakata (NASDA); Peter J. K. (Jeff) Wisoff, Ph.D.; Leroy Chiao, Ph.D.; William (Bill) McArthur, Jr., (Col., USA); and Michael Lopez-Alegria, (Cmdr., USN), were previously named to the flight in June 1997. Working in teams of two, Chiao, Wisoff, McArthur and Lopez-Alegria will conduct four space walks over the course of the mission, while Wakata has primary responsibility for operating the Shuttle's Remote Manipulator System robot arm. This fifth Station assembly flight will build on previous American and Russian assembly flights beginning with the launch of the Control Module (FGB) in the summer of 1998. STS-92 will be the third Shuttle mission to the ISS. "I couldn’t be more pleased with the selection of Colonel Duffy and the crew for STS-92. I have complete confidence in him and his fellow crew members, and look forward to working with them as we prepare for the successful execution of this very important mission," said Randy Brinkley, Space Station Program Manager. STS-92 marks the fourth space flight for Mission Commander Brian Duffy. For complete biographical information on the STS-92 crew and other astronauts, see the NASA Internet astronaut biography home page at URL: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/ For information on the International Space Station, visit the Space Station home page at URL: http://station.nasa.gov -end-